Page 46 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 18

Food Health

is taken to a warehouse, before it is you cannot go and do number 2 in a you do not want the grass to grow,
bought. river. You cannot cut down this tree you think you want to control the
just because. But now we are living pests, so you spray glyphosate; but
So, parents start growing a little in a different mindset, operating on that kills all the earthworms in the
bit of food at home. Everybody is a different software, so you see what soil, flows down the stream into
from a village in Afrika, everybody we are doing to our surroundings. the water source. But if you live in
has a home, everybody should start But we must start re-inculcating tune with nature, you have very little
linking up with where you are from those traditional values in our chil- collateral damage.
and what food can be grown there dren.
that, even if you are in a city, can be Absolutely. I think that there is
brought once a week, or whatever, From wherever we came from, our a lot of confusion in the world
for a group of you. 5,6,7, families ancestors had values that perpetuat- right now. How is it possible
can arrange that every week there ed nature, so go back there. If you that 94% of all the grain that is
is a truck that brings foodstuffs are from Luo, if you’re an Asanti, consumed by people in the world
from out there, the driver gets if you’re from Nzima, Yoruba, is now wheat, rice, and corn
paid this amount and we all share go back and ask what were your or maize? So now if you have
it, but we get guaranteed this food grandmothers doing to make sure almost 7 billion people eating the
is coming from as far… so you that the rivers kept clean, what were same thing in rotation what is
could be in Nairobi and your food your grandmothers doing when they that doing to the insides of a per-
is coming from Nyeri and there harvested tomatoes, what did your son? It just does not make sense.
is food coming from somewhere grandmothers do and grandfathers There are things that just do not
else. Start creating a co-op amongst do when they did this and that...? correlate, that people do not un-
families ,it could be on your street, It is time to start using our indige- derstand that for the person who
on your road; identify a few pro- nous knowledge. Unfortunately, we is doing this for the purpose of
gressive minds who are like let us have relegated Afrikan indigenous making money it is a sure thing
stop buying this lettuce and carrots knowledge to lower divisions. Like because all they have to do is to
that has been sprayed with glypho- I reminded us, we are the ones spin the corn into some other
sates. And you see it. You see them who gave the world its first knowl- byproduct thing that they create;
with their knapsacks, they walk edge, we are the ones who showed as a children’s snack, or make
over these spring onions, they spray Europe how to bathe and heal the wheat into something else,
their carcinogenic agents that you wounds, and how to move sewage, or make the rice into something
are consuming. There’s absolutely so it is unfortunate that we seem to else, you know, breakfast cereals
no reason that we should continue be so undeveloped now. We have who knows what. But none of it
doing it in this robotic style. to go back to using ancient Afrikan is natural, none of it is healthy,
wisdom. none of it even remembers its
Schools in Ghana used to have a original identity. And these plants
farm, every school used to have a There is an Afrikan way of farming are also crying. So, it is a really
farm, back when we had leaders for the Sahel from around Senegal, major issue. We are so grateful
who were thinking about us really Mali, Burkina, I think it is called that you took the time to talk to
getting out of where we should not Tasa, I forget the name properly, us about it.
be. Those things should be reintro- but it is basically digging a little hole Do you have any last thoughts
duced, where schools should have a next to everywhere you plant a crop, you would like to share with Afri-
farm where every student has a plot and that hole retains water whenever ka and Afrikans in the Diaspora
of land that you are responsible for there is little rainfall, and it becomes about the issue, about solutions
taking care of, and to introduce it to like a little reservoir and it actually or about working with Food Sov-
young people, especially the children helps to germinate and sustain that ereignty Ghana?
(even from) kindergarten. Because plant. This is a traditional way of Well first of all you can find us at
when you teach a child to respect farming that overcomes drought www.foodsovereigntyghana.org and
nature, it is very likely that they will and hard conditions, which we have then also follow us on Facebook
grow up being a custodian of the discarded. And if you look at what because we tend to share what is
trees and the rivers. Our traditional we are trying to do, they have all really happening on the ground. We
culture used to teach us that you these negative impacts. So, you think also have lots of partners within
cannot go to and weewee in a river, you are doing something short term, the Afrikan biodiversity, the Afrikan

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