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How the Smart Food Concept Can Lead to the Transformation of Food Systems and Combat Malnutrition: Different Approaches in Africa, Globally, and a Case Study from Myanmar with Lessons Learnt for Creating Behavior Change in Diets

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Relation http://oar.icrisat.org/11629/
https://doi.org/10.1159/000507494
doi:10.1159/000507494
 
Title How the Smart Food Concept Can Lead to the Transformation of Food Systems and Combat Malnutrition: Different Approaches in Africa, Globally, and a Case Study from Myanmar with Lessons Learnt for Creating Behavior Change in Diets
 
Creator Diama, A
Anitha, S
Kane-Potaka, J
Htut, T T
Jalagam, A
Kumar, P
Worou, O N
Tabo, R
 
Subject Smart Foods
Food and Nutrition
 
Description Some of the biggest global issues are poor diets, environmental concerns, and poverty. To tackle malnutrition,
fast-growing lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, environmental concerns like climate change,
land and water scarcity, and poverty, we need to incorporate dietary and on-farm diversity. These issues
should be treated in unison, but also with more holistic solutions. Mainstreaming “traditional” Smart
Foods back as staples across Africa and Asia is part of the “Smart Food” approach. Smart Foods are food
items that fulfill the criteria of being good for you, the planet, and the farmer. Sorghum and millet were
selected as the first Smart Foods and a participatory fun-filled approach was adopted to create awareness,
to develop culturally acceptable products, and to bring about behavior change to improve adoption,
dietary diversity, and nutritional status. Smart Food piloted these activities in Myanmar to understand
its potential on the consumer market. Smart Food was promoted in different countries through
social media competitions in Mali, cooking shows in Kenya and India, recipe development by popular
chefs in Paris and London, as well as school feeding programs in Tanzania and India, and an international
millet festival in Niger. As a case study in Myanmar, we compared two approaches to introduce
Smart Food – one which directly introduces new products and one which takes a culturally sensitive
participatory and inclusive approach. The later approach resulted in the development of 27 recipes, in
contrast with the former approach, which accepted only 3 of the 13 products tested. The 27 products developed locally exhibited superior nutrient values compared to usual rice porridge. The Smart Food initiative is demonstrating the potential to make a difference in society and for the environment, thus contributing to a major impact on leading global issues such as dietary diversity, improved nutritional status, and adapting to climate change.
 
Publisher Karger Publishers
 
Date 2020-10
 
Type Article
PeerReviewed
 
Identifier Diama, A and Anitha, S and Kane-Potaka, J and Htut, T T and Jalagam, A and Kumar, P and Worou, O N and Tabo, R (2020) How the Smart Food Concept Can Lead to the Transformation of Food Systems and Combat Malnutrition: Different Approaches in Africa, Globally, and a Case Study from Myanmar with Lessons Learnt for Creating Behavior Change in Diets. Hidden Hunger and the Transformation of Food Systems, 121. pp. 149-158. ISSN 0084-2230