Page 37 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 17

Food Health

dangers to people’s health from
industrial food production and the
displacement of local foods. These
cases help reveal how industrial
foods generate new risks (with
GMOs for example); increase the
potential for cross-border contami-
nation, and leave consumers vulner-
able to fraudulent actions that affect
food safety.

In 2018, for example, a South Afri-
can company – Enterprise Foods –
recalled all its processed meat prod-
ucts from supermarket shelves after
it was established that contaminated
meats from their Polokwane Factory
had caused what was branded as the
worst outbreak of listeriosis in the
world. In just one year, 218 people
lost their lives and 1,065 fell ill be-
cause of the meat products. Because
this recall only took place within
South Africa’s borders, the effects
on people in other African countries
where this product was shipped will
never be known.

Babies have also been affected by
this profit-oriented industrial food
production. In 2017, France-based
Lactalis recalled 12 million baby Design by Mabel M. Valenzuela
milk products after one of its plants
in France was determined as being
the source of a Salmonella Ago-
na outbreak. Although authorities We Are the Solution - Interview used to enhance the taste. So Nous
stepped in to suspend the export with Mariama Sonko Sommes la Solution was created and
of these products, the product had “Our ancestors used natural spices we began to experiment,” says Mari-
unfortunately already been shipped for stock, and with these natural ama. They consulted nutritionists to
and distributed to 30 African coun- spices, they were healthy and lived ensure their stocks were nutritionally
tries. long lives. Why are we now using balanced and mixed the right spices
stocks that are making us ill?” Con- to resemble the taste of the industri-

It is no secret that industrial food fronted by the increase of diabetes al stock they had grown accustomed
production puts profit and quantity and other health problems linked to to. So far, Nous Sommes la Solution
over quality and health. But many industrial soup stock cubes, Maria- has created two types of stock:
groups are proactively working to ma and others from her community one for shrimp recipes and another
restore food systems that are not in Casamance, Senegal decided to called “very good” in the local Lay-
only healthy, but that also respect take action. They set up Nous Som- ola language.
the diversity, context, celebration mes la Solution. “We saw that we
and culture of the continent. One needed to provide people with an “Our stocks are not only improving
such group is We are the Solution, alternative. For this, we believed we the health of the community, but
based in Casamance in Senegal. had to return to using our traditional they’re also helping women have a
spices - the ones that our ancestors little more income. These women

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