Building resilient diet by re-valuing food

Presentation Building resilient diet by re-valuing food, by  Harjas Kaur, MSc (Island(er)s at the Helm).

The push for food security with the risk of supply chain getting disrupted is increasing with the storms St. Eustatius has to weather during hurricane season. But it may not be enough reasoning for people to adopt backyard farming.

My research in the island instead looked at the already established food diets and the value associated with food which is dictated by “fueling” rather than “eating”. The experiment with food starts at a young age as it's not solely a product to be consumed but has a lifecycle of its own that enriches our diet, health, and care for each other. Hence, this research posits that experimenting as a collective with how resilient diets can be built with renewed value needs to be considered by the society in large for processes of production and distribution to change. 

Harjas Kaur Murar is a researcher working within the ‘Islander(s) at the Helm’ project. She has done ethnographic research with the community of Saba and St. Eustatius. The research aims to deliver on the culture heritage and environmental concerns in the changing climate. Harjas has completed her Bachelors in Political Science from India, and recently did her Masters in Development Studies from Erasmus University Rotterdam majoring in Agrarian, Food, and Environment Studies. She has worked with the fisherwomen in Jeju Island, South Korea for her Master’s thesis exploring the new identity forming amongst the new generation of fisherwomen. She is interested in working with local communities to learn about their intergenerational knowledge systems, impact on livelihoods, and other intersecting issues through climate change.