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Andrea Pieroni trained in medical botany at the University of Pisa, Italy, and earned his doctorate from the University of Bonn in Germany. He has worked as a research assistant at the University of London (2000–2003) and as a tenured lecturer and, later, as a senior lecturer at the University of Bradford in northern England (2003–2009). Since 2009 he has been a Professor of Ethnobotany at the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo. He has served as the Vice-President and President of the International Society of Ethnobiology (2008–2010), and he is the founder and Chief Editor of the Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine and sits on the boards of diverse international peer-reviewed journals. His research focuses on the spatial and temporal dynamics of wild plant use and local food heritage in the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and surrounding regions, especially within minority groups and diasporas and along cultural and geographical boundaries.
The safeguarding and promotion of food heritage are often considered as a possible way for achieving social and cultural sustainability objectives. This literature review investigates some of the dynamics underlying the heritagisation of food and explores the risks of this process. It focuses mainly on anthropological, geographical, and sociological publications. Overall, it aims to shed light on the strengths and limitations of food heritagisation regarding the improvement of the socio-cultural sustainability of the food system. The analysis highlights cross-cutting risks, namely the omission of tangible and intangible elements of the local food system, and the exclusion of key stakeholders from the recognition and institutionalisation of food heritage. The review highlights the strict interdependence between intangible and tangible elements during food heritagisation, and assesses how local and global interactions can activate and shape this process. It sheds light on the need to pay more attention to the factors, actors, and relationships underpinning the emergence and recognition of food and food-related elements as part of the local heritage.
Dauro Mattia Zocchi; Michele Filippo Fontefrancesco; Paolo Corvo; Andrea Pieroni. Recognising, Safeguarding, and Promoting Food Heritage: Challenges and Prospects for the Future of Sustainable Food Systems. Sustainability 2021, 13, 9510 .
AMA StyleDauro Mattia Zocchi, Michele Filippo Fontefrancesco, Paolo Corvo, Andrea Pieroni. Recognising, Safeguarding, and Promoting Food Heritage: Challenges and Prospects for the Future of Sustainable Food Systems. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (17):9510.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDauro Mattia Zocchi; Michele Filippo Fontefrancesco; Paolo Corvo; Andrea Pieroni. 2021. "Recognising, Safeguarding, and Promoting Food Heritage: Challenges and Prospects for the Future of Sustainable Food Systems." Sustainability 13, no. 17: 9510.
The foraging and consumption of wild food plants is a long-standing tradition in many parts of the world and their importance in promoting food security has become more widely debated in recent years. The current study aimed to document, analyze, and interpret the traditional knowledge of non-cultivated vegetables among four Pathan tribes (Alisher Khel, Hadarzai, Haji Khel, and Umarzai) living in the Gadoon Valley, Swabi District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, NW Pakistan, and to evaluate how these practices vary among the considered tribal communities. A total of 104 informants were interviewed via a semi-structured, open-ended questionnaire and group discussions. The field survey was conducted from October 2018 to November 2020. Information about local names, growth habit, used plant parts, food/cooking details, medicinal perceptions, availability season, and market prices were collected. The field survey recorded 51 non-cultivated vegetables belonging to 24 botanical families, for which the frequently used plant parts included young leaves, stems, and flowers. The greatest number of use reports was recorded for Colocasia and the highest cultural index value was recorded for Rumex dentatus; the dominant botanical families were Asteraceae and Fabaceae (six species each). Seven species were found to be sold at local and regional markets. Cross-cultural analysis among the four considered tribes showed that the largest number of species was reported by members of the Hadarzai and Umarzai tribes, although most of the quoted wild vegetables were homogenously gathered among all considered communities, with some more idiosyncratic plant uses among the Umarzai group, who have likely been less affected by the erosion of traditional knowledge or possibly have had less access to traded cultivated vegetables. The novelty of the data was assessed by comparing it with the previously published wild food ethnobotanical literature of Pakistan, which showed fifteen new wild vegetables not yet reported in the NW of the country. The recorded food biocultural heritage should be seriously considered in future local development projects aimed at fostering environmental sustainability and food security.
Sheharyar Khan; Wahid Hussain; Sulaiman; Sikandar Shah; Hidayat Hussain; Ahmed Altyar; Mohamed Ashour; Andrea Pieroni. Overcoming Tribal Boundaries: The Biocultural Heritage of Foraging and Cooking Wild Vegetables among Four Pathan Groups in the Gadoon Valley, NW Pakistan. Biology 2021, 10, 537 .
AMA StyleSheharyar Khan, Wahid Hussain, Sulaiman, Sikandar Shah, Hidayat Hussain, Ahmed Altyar, Mohamed Ashour, Andrea Pieroni. Overcoming Tribal Boundaries: The Biocultural Heritage of Foraging and Cooking Wild Vegetables among Four Pathan Groups in the Gadoon Valley, NW Pakistan. Biology. 2021; 10 (6):537.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSheharyar Khan; Wahid Hussain; Sulaiman; Sikandar Shah; Hidayat Hussain; Ahmed Altyar; Mohamed Ashour; Andrea Pieroni. 2021. "Overcoming Tribal Boundaries: The Biocultural Heritage of Foraging and Cooking Wild Vegetables among Four Pathan Groups in the Gadoon Valley, NW Pakistan." Biology 10, no. 6: 537.
Traditional ecological knowledge, linguistic, and sociocultural perspectives are key contributors to environmental sustainability. Therefore, it is essential to identify and preserve this biocultural heritage, especially that of indigenous communities and minorities. We conducted an ethnobotanical survey to document the plant species used by the Balti and Shina communities living in the buffer zone of Deosai National Park (DNP), western Himalayas, Pakistan. A combination of random and purposive sampling techniques was adapted, targeting middle- and old-aged informants. A total of 46 semi-structured interviews were conducted and the gathered data were evaluated using relative frequency of citation (RFC) and through comparison with the ethnomedicinal literature. In total, 47 medicinal plant species belonging to 42 genera and 23 families were recorded. Baltis and Shinas cited 42 and 38 plant species, respectively, that were used to treat various diseases. About 60% of species were common among both communities, but 27.7% and 12.8% were exclusive to Baltis and Shinas, respectively. Considerable heterogeneity was noted in vernacular names, plant part(s) used, preparation, and administration. Ribes alpestre, Aconitum violaceum, Delphinium brunonianum, Thymus linearis, and Swertia petiolata were highly utilized species having RFCs > 50. In addition, 46% of medicinal uses, specifically that of Allardia tomentosa, A. tridactylites, Jurinea dolomiaea, and Gallium boreale, were reported for the first time from the region. Cross-cultural analysis revealed sociocultural gaps between both groups. Relatively, Baltis retained more ethnomedicinal knowledge and their traditional medicinal system is more closely associated with traditional Tibetan medicine. Generally, Balti and Shina communities retain substantial biocultural and ethnological diversity, which has been reflected in the present study. Our findings underline the importance and need for sustainable utilization of natural resources, specifically the plant species of this region. However, an in-depth ethnobotanical investigation may underpin the holistic comparative medical ethnobotany of the entire region.
Zaheer Abbas; Shazia Kousar; Muhammad Aziz; Andrea Pieroni; Ali Aldosari; Rainer Bussmann; Ghulam Raza; Arshad Abbasi. Comparative Assessment of Medicinal Plant Utilization among Balti and Shina Communities in the Periphery of Deosai National Park, Pakistan. Biology 2021, 10, 434 .
AMA StyleZaheer Abbas, Shazia Kousar, Muhammad Aziz, Andrea Pieroni, Ali Aldosari, Rainer Bussmann, Ghulam Raza, Arshad Abbasi. Comparative Assessment of Medicinal Plant Utilization among Balti and Shina Communities in the Periphery of Deosai National Park, Pakistan. Biology. 2021; 10 (5):434.
Chicago/Turabian StyleZaheer Abbas; Shazia Kousar; Muhammad Aziz; Andrea Pieroni; Ali Aldosari; Rainer Bussmann; Ghulam Raza; Arshad Abbasi. 2021. "Comparative Assessment of Medicinal Plant Utilization among Balti and Shina Communities in the Periphery of Deosai National Park, Pakistan." Biology 10, no. 5: 434.
Due to global change and the migration crisis both needing rapid attention, there has been growing debate about the drivers of change in the diet of migrants. Our study aimed to evaluate the consequences of forced resettlement on local ecological knowledge related to wild food plants among forcefully resettled Yaghnobi people in Tajikistan. We conducted 49 semi-structured in-depth interviews and recorded 27 wild food taxa and five unidentified folk taxa used by Yaghnobis and Tajiks in the villages surrounding Yaghnob Valley (including families ressetteled from Yaghnob Valley) in central Tajikitsan. The comparision between the two considered groups showed a high level of Tajikisation among Yaghnobis, both those who live alongside Tajiks as well as those living separately. The few families that still have distinct Yaghnobi plant uses are the ones which were given the opportunity to choose the spot in which to relocate and still visit the Yaghnob Valley regularly. On the basis of our study, we suggest that affording a choice of where to relocate is better than no choice, as the loss of motivation also affects the use of wild food plants. Given the pressure of the possible relocation of many groups of people in the light of global change, we suggest focusing efforts on studying similar cases in order to minimize the damage caused to people by relocation. The trauma of forced relocation, even just a few kilometers away, directly or indirectly affects wild food plant use and with this the food security of the community.
Renata Sõukand; Julia Prakofjewa; Andrea Pieroni. The trauma of no-choice: Wild food ethnobotany in Yaghnobi and Tajik villages, Varzob Valley, Tajikistan. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 2021, 1 -13.
AMA StyleRenata Sõukand, Julia Prakofjewa, Andrea Pieroni. The trauma of no-choice: Wild food ethnobotany in Yaghnobi and Tajik villages, Varzob Valley, Tajikistan. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution. 2021; ():1-13.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRenata Sõukand; Julia Prakofjewa; Andrea Pieroni. 2021. "The trauma of no-choice: Wild food ethnobotany in Yaghnobi and Tajik villages, Varzob Valley, Tajikistan." Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution , no. : 1-13.
The tribal belt of the Hindu Kush mountains is famous for its unique culture, ethnography, wild food plants, food systems, and traditional knowledge. People in this region gather wild plants and plant parts using them directly or in traditional cuisine, or sell them in local markets. However, there is a huge lack of documentation of the food system, particularly that related to wild food plants (WFP). In the current study, we focus on the uses and contributions of WFPs in the traditional tribal food system of the Hindu Kush valleys along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border. Ethnobotanical data were gathered through questionnaire surveys of 84 informants, including 69 men and 15 women, belonging to 21 different villages of the chosen area. In tribal societies men and women rarely mix and thus very few women took part in the surveys. We documented 63 WFP species belonging to 34 botanical families, of which 27 were used as vegetables, 24 as fruits, six in different kinds of chutneys (starters), and six as fresh food species. Fruits were the most used part (41%), followed by leaves (24%), aerial parts (24%), seeds (7%), stems (3%), and young inflorescences (1%). The reported uses of Carthamus oxyacantha, Pinus roxburghii seeds, and Marsilea quadrifolia leaves are novel for the gastronomy of Pakistan. The results reveal that WFPs provide a significant contribution to local food systems and play a role in addressing human nutritional needs, which are usually not met through farming practices. The tribal peoples of the Hindu Kush use WFPs for their nutritional value, but also as a cultural practice—an inseparable component of the tribal community’s lifestyle. This important traditional knowledge about the gathering and consumption of WFPs, however, is eroding at an alarming rate among younger generations due to the introduction of fast-food, modernization, and globalization. Therefore, appropriate strategies are imperative not only to safeguard traditional plants and food knowledge and practices, as well as the cultural heritage attached to them, but also to foster food security and thus public healthcare via local wild foods in the region.
Abdullah Abdullah; Shujaul Khan; Andrea Pieroni; Aminul Haq; Zahoor Haq; Zeeshan Ahmad; Shazia Sakhi; Abeer Hashem; Al-Bandari Al-Arjani; Abdulaziz Alqarawi; Elsayed Abd_Allah. A Comprehensive Appraisal of the Wild Food Plants and Food System of Tribal Cultures in the Hindu Kush Mountain Range; a Way Forward for Balancing Human Nutrition and Food Security. Sustainability 2021, 13, 5258 .
AMA StyleAbdullah Abdullah, Shujaul Khan, Andrea Pieroni, Aminul Haq, Zahoor Haq, Zeeshan Ahmad, Shazia Sakhi, Abeer Hashem, Al-Bandari Al-Arjani, Abdulaziz Alqarawi, Elsayed Abd_Allah. A Comprehensive Appraisal of the Wild Food Plants and Food System of Tribal Cultures in the Hindu Kush Mountain Range; a Way Forward for Balancing Human Nutrition and Food Security. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (9):5258.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAbdullah Abdullah; Shujaul Khan; Andrea Pieroni; Aminul Haq; Zahoor Haq; Zeeshan Ahmad; Shazia Sakhi; Abeer Hashem; Al-Bandari Al-Arjani; Abdulaziz Alqarawi; Elsayed Abd_Allah. 2021. "A Comprehensive Appraisal of the Wild Food Plants and Food System of Tribal Cultures in the Hindu Kush Mountain Range; a Way Forward for Balancing Human Nutrition and Food Security." Sustainability 13, no. 9: 5258.
The ethnobiology of wild foods has garnered increasing attention in food studies in recent years, since traditional foodways in less urbanized and globalized areas of the world are sometimes still based on often neglected or even largely unknown wild plant, animal, fungal, microorganism, and mineral ingredients, as well as their food products and culinary preparations
Andrea Pieroni. Wild Foods: A Topic for Food Pre-History and History or a Crucial Component of Future Sustainable and Just Food Systems? Foods 2021, 10, 827 .
AMA StyleAndrea Pieroni. Wild Foods: A Topic for Food Pre-History and History or a Crucial Component of Future Sustainable and Just Food Systems? Foods. 2021; 10 (4):827.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAndrea Pieroni. 2021. "Wild Foods: A Topic for Food Pre-History and History or a Crucial Component of Future Sustainable and Just Food Systems?" Foods 10, no. 4: 827.
An ethnobotanical field study focusing on traditional wild food botanical taxa was carried out in Kaniguram, South Waziristan, Pakistan, among Ormur (or Burki or Baraki) peoples, which represent a diasporic minority group, as well as among the surrounding Pashtuns. Through sixty semi-structured interviews, fifty-two wild food plants (taxa) were recorded, and they were primarily used raw as snacks and cooked as vegetables. Comparative analysis found a remarkable overlap of the quoted plant uses between the two studied groups, which may reflect complex socio-cultural adaptations Ormur speakers faced. Ormur people retain a rich knowledge of anthropogenic weeds and the phytonyms reveal important commonalities with Persian and Kurdish phytonyms, which may indicate their possible horticultural-driven human ecological origin from the Middle East. Some novel or rare food uses of Cirsium arvense, Nannorrhops ritchiana, Periploca aphylla, Perovskia atriplicifolia, Viscum album, Oxalis corniculata and Withania coagulans were documented. Since the Ormuri language represents a moribund language, still spoken by only a few thousand speakers in NW Pakistan and Afghanistan, it is recommended that the traditional bio-cultural and gastronomical heritage of this minority group be appropriately protected and bolstered in future rural development programs.
Muhammad Aziz; Zahid Ullah; Mohamed Al-Fatimi; Matteo De Chiara; Renata Sõukand; Andrea Pieroni. On the Trail of an Ancient Middle Eastern Ethnobotany: Traditional Wild Food Plants Gathered by Ormuri Speakers in Kaniguram, NW Pakistan. Biology 2021, 10, 302 .
AMA StyleMuhammad Aziz, Zahid Ullah, Mohamed Al-Fatimi, Matteo De Chiara, Renata Sõukand, Andrea Pieroni. On the Trail of an Ancient Middle Eastern Ethnobotany: Traditional Wild Food Plants Gathered by Ormuri Speakers in Kaniguram, NW Pakistan. Biology. 2021; 10 (4):302.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMuhammad Aziz; Zahid Ullah; Mohamed Al-Fatimi; Matteo De Chiara; Renata Sõukand; Andrea Pieroni. 2021. "On the Trail of an Ancient Middle Eastern Ethnobotany: Traditional Wild Food Plants Gathered by Ormuri Speakers in Kaniguram, NW Pakistan." Biology 10, no. 4: 302.
The lockdown caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has created a situation in which food availability is affected not only by the availability of money but also by the availability of food itself. On the basis of five pillars, including 1) supporting community-based farming, 2) defending small firms, 3) developing narratives on the high value of local food,4) encouraging subsistence gardening and foraging in the wild, and 5) promoting local ecological and gastronomic knowledge, the article points a way forward to attain greater sustainability and resilience of safe food chains that starts with reassessing the relevance of local food systems.
Renata Sõukand; Raivo Kalle; Michele Filippo Fontefrancesco; Andrea Pieroni. Building a safety buffer for European food security: the role of small-scale food production and local ecological and gastronomic knowledge in light of COVID-19. Open Research Europe 2021, 1, 1 .
AMA StyleRenata Sõukand, Raivo Kalle, Michele Filippo Fontefrancesco, Andrea Pieroni. Building a safety buffer for European food security: the role of small-scale food production and local ecological and gastronomic knowledge in light of COVID-19. Open Research Europe. 2021; 1 ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRenata Sõukand; Raivo Kalle; Michele Filippo Fontefrancesco; Andrea Pieroni. 2021. "Building a safety buffer for European food security: the role of small-scale food production and local ecological and gastronomic knowledge in light of COVID-19." Open Research Europe 1, no. : 1.
Recent ethnobotanical studies have raised the hypothesis that religious affiliation can, in certain circumstances, influence the evolution of the use of wild food plants, given that it shapes kinship relations and vertical transmission of traditional/local environmental knowledge. The local population living in Jhelum District, Punjab, Pakistan comprises very diverse religious and linguistic groups. A field study about the uses of wild food plants was conducted in the district. This field survey included 120 semi-structured interviews in 27 villages, focusing on six religious groups (Sunni and Shia Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, and Ahmadis). We documented a total of 77 wild food plants and one mushroom species which were used by the local population mainly as cooked vegetables and raw snacks. The cross-religious comparison among six groups showed a high homogeneity of use among two Muslim groups (Shias and Sunnis), while the other four religious groups showed less extensive, yet diverse uses, staying within the variety of taxa used by Islamic groups. No specific plant cultural markers (i.e., plants gathered only by one community) could be identified, although there were a limited number of group-specific uses of the shared plants. Moreover, the field study showed erosion of the knowledge among the non-Muslim groups, which were more engaged in urban occupations and possibly underwent stronger cultural adaption to a modern lifestyle. The recorded traditional knowledge could be used to guide future development programs aimed at fostering food security and the valorization of the local bio-cultural heritage.
Muhammad Majeed; Khizar Bhatti; Andrea Pieroni; Renata Sõukand; Rainer Bussmann; Arshad Khan; Sunbal Chaudhari; Muhammad Aziz; Muhammad Amjad. Gathered Wild Food Plants among Diverse Religious Groups in Jhelum District, Punjab, Pakistan. Foods 2021, 10, 594 .
AMA StyleMuhammad Majeed, Khizar Bhatti, Andrea Pieroni, Renata Sõukand, Rainer Bussmann, Arshad Khan, Sunbal Chaudhari, Muhammad Aziz, Muhammad Amjad. Gathered Wild Food Plants among Diverse Religious Groups in Jhelum District, Punjab, Pakistan. Foods. 2021; 10 (3):594.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMuhammad Majeed; Khizar Bhatti; Andrea Pieroni; Renata Sõukand; Rainer Bussmann; Arshad Khan; Sunbal Chaudhari; Muhammad Aziz; Muhammad Amjad. 2021. "Gathered Wild Food Plants among Diverse Religious Groups in Jhelum District, Punjab, Pakistan." Foods 10, no. 3: 594.
The issue of foraging for wild food plants among migrants and relocated communities is an important one in environmental studies, especially in order to understand how human societies rearrange their practices linked to nature and how they adapt to new socioecological systems. This paper addresses the complexity of Traditional/Local Environmental Knowledge (LEK) changes associated to wild vegetables and herbs across four different groups of Afghan refugees living in Mansehra District, NW Pakistan, since 1985. Via interviews with eighty study participants, forty-eight wild vegetables and herbs were recorded, representing both the past and present wild plant gastronomic heritage. The majority of the quoted wild plant ingredients were only remembered and no longer actively used, thus suggesting an important erosion of LEK. Moreover, the number of wild vegetables and herbs currently used by Afghan Pashtuns engaged in farming activities is much higher than those reported by the other groups. The findings indicate that practiced LEK, i.e., knowledge that is continuously kept alive via constant contact with the natural environment, is essential for the resilience of the biocultural heritage, which is, however, also influenced by the rearrangement of social life adopted by refugees after relocation.
Ajmal Manduzai; Arshad Abbasi; Shujaul Khan; Abdullah Abdullah; Julia Prakofjewa; Mohammad Amini; Muhammad Amjad; Kevin Cianfaglione; Michele Fontefrancesco; Renata Soukand; Andrea Pieroni. The Importance of Keeping Alive Sustainable Foraging Practices: Wild Vegetables and Herbs Gathered by Afghan Refugees Living in Mansehra District, Pakistan. Sustainability 2021, 13, 1500 .
AMA StyleAjmal Manduzai, Arshad Abbasi, Shujaul Khan, Abdullah Abdullah, Julia Prakofjewa, Mohammad Amini, Muhammad Amjad, Kevin Cianfaglione, Michele Fontefrancesco, Renata Soukand, Andrea Pieroni. The Importance of Keeping Alive Sustainable Foraging Practices: Wild Vegetables and Herbs Gathered by Afghan Refugees Living in Mansehra District, Pakistan. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (3):1500.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAjmal Manduzai; Arshad Abbasi; Shujaul Khan; Abdullah Abdullah; Julia Prakofjewa; Mohammad Amini; Muhammad Amjad; Kevin Cianfaglione; Michele Fontefrancesco; Renata Soukand; Andrea Pieroni. 2021. "The Importance of Keeping Alive Sustainable Foraging Practices: Wild Vegetables and Herbs Gathered by Afghan Refugees Living in Mansehra District, Pakistan." Sustainability 13, no. 3: 1500.
Local cuisine is an important reservoir of local ecological knowledge shaped by a variety of socio-cultural, economic, and ecological factors. The aim was to document and compare the current use of wild and semi-cultivated plant food taxa by Romanians living in Romania and Ukraine. These two groups share similar ecological conditions and historically belonged to the same province, but were divided in the 1940s by the creation of a state border. We conducted 60 semi-structured interviews with rural residents. The contemporary use of 46 taxa (plus 5 cultivated taxa with uncommon uses), belonging to 20 families, for food consumption were recorded. Romanians in Romanian Bukovina used 27 taxa belonging to 15 families, while in Ukraine they used 40 taxa belonging to 18 families. Jams, sarmale, homemade beer, and the homemade alcoholic drink “socată” are used more by Romanians in Southern Bukovina, while tea, soups, and birch sap are used more in Northern Bukovina. We discuss the strong influence of socio-political scenarios on the use of wild food plants. Cross-ethnic marriages, as well as markets and women’s networks, i.e., “neighbors do so”, may have had a great impact on changes in wild food use. In addition, rapid changes in lifestyle (open work market and social migration) are other explanations for the abandonment of wild edible plants.
Nataliya Stryamets; Giulia Mattalia; Andrea Pieroni; Ihor Khomyn; Renata Sõukand. Dining Tables Divided by a Border: The Effect of Socio-Political Scenarios on Local Ecological Knowledge of Romanians Living in Ukrainian and Romanian Bukovina. Foods 2021, 10, 126 .
AMA StyleNataliya Stryamets, Giulia Mattalia, Andrea Pieroni, Ihor Khomyn, Renata Sõukand. Dining Tables Divided by a Border: The Effect of Socio-Political Scenarios on Local Ecological Knowledge of Romanians Living in Ukrainian and Romanian Bukovina. Foods. 2021; 10 (1):126.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNataliya Stryamets; Giulia Mattalia; Andrea Pieroni; Ihor Khomyn; Renata Sõukand. 2021. "Dining Tables Divided by a Border: The Effect of Socio-Political Scenarios on Local Ecological Knowledge of Romanians Living in Ukrainian and Romanian Bukovina." Foods 10, no. 1: 126.
Household responses to COVID-19 in different corners of the world represent the primary health care that communities have relied on for preventing and mitigating symptoms. During a very complex and confusing time, in which public health services in multiple countries have been completely overwhelmed, and in some cases even collapsed, these first-line household responses have been quintessential for building physical, mental, and social resilience, and for improving individual and community health. This editorial discusses the outcomes of a rapid-response preliminary survey during the first phase of the pandemic among social and community contacts in five metropolises heavily affected by the COVID-19 health crisis (Wuhan, Milan, Madrid, New York, and Rio de Janeiro), and in twelve rural areas or countries initially less affected by the pandemic (Appalachia, Jamaica, Bolivia, Romania, Belarus, Lithuania, Poland, Georgia, Turkey, Pakistan, Cambodia, and South Africa). We summarized our perspectives as 17 case studies, observing that people have relied primarily on teas and spices (“food-medicines”) and that there exist clear international plant favorites, popularized by various new media. Urban diasporas and rural households seem to have repurposed homemade plant-based remedies that they use in normal times for treating the flu and other respiratory symptoms or that they simply consider healthy foods. The most remarkable shift in many areas has been the increased consumption of ginger and garlic, followed by onion, turmeric, and lemon. Our preliminary inventory of food medicines serves as a baseline for future systematic ethnobotanical studies and aims to inspire in-depth research on how use patterns of plant-based foods and beverages, both “traditional” and “new”, are changing during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Our reflections in this editorial call attention to the importance of ethnobiology, ethnomedicine, and ethnogastronomy research into domestic health care strategies for improving community health.
Andrea Pieroni; Ina Vandebroek; Julia Prakofjewa; Rainer W. Bussmann; Narel Y. Paniagua-Zambrana; Alfred Maroyi; Luisa Torri; Dauro M. Zocchi; Ashley T. K. Dam; Shujaul M. Khan; Habib Ahmad; Yeter Yeşil; Ryan Huish; Manuel Pardo-De-Santayana; Andrei Mocan; Xuebo Hu; Odara Boscolo; Renata Sõukand. Taming the pandemic? The importance of homemade plant-based foods and beverages as community responses to COVID-19. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2020, 16, 1 -9.
AMA StyleAndrea Pieroni, Ina Vandebroek, Julia Prakofjewa, Rainer W. Bussmann, Narel Y. Paniagua-Zambrana, Alfred Maroyi, Luisa Torri, Dauro M. Zocchi, Ashley T. K. Dam, Shujaul M. Khan, Habib Ahmad, Yeter Yeşil, Ryan Huish, Manuel Pardo-De-Santayana, Andrei Mocan, Xuebo Hu, Odara Boscolo, Renata Sõukand. Taming the pandemic? The importance of homemade plant-based foods and beverages as community responses to COVID-19. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 2020; 16 (1):1-9.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAndrea Pieroni; Ina Vandebroek; Julia Prakofjewa; Rainer W. Bussmann; Narel Y. Paniagua-Zambrana; Alfred Maroyi; Luisa Torri; Dauro M. Zocchi; Ashley T. K. Dam; Shujaul M. Khan; Habib Ahmad; Yeter Yeşil; Ryan Huish; Manuel Pardo-De-Santayana; Andrei Mocan; Xuebo Hu; Odara Boscolo; Renata Sõukand. 2020. "Taming the pandemic? The importance of homemade plant-based foods and beverages as community responses to COVID-19." Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 16, no. 1: 1-9.
The documentation of local food resources among linguistic/cultural minorities is essential for fostering measures aimed at sustaining food biocultural heritage. Moreover, interdisciplinary studies on food cultural heritage represent a vital aspect of promoting environmental and social sustainability. The current study aimed to record the traditional foraging of wild food plants (WFPs) among three minority groups (Kalasha, Muslim Ismaili Yidgha, and Muslim Sunni Kamkata-vari speakers) as well as the dominant (Sunni Muslim) Kho/Chitrali people in the Kalasha and Lotkoh valleys, Chitral, NW Pakistan. A field survey recorded fifty-five locally gathered wild food plants and three mycological taxa. Most of the WFPs were used raw as snacks or as cooked vegetables, and Yidgha speakers reported the highest number of WFPs. Although the wild food plant uses of the four considered groups were quite similar, Yidgha speakers exclusively reported the use of Heracleum candicans, Matricaria chamomilla, Seriphidium brevifolium, and Sisymbrium irio. Similarly, Kalasha speakers reported the highest number of use reports, and along with Yidgha speakers they quoted a few WFPs that were frequently used only by them. The results of the study showed a remarkable degree of cultural adaptation of the minority groups to the dominant Kho/Chitrali culture, but also some signs of cultural resilience among those linguistic and religious minorities that were historically more marginalized (Kalasha and Yidgha speakers). The recorded food biocultural heritage should be seriously considered in future development programs aimed at fostering social cohesion and sustainability.
Muhammad Abdul Aziz; Zahid Ullah; Andrea Pieroni. Wild Food Plant Gathering among Kalasha, Yidgha, Nuristani and Khowar Speakers in Chitral, NW Pakistan. Sustainability 2020, 12, 9176 .
AMA StyleMuhammad Abdul Aziz, Zahid Ullah, Andrea Pieroni. Wild Food Plant Gathering among Kalasha, Yidgha, Nuristani and Khowar Speakers in Chitral, NW Pakistan. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (21):9176.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMuhammad Abdul Aziz; Zahid Ullah; Andrea Pieroni. 2020. "Wild Food Plant Gathering among Kalasha, Yidgha, Nuristani and Khowar Speakers in Chitral, NW Pakistan." Sustainability 12, no. 21: 9176.
Background Mountain environments are fragile socio-ecological systems and the conservation of their biological and cultural diversities— seen as co-evolving, strongly intertwined entities—represents a crucial issue for fostering their sustainability. Very few ethnobiological studies have assessed in the mountainous regions of Europe how local botanical knowledge, which represents a vital portion of the local environmental knowledge (LEK), changes over time, although this may be quintessential for a better understanding of the factors influencing how knowledge and practices are shaped, eroded, or even re-created. Methods In the current study, we compared the gathering and use of local medicinal plants in the Upper Sangone Valley, Western Italian Alps, Piedmont (NW Italy) as described in a field study conducted in the mid-seventies and published in 1977 and those arising from field research that we conducted in the spring of 2015 and 2018, during which time ethnobotanical and ethnomycological information concerning both folk medicinal and wild food uses was obtained via 47 in-depth open and semi-structured interviews with community members. Results In total, one hundred thirty folk taxa represent the past and present medicinal and wild food plant/mushroom heritage of the Sangone Valley: 26 herbal taxa were recorded 40 years ago only; 68 herbal and wild food taxa have been recorded in the current study only; and 36 herbal taxa have been continuously used during the last 40 years. There were no remarkable quantitative differences between the two diachronic medico-ethnobotanical datasets, but the qualitative differences were substantial. The gathering and use of some medicinal plants growing in meadows, forests and higher mountain environments (i.e. Arctostaphylos, Filipendula, Hepatica, Larix, Laserptium, Picea, Polygonatum, Primula, Tussilago and Veronica spp.) disappeared, whereas the collection of plant genera growing in more anthropogenic environments or possibly promoted via popular books and media has been newly introduced (i.e. Aloysia, Apium, Brassica, Crataegus, Epilobium, Fumaria, Geranium, Juniperus, Melissa, Rubus, Rumex, Sedum, Silybum, Taraxacum and Vaccinium spp.). Conclusion The findings show a renegotiation of the situativity that for centuries forged the embeddedness of local communities in their natural environments, probably heavily informed in the past by prevalent pastoralist and forest-centred activities and thus by a deeper knowledge of higher mountain and forest environments. The re-arrangement of a more domestic and more “globalized” herbal knowledge system was possibly inspired by new urban residents, who started to populate the valley at the end of the Seventies, when the original inhabitants abandoned their homes for the urban centres of the Piedmontese plain. The current study suggests that future directions of ethnobiological research should more carefully look at the adaptive capacity of LEK systems.
Michele F. Fontefrancesco; Andrea Pieroni. Renegotiating situativity: transformations of local herbal knowledge in a Western Alpine valley during the past 40 years. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2020, 16, 1 -20.
AMA StyleMichele F. Fontefrancesco, Andrea Pieroni. Renegotiating situativity: transformations of local herbal knowledge in a Western Alpine valley during the past 40 years. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 2020; 16 (1):1-20.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMichele F. Fontefrancesco; Andrea Pieroni. 2020. "Renegotiating situativity: transformations of local herbal knowledge in a Western Alpine valley during the past 40 years." Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 16, no. 1: 1-20.
In Sardinia, pastoralism has been at the heart of cultural identity for millennia. Such activity has shaped the landscape by sustainably managing its elements over the centuries. We conducted 30 semi-structured interviews regarding the uses of wild plants as well as their contribution to sheep breeding over the last few decades in two villages of Barbagia di Ollolai. We recorded the use of 73 taxa belonging to 35 families. Over one-third of the vernacular food taxa were mentioned as raw snacks. Specifically, 22% were used only as raw snacks, while another 22% were used as raw snacks in addition to other uses. Indeed, there is a subcategory of raw snacks represented by thistle plants, named cardu, referring to thorny herbaceous taxa. Cardu are often related to the pastoral realm in the Mediterranean Basin as they are gathered, often with the help of a knife, peeled with the blade, and consumed on the spot while grazing sheep, but ultimately, their crunchiness provides a pleasant chewing experience. In addition, cardu may have been used as thirst quenchers. We conclude that pastoral activity has significantly contributed to the development of a distinctive food heritage and cultural landscape.
Giulia Mattalia; Renata Sõukand; Paolo Corvo; Andrea Pieroni. Wild Food Thistle Gathering and Pastoralism: An Inextricable Link in the Biocultural Landscape of Barbagia, Central Sardinia (Italy). Sustainability 2020, 12, 5105 .
AMA StyleGiulia Mattalia, Renata Sõukand, Paolo Corvo, Andrea Pieroni. Wild Food Thistle Gathering and Pastoralism: An Inextricable Link in the Biocultural Landscape of Barbagia, Central Sardinia (Italy). Sustainability. 2020; 12 (12):5105.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGiulia Mattalia; Renata Sõukand; Paolo Corvo; Andrea Pieroni. 2020. "Wild Food Thistle Gathering and Pastoralism: An Inextricable Link in the Biocultural Landscape of Barbagia, Central Sardinia (Italy)." Sustainability 12, no. 12: 5105.
A geographically diverse group of 29 ethnobiologists addresses three common themes in response to the COVID-19 global health crisis: impact on local communities, future interactions between researchers and communities, and new (or renewed) conceptual and/or applied research priorities for ethnobiology.
Ina Vandebroek; Andrea Pieroni; John Richard Stepp; Natalia Hanazaki; Ana Ladio; Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega Alves; David Picking; Rupika Delgoda; Alfred Maroyi; Tinde Van Andel; Cassandra L. Quave; Narel Y. Paniagua-Zambrana; Rainer W Bussmann; Guillaume Odonne; Arshad Mehmood Abbasi; Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque; Janelle Baker; Susan Kutz; Shrabya Timsina; Masayoshi Shigeta; Tacyana Pereira Ribeiro Oliveira; Julio A. Hurrell; Patricia M. Arenas; Jeremias P. Puentes; Jean Hugé; Yeter Yeşil; Laurent Jean Pierre; Temesgen Magule Olango; Farid Dahdouh-Guebas. Reshaping the future of ethnobiology research after the COVID-19 pandemic. Nature Plants 2020, 6, 723 -730.
AMA StyleIna Vandebroek, Andrea Pieroni, John Richard Stepp, Natalia Hanazaki, Ana Ladio, Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega Alves, David Picking, Rupika Delgoda, Alfred Maroyi, Tinde Van Andel, Cassandra L. Quave, Narel Y. Paniagua-Zambrana, Rainer W Bussmann, Guillaume Odonne, Arshad Mehmood Abbasi, Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque, Janelle Baker, Susan Kutz, Shrabya Timsina, Masayoshi Shigeta, Tacyana Pereira Ribeiro Oliveira, Julio A. Hurrell, Patricia M. Arenas, Jeremias P. Puentes, Jean Hugé, Yeter Yeşil, Laurent Jean Pierre, Temesgen Magule Olango, Farid Dahdouh-Guebas. Reshaping the future of ethnobiology research after the COVID-19 pandemic. Nature Plants. 2020; 6 (7):723-730.
Chicago/Turabian StyleIna Vandebroek; Andrea Pieroni; John Richard Stepp; Natalia Hanazaki; Ana Ladio; Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega Alves; David Picking; Rupika Delgoda; Alfred Maroyi; Tinde Van Andel; Cassandra L. Quave; Narel Y. Paniagua-Zambrana; Rainer W Bussmann; Guillaume Odonne; Arshad Mehmood Abbasi; Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque; Janelle Baker; Susan Kutz; Shrabya Timsina; Masayoshi Shigeta; Tacyana Pereira Ribeiro Oliveira; Julio A. Hurrell; Patricia M. Arenas; Jeremias P. Puentes; Jean Hugé; Yeter Yeşil; Laurent Jean Pierre; Temesgen Magule Olango; Farid Dahdouh-Guebas. 2020. "Reshaping the future of ethnobiology research after the COVID-19 pandemic." Nature Plants 6, no. 7: 723-730.
A wild food ethnobotanical field study was conducted in the Ishkoman and Yasin valleys, located in the Hindukush Mountain Range of Gilgit-Baltistan, northern Pakistan. These valleys are inhabited by diverse, often marginalized, linguistic and religious groups. The field survey was conducted via one hundred and eighty semistructured interviews to record data in nine villages. Forty gathered wild food botanical and mycological taxa were recorded and identified. Comparative analysis among the different linguistic and religious groups revealed that the gathered wild food plants were homogenously used. This may be attributed to the sociocultural context of the study area, where most of the population professes the Ismaili Shia Islamic faith, and to the historical stratifications of different populations along the centuries, which may have determined complex adaptation processes and exchange of possibly distinct pre-existing food customs. A few wild plants had very rarely or never been previously reported as food resources in Pakistan, including Artemisia annua, Hedysarum falconeri, Iris hookeriana, Lepidium didymium and Saussurea lappa. Additionally, the recorded local knowledge is under threat and we analyzed possible factors that have caused this change. The recorded biocultural heritage could, however, represent a crucial driver, if properly revitalized, for assuring the food security of the local communities and also for further developing ecotourism and associated sustainable gastronomic initiatives in the area.
Muhammad Abdul Aziz; Arshad Mehmood Abbasi; Zahid Ullah; Andrea Pieroni. Shared but Threatened: The Heritage of Wild Food Plant Gathering among Different Linguistic and Religious Groups in the Ishkoman and Yasin Valleys, North Pakistan. Foods 2020, 9, 601 .
AMA StyleMuhammad Abdul Aziz, Arshad Mehmood Abbasi, Zahid Ullah, Andrea Pieroni. Shared but Threatened: The Heritage of Wild Food Plant Gathering among Different Linguistic and Religious Groups in the Ishkoman and Yasin Valleys, North Pakistan. Foods. 2020; 9 (5):601.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMuhammad Abdul Aziz; Arshad Mehmood Abbasi; Zahid Ullah; Andrea Pieroni. 2020. "Shared but Threatened: The Heritage of Wild Food Plant Gathering among Different Linguistic and Religious Groups in the Ishkoman and Yasin Valleys, North Pakistan." Foods 9, no. 5: 601.
Biodiversity needs to be preserved to ensure food security. Border zones create high but vulnerable biocultural diversity. Through reviewing scattered historical data and documenting the current use of wild food plants among people currently living in historical Setomaa and Võromaa parishes, we aimed to identify cross-cultural differences and diachronic changes as well as the role borders have played on the local use of wild plants. The Seto have still preserved their distinctive features either by consciously opposing others or by maintaining more historical plant uses. People historically living in Setomaa and Võromaa parishes have already associated the eating of wild plants with famine food in the early 20th century, yet it was stressed more now by the Seto than by Estonians. Loss of Pechory as the center of attraction in the region when the border was closed in the early 1990s brought about a decline in the exchange of knowledge as well as commercial activities around wild food plants. National support for businesses in the area today and the popularity of a healthy lifestyle have introduced new wild food plant applications and are helping to preserve local plant-specific uses in the area.
Raivo Kalle; Renata Sõukand; Andrea Pieroni. Devil Is in the Details: Use of Wild Food Plants in Historical Võromaa and Setomaa, Present-Day Estonia. Foods 2020, 9, 570 .
AMA StyleRaivo Kalle, Renata Sõukand, Andrea Pieroni. Devil Is in the Details: Use of Wild Food Plants in Historical Võromaa and Setomaa, Present-Day Estonia. Foods. 2020; 9 (5):570.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRaivo Kalle; Renata Sõukand; Andrea Pieroni. 2020. "Devil Is in the Details: Use of Wild Food Plants in Historical Võromaa and Setomaa, Present-Day Estonia." Foods 9, no. 5: 570.
The Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (JEET), throughout its 15 years of existence, has tried to provide a respected outlet for scientific knowledge concerning the inextricable links between human societies and nature, food, and health. Ethnobiology and ethnomedicine-centred research has moved at the (partially artificial and fictitious) interface between nature and culture and has investigated human consumption of wild foods and wild animals, as well as the use of wild animals or their parts for medicinal and other purposes, along with the associated knowledge, skills, practices, and beliefs. Little attention has been paid, however, to the complex interplay of social and cultural reasons behind the increasing pressure on wildlife. The available literature suggest that there are two main drivers that enhance the necessary conditions for infectious diseases to cross the species barrier from wild animals to humans: (1) the encroachment of human activities (e.g., logging, mining, agricultural expansion) into wild areas and forests and consequent ecological disruptions; and, connected to the former, (2) the commodification of wild animals (and natural resources in general) and an expanding demand and market for wild meat and live wild animals, particularly in tropical and sub-tropical areas. In particular, a crucial role may have been played by the bushmeat-euphoria and attached elitist gastronomies and conspicuous consumption phenomena. The COVID-19 pandemic will likely require ethnobiologists to reschedule research agendas and to envision new epistemological trajectories aimed at more effectively mitigating the mismanagement of natural resources that ultimately threats our and other beings’ existence.
Gabriele Volpato; Michele Filippo Fontefrancesco; Paolo Gruppuso; Dauro M. Zocchi; Andrea Pieroni. Baby pangolins on my plate: possible lessons to learn from the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2020, 16, 1 -12.
AMA StyleGabriele Volpato, Michele Filippo Fontefrancesco, Paolo Gruppuso, Dauro M. Zocchi, Andrea Pieroni. Baby pangolins on my plate: possible lessons to learn from the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 2020; 16 (1):1-12.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGabriele Volpato; Michele Filippo Fontefrancesco; Paolo Gruppuso; Dauro M. Zocchi; Andrea Pieroni. 2020. "Baby pangolins on my plate: possible lessons to learn from the COVID-19 pandemic." Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 16, no. 1: 1-12.
Current debate highlights that sustainable food systems can be fostered by the cautious and germane use of natural resources. Gathering, cooking, and consuming wild food plants that are widely available in a given environment are traditional practices that in many parts of the world have historically been crucial for effecting the food security and food sovereignty of local communities. In the current study, we analyzed the traditional foraging patterns of Armenians, Pontic Greeks, Molokans, and Yazidis living in a mountainous area of central Armenia; via 64 semi-structured interviews, 66 wild food folk taxa were recorded and identified. While Armenians and Greeks gather a remarkable number of wild food plants (36 and 31, respectively) and share approximately half of them, Molokans and, more remarkable, Yazidis gather less wild food plants (24 and 17, respectively) and share only a few plants with Armenians. This may be due not only to the fact that the latter ethno-religious groups have followed endogamic marriage patterns for centuries, which may have limited the exchange of plant knowledge and practices with their Armenian neighbors, but also to the difficult adaptation to a new environment that Yazidis experienced after moving from Eastern Anatolia and the Nineveh Plains to the study area around a century ago. The traditional practice of gathering wild plants for food is, however, still vividly alive among locals in central Armenia and at least a part of this bio-cultural heritage could represent one of the future pillars of local sustainable food systems and platforms.
Andrea Pieroni; Roman Hovsepyan; Ajmal K. Manduzai; Renata Sõukand. Wild food plants traditionally gathered in central Armenia: archaic ingredients or future sustainable foods? Environment, Development and Sustainability 2020, 23, 2358 -2381.
AMA StyleAndrea Pieroni, Roman Hovsepyan, Ajmal K. Manduzai, Renata Sõukand. Wild food plants traditionally gathered in central Armenia: archaic ingredients or future sustainable foods? Environment, Development and Sustainability. 2020; 23 (2):2358-2381.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAndrea Pieroni; Roman Hovsepyan; Ajmal K. Manduzai; Renata Sõukand. 2020. "Wild food plants traditionally gathered in central Armenia: archaic ingredients or future sustainable foods?" Environment, Development and Sustainability 23, no. 2: 2358-2381.