Abstract
Indigenous peoples worldwide have worse health outcomes than the dominant population, and the prevalence of poverty among them is high, up to about 15% of the world’s poorest. They have long experience marginalization and various forms of colonization that have caused some of them to disassociate with their diverse cultural practices and traditions. In recent times, the term ‘well-being’ encompasses a broader viewpoint which includes material needs, health, safety, social relationships and a healthy environment. As such, to improve the diets and lifestyle of indigenous people globally is to strengthen food and nutritional diversity based on the variety of traditional plant-based foods. To develop nutritional support methods against an noncommunicable disease (NCD) epidemic in modern indigenous communities, it is crucial to restore native ecosystems, revitalize traditional food crop farming, and revive traditional skills of food preparation, processing, and preservation. This research focuses on the Orang Asli, the indigenous people of Malaysia, and the traditional wild edible plants native to them. Many of these plants are rich sources of micronutrients, macronutrients and bioactive compounds that are essential for human health and can help enhance the nutrition and well-being and health of the Orang Asli, according to recent studies. The goal of this paper is to develop ecological and cultural sustainable strategies that showcase the diversity found in wild edible plants and the knowledge found in traditional food systems, which can then be used to address the NCD challenges facing indigenous and wider non-indigenous communities worldwide.
Presenters
Rachel Thomas TharmabalanVisiting Associate Professor, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Japan
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
WEPS,ORANG-ASLI,NCDS,TRADITIONAL-FOOD-SYSTEMS
