The Ark of Taste in Kenya

Abstract

am firmly convinced that our most urgent task is to protect biodiversity

as the foundation of our food system. Many local crop varieties are dis- appearing and the widespread use of chemicals in agriculture threatens

countless species with extinction. The global food system today is in a more precarious position than ever before due to the intertwined threats of food price inflation, food insecurity resulting from conflicts in many parts of the world, and climate change. These shocks and crises are major alarm bells that

signal the fragility of our food systems, and there is no single action more pow- erful than making people aware of the importance of protecting food biodiver- sity. Without biodiversity, there is no foundation for human life on this planet.

Biodiversity is the raw material that nourishes our civilizations and cultures and it is essential for human adaptation to Earth’s varied environments. Biodiversity is crucial for every country in the world and its value should never be underestimated. I believe it is especially important to keep this in mind when considering the African context. The people of Africa have long endured unjust seed policies, land grabbing, and the adverse effects of chemicals that are needed to sustain the daily expansion of monocultures. These practices are perpetuated with the promise of feeding the continent’s rapidly growing population; what they’re actually doing is making African food systems less resilient. Biodiversity in food and agriculture is declining, the climate crisis is intensifying, and diet-related diseases are reaching epidemic proportions. We

urgently need to break away from imperialistic and extractive production sys- tems to slow down climate change and environmental degradation, and the

only way to accomplish this is by preserving biodiversity. The Ark of Taste is the world’s largest living catalogue of biodiverse, delicious, and distinctive gastronomic heritage at risk of extinction. The Atlas you hold in your hands expands on the first edition of The Ark of Taste in Kenya, published in

2018. This new edition is a comprehensive tool for understanding Kenya’s tradi- tional foodscapes and it reiterates the central roles that institutions, producers, and consumers all play in preserving Kenya’s food cultures and biodiversity. I would like to draw your attention to one aspect of this book in particular that I think is fundamental: its ability to actively engage, involve, and empower new generations of professionals in the Kenyan food system. The project that led to the creation of this expanded edition was developed and executed entirely by researchers from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy and the Universities of Egerton, Embu, and Nairobi in Kenya. Fifty students from the three Kenyan universities were taught to identify, describe, and communicate about local food heritage following the Ark of Taste approach, and Kenyan researchers contributed new chapters focused on creating awareness among

the general public about the importance of this heritage. This collective, co- operative work enabled us to expand the data set on Kenyan traditional food

biodiversity to include products that Western knowledge alone wouldn’t have been able to identify. The products described in this book represent the tangible and intangible knowledge and skills of multitudes of people who, despite difficulties and with great passion, labor every day to grow and safeguard the biodiversity on which we all depend. The gastronomic heritage of every country rests primarily on the shoulders of these people, who care for the environment, keep marginal communities thriving, save soils from erosion, and protect biological, cultural, and food diversity. As consumers, we can choose to incorporate biodiversity into our diets, becoming valuable allies in its preservation. We have the simple but profound power act with care and respect toward the people who cultivate biodiversity, contributing to their wellbeing as well as to our own health and

the health of our planet. By sustainably consuming diverse foods and embrac- ing eating as a creative act that simultaneously meets our physiological needs

and brings us great pleasure, we can ensure the survival of the extensive and valuable heritage that this book celebrates.