All things considered, should what West Africans eat move from being a private, state level issue to falling under the lens of global scrutiny, and into the scope of a world health concern?
Dissecting the
causes underlying the current Ebola epidemic in West Africa can be complicated. A number of factors may be responsible for the outbreak,
ranging from: poor education, severe socio-economic conditions,
mistrust of authorities, and overall incompetence in implementing a
comprehensive public health policy. But ever since Ebola reached the Western world, more attention has been placed
on the public health and policy concerns of the outbreak, leaving the
cultural aspects largely ignored. In particular, the practice of
bushmeat eating may be a more fundamental reason for the outbreak
than failure to implement proper damage control after the fact [1].
 |
| From: http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2014/07/daily-chart-22 |
Bushmeat is abundant in West Africa, and provides an inexpensive source of protein for many people living there. Compared to raising livestock, or growing plants, it is more reliable as a staple, in part due to its large supply and constant availability year round. But in spite of being a good, cheap source of protein, bushmeat (especially from fruit bats and monkeys) poses a significant risk for Ebola and other zoonotic pathogens. Once a host is infected, these pathogens can be transmitted to humans when hunting, handling or preparing them for consumption. Fruit bats especially are especially high risk, as they can host more pathogens than any other source of bushmeat, often without showing symptoms [2, 3].
West African
governments have tried to address the issue of bushmeat consumption
through policy and awareness, but thus far this has been ineffective
at discouraging the practice. It's too pervasive. The demand for
bushmeat is two-fold: affluent individuals desire it as a delicacy,
and poorer individuals prefer it as an alternative source of protein
compared to 'traditional' livestock which may be more expensive to
purchase or rear. With proper education and awareness, it
is foreseeable that the demand for bushmeat as a delicacy may be
reduced; but what can be done about the demand for bushmeat due to a
lack of good protein sources? [4]
Back in September,
Professor Chukwunenye Anene of Anambra State University in Nigeria,
proposed that Nigerians switch to entomophagy – the practice of
eating insects - instead of relying on bush meat as a main source of
protein. The suggestion was sharply criticized by locals, but I
think he makes an important point. For decades, the U.N. Food and
Agriculture Organization has been advocating entomophagy to combat
world hunger in a sustainable way. In their 2013 publication Edible
insects: Future prospects for food and feed security, the FAO
stated that with the world population expected to grow to 9 billion
people by 2050, current food production will need to almost double.
However, the food production status quo is not sustainable due to
overfishing, climate change, water shortages and scarce land.
According to the book, edible insects can not only help address the
increasing demand for sustainable food sources, but also provide
developing nations with a cheap source of food and feed with high
nutritional value [5].
 |
| From: Edible insects: Future prospects for food and feed security |
 |
| From: Edible insects: Future prospects for food and feed security |
But what about risk of infection related to hunting, handling or consuming insects? Since insects are more taxonomically distant from humans than mammals or birds, this makes them less likely to transmit diseases such as Ebola, Bird flu or Mad cow disease. The FAO acknowledges the need for more research to quantify potential health risks, but the prima facie case for entomophagy seems to be a promising solution to the demand for cheap, sustainable protein sources in developing nations.
Prof. Anene's
suggestion that Nigerian's turn to insects rather than bushmeat, as
an alternative source of protein, was met with overwhelming scorn
from the Nigerian community. But given that bushmeat is popular among
educated and affluent West Africans, I wonder if the best line of
approach would be to first target them: being more educated could
mean that they would be more likely to appreciate the urgent need for
alternatives to bushmeat, and less likely to object to it based on
perceiving it as revolting. Really, is eating insects any more off
putting than eating bushmeat, or livestock for that matter? It's all
arbitrary. Also, those in the poorer segments of society who have
aspire to be more affluent, may sometimes try to mimic affluent
lifestyles. Therefore, targeting the affluent minority may be a good
strategy for bootstrapping entomophagy in societies where attitudes
towards it are predominantly negative.
All things
considered, should what West Africans eat move from being a private,
state level issue to falling under the lens of global scrutiny, and
into the scope of a world health concern?
Thanks for reading!
Thanks for reading!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Linked Content:
1. The Fight Against Ebola (Youtube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANUI4uT3xJI
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/11/12/04-0789_article
3. Why do Bats Transmit so many Diseases like Ebola? (Youtube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao0dqJvH4a0
4. An Analysis of
Socioeconomics of bushmeat hunting at major hunting sites in Uganda (pdf)
http://www.wcs.org/~/media/Files/pdfs/WCS%20Working%20Paper%20No%20%2038%20%20%20Socioeconomics%20of%20bushmeat%20hunting%20in%20Uganda.ashx
5. Edible insects: Future prospects for food and feed security (pdf)
http://www.fao.org/docrep/018/i3253e/i3253e.pdf
6. A Case Study, Ento: The Art of Eating Insects
http://www.core77.com/blog/case_study/case_study_ento_the_art_of_eating_insects_21841.asp
http://www.fao.org/docrep/018/i3253e/i3253e.pdf
6. A Case Study, Ento: The Art of Eating Insects
http://www.core77.com/blog/case_study/case_study_ento_the_art_of_eating_insects_21841.asp
