Copyright 2021 by Peter Smith PH.D
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A vgn mt, dr, nd other ltrntv acquire a nrd rn n Western urmrkt, one mght gt th d tht plant-based dt r mthng new. However, in mn rgn across th globe, tng lttl t no mt h bn a rnrtn of ntnl un. Africa is one xml. Fr ntur rr to Eurn lnztn, fd w regularly veggie lover.
Attempt rhng the Intrnt fr data but vgn Afrn fd nd but trvlng a vegetarian in Africa, and u wn't discover a lot. Or on the other hand rh u dd only rh for xtl that, nd tht' hw u finished u hr? Around there, wlm! I'm hr t rur u that bng vgn in Afr nt as troublesome as you would thnk. Indeed, thr' lnt of vgn African food t b found in th ntnnt' trdtnl un. It' tru tht, n numerous Afrn untr, you'll be hrd-rd to fnd nn wh' even hrd th wrd "vgn" previously. [Nt: Suth Africa the exemption t th rul. Th vgn n blutl BOOMING n Cape Twn!] But don't let the need f a trng vegetarian mvmnt r u ff. Numerous Afrn dh are nturll veggie lover nw, vn thugh th ll would nvr use tht wrd t depict thm. In ft, th trdtnl, r-lnl African dt w lrgl lnt bd. It comprised of sound, whl-fd fixings, fundamentally frut, vegetables and whl grains, flvrd wth bounty f spices nd flavors. While meat numd rgulrl among mn working class Afrn td, tht du to pioneer impacts. Also, even n rt f Afr where th neighborhood food nt vgn-frndl, thr are still lnt of w to nur that u t wll a vgn n Afr. In ttl, I've presently spent rughl one r voyaging rund th Afrn ntnnt, visiting 25 dffrnt untr lng th w. Nn f those untr I vtd a vgn n my mt rnt 3-mnth trip rund uthrn Africa. Afrn vgn r a rturn t trdtn
Th fancy jrgn urrundng the urrnt fd movement mk it m f urrnt trnd such vgnm nd paleo diets are nw dvr. But th hr Afrn vegan is not n oxymoron. Pre-colonial Afrn dd, n fact, rl rdmnntl on a lnt-bd dt.
Tadzoka Pwr
Lt gt trght t th mt (or rthr th vgtbl) f th u: Globalisation and th ulturl rrtn f traditional Afrn ways hv rlblld ancient rt and md them m obscure n the l th originated. Bfr farming trtd, Afrn wr knwn t b hunters nd gthrr (th foundation of the l dt). They wuld gthr leaves, rt, tubers, corns, rhzm, bulb, seeds, bud, shoots, tm, pods r dbl flowers. Onll, th would hunt down gm. Th operative word nll. Nwd, mt African t r carnistic (centred n meat) nd mt ftur daily in the diets f mt mddl-l Afrn fml. But this ultur lnl.
Mtl diets n Afrn trdtn
Untl about fv ntur ago, Africa rmnd mnl dependent n trdtnl fd. Whn adventurers nd lv-trdr m to the Afrn continent, th introduced vru r and th lrgr-l domestication of nml for mmrl consumption and export. Th capitalistic frmng methods exacerbated th rd f nml diseases mng humn. Th nmd lftl of m African trb, whh rurd mllr hrd, l began t dwndl meat rdutn bm a lurtv industry and changed th tng patterns of l n th ntnnt.
Th colonial era w a huge reduction n th frmng f indigenous crops nd th nr n the frmng of r tht had been ntrdud: maize, v, groundnuts, wt potato, tmt and umkn frm Mexico and America; nd bnn, rghum nd rice from Asia. Irnll, th plants r td th tl fd f mn Afrn countries and r ftn rfrrd to traditional.
The ntrtng thing but lnlm is tht it often leaves t trt behind in a ultur tht it dmntd. Those trt become associated with th colonised culture, while the former colonisers move twrd a w f life tht is mr mlr t that f th l th colonised. Th d t of this l is tht the lnd ultur thn dt what w bd but th lnr ultur and hv t b r-tught their wn culture b th dmnnt n. C n nt: vgtrnm nd vgnm.
Why l Become Vgn
First, lt gt a fw definitions ut f the w so tht there is no burt. In general, the ndng -m refers to a blf tm nd -rn rfr to th people wh follow t. Hwvr, this is nt lw th , as bng a humanitarian does not mn u lk the tt f humn along with ur ld. Vegetarians d nt t mt t all, though some t gg nd dr products, whl vegans t w frm ll nml rdut r b-rdut and wll not vn t hn r buttr.
The t thr reasons why people dd to bm vgn r:
Animal rght Vgn believe tht animals hv the rght to xt frl wthut humn ntrfrn.
Th nvrnmnt Lvtk frmng h a ngtv mt n the nvrnmnt bu animal fd rdutn takes u a lot of lnd, fertiliser nd water tht n b ud fr fdng humn ntd. It blvd tht livestock rdutn lrt tl erosion, lowering t productivity for th ultvtn of r. Anml wt l nr llutn n grundwtr and rvr.
Prnl health Gng vegan nr n nrg, assists in wght l and helps mntn a hlth weight nd ungr-lkng kn.
Th thl reasons r th mt interesting, ll n cases whr l are ntnl nu but nt tng nml products, t th d nt fllw th ur of their fruit nd vgtbl. The farming f m lnt fd n u major ethical u, as is th with th farms tht are dtrng lrg rt f the Amazon, r th td ud n bnn b th Dole Crrtn, whh rultng n nfrtlt among its lnttn wrkr. Yu could b vng furr nml whl killing humans, f u r not careful. S, f you rll want t be an thl vegan, rrh all ur food even th plants.
On th thr d f th vegan discourse r mt eaters wh d nt rl tht vgnm xtrml healthy, and h been proven t be . Too ftn in Afrn t td, mt tr mk vegetarians nd vegans. Th most mmn nt-vgn/vgtrn statement b mnvr (those wh t bth meat nd vgtbl) is tht people dnt get nugh rtn from vegetables ln. Th is a mth: Vegetables, n ll thr glorious dvrt, k all the vital nutrnt a rn nd to urvv, whn tn in th rght rrtn.
Mn nn-mt-tng cultures nd l wuld be xtnt f vgnm resulted n mlnutrtn. Half of Hllwd wuld l b dead (hr is a list of Hollywood vgtrn). Fr xml, tr Lm Hmwrth, th rd ld n th film Th Hunger Gm, is clearly nt xrnng th frt wrd f tht movies title. Hip-hop rdur Russell Simmons nd pop ngr Arn Grande l live a plant-based lifestyle. Rr Wk Flocka Flm ( him mkng vgn blubrr muffn hr) wnt vgn to vd becoming fat. Athletes uh Crl Lw would not hv made Olm gld (see his video n winning Olm gld a vegan).
Pr-lnl Africans did, n fact, rl predominantly n a plant-based dt. Pht: Aln Lvn/Flkr/CC
Evn th Bbl advocates veganism. Tht is whr th nnul Dnl Ft, practised b mn Christian ngrgtn, m frm:
But Daniel resolved tht h would not defile himself wth th rl rtn f fd nd wine Thn Dnl asked Lt us b gvn vgtbl to t and wtr t drnk. At the nd f tn d it w brvd tht they rd better nd fatter thn ll th ung men wh hd bn tng the rl rations. Daniel 1:8, 1112, 15
Thr lnt f ntf evidence confirming the benefits of a rdmnntl plant-based dt, frm th prevention f hrn d t a bttr-funtnng tm.
20 Afrn Vgn R
Tfu Curry With Mustard Grn
Makes 4 t 6 servings
Adtd by Th Chrnl' Lnn Chr Bennett frm "Afr-Vgn: Farm-Fresh African, Crbbn, nd Southern Flvr Rmxd," by Brnt Trr (Ten Speed Pr, 2014).
14 t 16 ounces xtr-frm tfu, wll-drnd nd ut nt 1/2-nh ub
3 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons xtr-vrgn lv l
3/4 tn fn sea salt, t taste
1/4 tn mutrd seeds
1 cup fnl dd wht onion
2 cloves garlic, mnd
1 tablespoon minced frh gngr
1 1/2 teaspoons grund turmr
1 1/2 tn cumin d, ttd and grund, about 2 tn ground
6 rdmm pods, ttd, thn d removed nd grund, a scant 1/4 tn ground
1/2 tn hl powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly grund blk r, t taste
1/4 teaspoon grl wdr
1/4 tn grund gngr
1 (14-ounce) can hd tmt wth ju
1 heaping tablespoon hunk nut buttr
1 jln chile, seeded nd mnd
3 cups vgtbl stock r brth
12 un mustard grn, tm removed, lv cut nt bt-z
2 b leaves
2 tablespoons hd lntr, for grnh
Intrutn: Preheat th vn t 450. Ln a rimmed bkng ht wth parchment r.
