As food science and technology continue to advance, so do opportunities to elevate nutrition and quality of life for communities. One impactful example of this is indigenizing food science, the process of integrating traditional food knowledge and nutrition into modern food systems, helping preserve cultural heritage and promote economic development.
When put into practice, this can help indigenous farmers limit food waste by incorporating technology to preserve or process raw materials.
That’s just the type of project a team from Montana State University, led by Dr. Wan-Yuan Kuo and graduate researchers Edwin Allan and Chidimma Ifeh, launched in partnership with farmers in Senegal, West Africa. The goal: to turn underutilized natural resources into a nutritious baked good that farmers could produce and sell, helping improve the local economy and environment.
In this BAKED in Science episode, host Mark Floerke talks with this team and Aliou Ndiaye, who played an influential role in convincing farmers to change their practices and work on value-added products instead of just selling raw materials and facing 40% losses.
The group goes over:
- Indigenizing food science
- The need for food technology and science
- Natural resources in Senegal and their potential
- Food waste and solutions
- Formulation challenges for this project
- Creating a community in the process
Learn more about the project: www.montana.edu/foodprodevlab/
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