African Insights Ezine – April 2004  

Food - African and Western Thoughts

I bought a super dwarf banana plant this week.  I am really excited about this newly acquired plant and am looking forward to the first harvest of my super dwarf, mini bananas.  Hopefully I will have enough to make a batch of Ugandan matoke.  Since I have super dwarf banana plant, there will not be enough leaves to cover the pot with, as is the custom in Uganda.  I will simply have to use a lid, but I am getting ahead of myself.

Food is the big issue in East Africa, enough food that is.  There are not too many overweight Africans unless they have reached financial success of some kind and can afford the food that brings on those extra pounds and inches.  One will have a hard time finding an East African on a diet.  I did not see any diet supplements in stores, only sugar, tea, rice, tins of this and that.

Hard bodied and lean is much more the rule of the day amongst the average African of modest income.  Food costs a lot of money and if you live in the city where you cannot grow your own, it takes a greater percentage of income than it does in the West.  People eat less and there are also not too many leftovers and one meal a day is quite common.  Meat often is not part of the diet, not because are vegans or vegetarians, but because there is not enough money to buy meat. 

There is another reason for this leanness and that is the power of walking.  Africans for the most part do not have their own transport and simply have to walk to wherever they go.  Public transport costs money and even then they walk to and from the minibus taxi stops. 

Less food consumption and more energy expended in walking seems to be the rule of the day.  On the other hand our Western obsession with weight loss fascinates Africans, since they simply desire to have enough to eat each and every day. 

One African man told me, "I find your Western obsession with weight loss and food quite fascinating.  Here, when you do get fat, you have reached success, in your country it looks like the skinny people are the successful ones.  How amusing this is to us here in Africa."

An African friend of mine visited me here in the States and while he was here I took him around and one of the places we went was a "Costco Store," he was taken aback by the sizes and quantities of the items on display.  He just could not get over how big the carts were that people were using to shop with.  He asked me "Are all the people shopping here the owners of restaurants?"  

A few days later we went to a grocery shopping another store that was large in size with restaurant and deli, bakery and more, we wandered into the pet food section. He could not believe how many items were for sale for dogs and cats.  "You don't give your dogs and cats scraps?"  No, we do not feed them any scraps for the most part.  He just looked at the prices and shook his head.

For lunch that day I took him to a buffet style restaurant where you could eat all the chicken, roast beef, dessert, salads, breads, coke, causing him to ask, "how can they make any money?" 

Later that day we went down to the harbor where there were lots of pleasure boats of all kinds.  His mouth just dropped as he asked, "Do all of these boats belong to fishermen?" 

Yes, America can be quite confusing; the abundance of things, of food and relative wealth is quite amazing for an African.  Add to that our fad diets and ways of eating and kit will evoke nothing but smiles with Africans.

It seems when you have money; you have more choices related to eating habits, the choices about food intake and so on.  Fifteen percent of Americans are on an Atkins or South Beach high protein diet, meaning that they have become meat eaters and of course lots of it.  I observed three women having breakfast at the inn, consuming two pounds of bacon as they were trying to lose weight. At the same time they skipped the fruit, breads and a few other things.  They would have loved the infamous or famous "Carnivore Restaurant" in Nairobi where a person on an Atkins high protein diet would find the delight of their heart or stomach.  All the meat you can eat, a small potato and some vegetables, but all the beef, zebra, crocodile, antelope, gazelle one can consume, (they will bring it until you lower the flag on our table) fresh from the fiery pit or so someone who is a vegan or vegetarians will think. 

On other end of the spectrum of those who are trying to do the best for their bodies are the Vegans of the Western World. If you have a Vegan for dinner be prepared for the interrogation..."What did you cook in the pan before you made this dish?"  (In other words, are there any trace elements of meat left in the pan that could contaminate this dish.)? "Could I see the spice you used to make this dish?"  (Let me see if there are any ingredients that come from animals)  You will also have to have some soymilk on hand; it is also a good idea for tofu to be in your refrigerator. 

Vegetarians are easier to deal with, since in most cases, you can use dairy products and also eggs.  There are also those who think of themselves vegetarians but eat fish or chicken, well they are not vegetarian but meat eaters with limited intake.

Africans do find our ways amusing, a result of having too much.  Many Africans maybe vegetarians, but not by choice, but as part of the economic reality of life.  Some are high protein meat eaters but again not because of a Dr. Atkins or South Beach High Protein, low carb diet, but because of cultural background and the tribe that they come from. 

"Give us this Daily Bread."  Is still a daily prayer in Africa whereas in the USA bread has gotten a bad wrap, and so has pasta and rice and other things that I hold as nice foods. Like Africans I find it all amusing and simply want some food, in my case I have a lot of choices and am getting a bit thicker…jon