Food Donations: a Cultural Health Conundrum

News Food donations: a cultural health conundrum

ood-donation ceremonies at Other world religions face different Health considerations are rarely fac- Gangaramaya temple in Sri nutritional problems when it comes to tored into festivities. F Lanka’s capital of Colombo donating food, said Michel Desjardins, “All of this comes out of historical adhere to strict, centuries-old princi- professor of religion and culture at Wil- periods in human history when people ples. As food donors prepare to offer frid Laurier University in Waterloo, were more active, and when processed lunch and make merit, tradition dic- Ontario, and there remains little research foods were not so universally avail- tates they serve the most senior monk or government advice to address related able. The myths and traditions have not first, in this case Kirinde Assaji. health concerns. kept up with scientific advances in Food is eaten only with the right hand, nutrition, nor with changing lifestyles,” which a monk can place over his bowl to said Desjardins. refuse a dish, according to the tenets of For the World Food Programme Theravada Buddhism, the majority reli- (WFP) — which distributed food to gion in Sri Lanka as well as Cambodia, 97.2 million people last year — dona- Laos, Myanmar and Thailand. tion priorities are markedly different, But as noted by Ranika Tunga, a but the health challenges remain varied recent food donor at Gangaramaya, and complex. the menu is designed to make merit: The WFP aims to meet the mini- that is giving food to the monks to mum recommended daily nutritional earn spiritual benefit. Health and nutri- requirement of 2100 calories while tion are secondary considerations. offering food that is “culturally appro- “It has to be tasty, whatever we feel priate,” said spokesman Greg Barrow. they would like,” he said after serving The logistics are tough. In countries vegetable curries, rice and sweets, like Syria, Gambia and the Democratic including traditional Sri Lankan curd Republic of Congo, where the WFP had and caramel dessert. substantial operations in 2012, provid- With recent studies showing diabetes ing fresh produce or food that requires rates as high as 50% in some monaster- refrigeration is nearly impossible. ies in Colombo (the head monk at Gan- The WFP has focused on long-life sta- garamaya has the disease), the Ministry ples like cereals, dried pulses and canned of Health issued food-donation guide- Steve Finch fish, but is “increasingly supporting food At food-donation ceremonies at Gangara- lines for the first time late in 2012. maya temple the offerings have to be assistance programs based on cash and Merit-makers at Buddhist monas- tasty; health and nutrition are secondary vouchers that give beneficiaries the teries have been asked to cut down on considerations. opportunity to purchase a range of food salt and sugar as well as coconut oil stuffs — including fresh produce — from and milk, key ingredients in curries. With Jainism, a minority Indian reli- local shops and markets,” said Barrow. “There is often a lot of fat and oil to gion, monks also receive food donations, Meanwhile, more countries — includ- make the food tasty for the monks. It is but the diet is stricter. Meat is forbidden, ing Canada — are donating cash to the necessary to adjust their diet to be so too fungus, honey and vegetables that WFP rather than in-kind food donations, healthy,” said Dr. Thalatha Liyanage, grow beneath the ground (onions and gar- with the result that nutritional responsibil- the health ministry’s director of non- lic are believed to spur sexual appetite). ity is shifting to the millions of people communicable diseases, who is leading Dependent on food donations, Jain who receive their food via donation. the new campaign. monks are among the strictest of vegetari- In Colombo’s Gangaramaya temple, In August, the health ministry ans in India, where 80% of the population Vice-Head Monk Kirinde Assaji, who expanded food-donation and eating does not eat animals. Studies have found has spent most of his life receiving guidelines following recent studies, a lack of meat has led to chronic deficien- food from others, warned that both the including research published in Dia- cies of vitamin B12, which causes an donor and recipient need to take betic Medicine which found that dia- increase in homocysteine levels and hard- responsibility, get back to nutritional betes mellitus affects 20.3% of men ening and narrowing of arteries. basics and adapt to changing times. and 19.8% of women in Colombo, Studies of religions that practice “Now people are busy and are not among the highest rates in East Asia. cycles of fasting and feasting depend- thinking about their health,” he said. Although Buddhist monks are par- ing upon when food donations are com- “We should not think too much about ticularly susceptible because food mon — particularly Islam — have the flavor of food. We should just think donors are keen to make merit with lav- recorded conflicting health findings. about taking food to maintain life.” — ish meals, said Liyanage, “there are Positives such as lower meat and fat Steve Finch, Colombo, Sri Lanka now recommendations for all religions intake are countered with reported and the general public.” lower consumption of riboflavin. CMAJ 2013. DOI:10.1503/cmaj.109-4579