Page 43 - IB Sept-Oct 2020

Health

FOOD REVOLUTIONARIES

By Samantha Magick

The founder of the Pacific Island Food Revolution says the
campaign’s work on changing food choices in the Pacific region
is “super relevant” in the current global coronavirus pan-
demic.
“Our project is about nutritional resilience and building
your immunity, which if you look at all the COVID concerns
and the red flags raised by health experts, it’s around those
who are vulnerable to underlying conditions. And we go right
to the underlying conditions,” says chef Robert Oliver. “The
whole end game for us is about creating resilient and robust
local food systems.”
The Pacific Island Food Revolution is most commonly associ- ing the use of local food in small resorts with another Austra-
ated with the competitive television contest that pits cooks lian project.
from Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa and Tonga against each other. Now Oliver says there are deep opportunities in the tourism
in its second season, it airs in 14 island nations to 6 million sector. “This is where ministries don’t collaborate closely
people per week according to Oliver, plus audiences in New enough. They have an agrotourism strategy in Fiji, but I don’t
Zealand, Australia, Asia and soon, on the BBC food channel. know how seriously it is taken. I would love it to be more
But it has many other elements online and on social media, front and centre. Vanuatu is about to lead the region in this
and through radio programs on local stations. by the way.”
Australian and New Zealand funding from the program, A$7 He says in Fiji’s tourism industry, there are many good
million for 2.5 years, has now run out, and Oliver says they chefs who want to cook with more local ingredients and
are looking for a new home. styles, “but they come up against the branding of a property”.
Initial evaluation of the program has shown some changes in “If you think about the impact of Fijian food on the [tour-
attitudes and choices. However Oliver stresses that addressing ism] menu; that’s prosperity for rural communities. The food
the underlying causes of the Pacific Islands’ devastating non- choice aspect around climate change is massive. If you’re
communicable diseases (NCD) problem, will take years. choosing to eat locally grown agriculture, you’re engaged in
A lab study with 800 students studying at the University climate change mitigation just through what you eat. And
of the South Pacific found that after watching clips from the it goes on and on. It sits across so many of the Sustainable
show, female participants were more likely to select healthy Development Goals.
local food (fish and miti) than the less healthy imported op- The Pacific Island Food Revolution is part of a wider move-
tion (burgers) than before watching the clips. The response ment. Beyond the Stars, which marries old and new tech-
for men did not change, and overall, the students were more nologies (including a virtual reality component) to teach Fijian
likely to vouch for fast food. A deeper study was conducted children about healthy food choices had some promising early
after season one, and the current series has been tweaked to results, albeit from a small sample of participants. While it
increase the focus on food that is fast and easy to prepare, looks unlikely to continue in Fiji at this stage, “we’re cur-
ingredient substitution, making recipes available online and rently in the process of bringing [it]… to New Caledonia and
highly relatable contestants. Wallis and Futuna,” says Tash Tan of S1T2, which devised the
Aya Vang from the Busara Centre for Behavioural Econom- program. Faith organisations have also taken action, with the
ics agrees that the coronavirus pandemic and local responses ‘Daniel diet’ which focuses on vegetarian-based menus, being
such as backyard farming, have given the program’s messages embraced by many in Fiji’s urban areas. A growing number of
added resonance. “In a lot of other countries, in particular cafes and restaurants are offering vegetarian or local food.
in Kenya where I am, we find that COVID makes people eat Meanwhile at established markets, and the new ones that
less healthy because it becomes largely about staple food have sprung up post COVID, food offerings using local ingredi-
like rice. [But] it seems like what we are finding in Pacific ents prepared imaginatively, are the star sellers.
countries is more of a return to what PIFR is about. So we As for the future of the Pacific Island Food Revolution, Oli-
found that a lot of people…the ones who said they were eat- ver is looking to different formats, partnerships and countries.
ing really healthily and in general felt healthy, were the ones “The revolution will suit the times,” he says. “We need to
oftentimes who did backyard farming as well.” keep going. I think it would be devastating if we stopped now.
One legacy of the program is that participants from season It would be depressing for the communities that are engaged
one are now furthering the cause in their own communities. In with us, not just us.”
Tonga, a program feeding elderly people in Nuku’alofa is in its
early stages, while in Vanuatu, winner Leo Vusilai is champion- editor@islandsbusiness.com

Islands Business, September/October 2020 43