Food Habits of the Egyptians: Newly Emerging Trends H

898 La Revue de Santé de la Méditerranée orientale, Vol. 10, No 6, 2004 Review Food habits of the Egyptians: newly emerging trends H. Hassan-Wassef 1 SUMMARY Accelerated changes are taking place in the food habits of the present day Egyptians. Examples are drawn from foods that continue to be consumed by those considered guardians of the Egyptian tradition (Coptic Christians and isolated farming communities) and from interpretation of archaeological evidence. Recent decades have witnessed the progressive erosion of the traditional Egyptian diet and the introduction of new foods and eating habits. Sociocultural and economic changes are accelerating this erosion. The main features of the traditional Egyptian way of eating are presented along with a review of the emerging trends and of some of the important factors underlying food consumption patterns. Attention is drawn to the potential risk to health that these new trends represent, in particular to child nutrition and development. Background Having a rich and fertile soil that is easy to cultivate, and benefiting from favourable This paper is derived from a longitudinal climatic conditions, the Nile valley has study that started 5 decades ago and which since ancient times been renowned for an is aimed at identifying the ancient origins of abundance of cereals and the variety of cul- the foods prepared and consumed by tivated legumes and vegetables it produces present-day Egyptians [H. Hassan-Wassef, [3]. Barring the occasional bad years when unpublished document, 2005]. The study the floodwaters were low, food and agri- focuses on the inhabitants of the Nile valley cultural production adequately provided for and delta, and does not encompass the no- the nutritional and other needs of its people. madic populations of the desert. The pur- The new food crops and fruit trees that pose of this investigation is to define and to were introduced into Egypt at various times make known what can be truly labelled did not significantly change the basic tradi- Egyptian foods and food habits. It involved tional crop composition, and consequently, noting how the traditional dietary habits food consumption patterns. The relative evolved in response to a host of external as abundance and rich variety of foods avail- well as internal factors. able in Egypt in comparison to its neigh- For all long-standing food habits and bours resulted in waves of migrants, culinary traditions that have developed especially to rural areas, who easily adopt- through the ages, the end product is a bal- ed the Egyptian way of eating. They did not anced diet in harmony with the physiologi- leave any appreciable mark on local food cal needs of the people and their habits [4]. The case was different for the occupation, climate, agriculture, and natu- higher social classes and the rich urban ral resources [1,2]. The Egyptian has in- dwellers who often copied the eating man- herited an indigenous food system and ners and foods of the succession of foreign traditional food habits that can guarantee a rulers who occupied the country [5]. balanced diet. 1Nutritionist and Public Health Policy Analyst, and former Director, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, Vol. 10, No. 6, 2004 899 The ancient agricultural methods and Methods crop composition, which had remained un- changed over thousands of years, allowed The period under review is from the early ample time for food habits to take root and 1950s to the end of the 20th century. for the gradual emergence of a nutritionally Changes in the food habits and in newly balanced diet that is in harmony with the emerging food consumption trends were existing ecosystem and which satisfies the noted. Sources of information varied wide- nutritional requirements of the people. Con- ly. Historical data and evidence were used tinuity was guaranteed through the keepers to define the basic features of the tradition- of culinary tradition, namely the fellaheen al food system, and information collected (farming community) women, and through from the field allowed the identification of the ritual foods of the Copts, the Orthodox current food habits and the emerging Christians of Egypt. The traditional kitch- trends. The study of food habits included ens and earthenware utensils of the fella- collecting information on foods eaten as heen, which have survived till today, have well as on the way they were prepared, contributed to the perpetuation of many food associations and methods of food food habits. conditioning and conservation. The supply, Modernization of the ancient agricultur- availability and accessibility of foods, and al methods started only 200 years ago, thus other factors that influence food habits initiating the first large scale modifications were taken into account. in the crop composition. This agricultural revolution marked the beginning of a series Archaeological evidence and of major irrigation projects and efforts to historical data Archaeological studies and Egyptian collec- control the Nile waters [3]. Up to the time of the Second World War, significant tions in museums around the world yielded changes in food habits essentially followed a wealth of information on the foods con- changes in agricultural policy that deter- sumed by the ancient Egyptians and the evolution of eating habits [6–8]. Accounts mined land use and crop composition. Giv- made by travellers to Egypt through the en the limited total cultivated area of the ages provided valuable descriptions of Nile valley and delta, important increases in land allocations to a particular crop was foods and beverages and of food consump- done at the expense of another, sometimes tion patterns [9,10]. The ancient origins of with repercussions that could potentially foods and of their methods of preparation were identified through a “live” reading of disrupt the balance of the traditional food historical evidence coupled with an intimate system and led to the emergence of nutri- personal knowledge of current food habits. tional disorders in the long term. The wide- spread pellagra (vitamin B3 deficiency) that The ritual foods of the Copts, which have became manifest towards the end of the been transmitted from generation to gener- nineteenth century is a case in point. It was ation for nearly 20 centuries, provide an in- sight into the culinary traditions of the a consequence of the market driven deci- ancients [11]. sion to increase the production of cotton, Historical events that significantly con- which was done at the expense of wheat production. The growing dependence on tributed to changes in food habits were maize flour in lieu of wheat in the making of studied and factors that influenced both the bread, the staple food, soon led to the facilitation of and the resistance to change are described. The impact on the traditional emergence of nutritional deficiency. 900 La Revue de Santé de la Méditerranée orientale, Vol. 10, No 6, 2004 Egyptian food system was assessed in peasants, factory workers, construction terms of food habits and situations where workers) ate at the workplace. there was sustained exposure to alien foods Inspection visits were then made to and habits, e.g. through trade, conquest, kitchens, gardens, and food storage facili- occupation or the settlement of significant ties. Traditional methods for food preser- numbers of migrants from neighbouring vation and food conservation still in use countries. were recorded. The array of spices on the spice shelf was noted. The frequency of Information collected from the field home baking and the use of the traditional Urban and rural communities were visited oven were recorded, as well as the nature in the Nile delta, on the Mediterranean and form of the cooking utensils, in partic- coast, in Middle and Upper Egypt and in the ular the presence and use made of the an- Nubian regions in the south (Fayoum, Beni- cient traditional ones such as the ghorbal Suef, Minia, Luxor, Aswan, Qalyubia, (sieve made of lamb gut), the matraha Sharkia, Gharbia, Dakahlia, Beheira, Dami- (long-handled wooden board for flattening etta, Alexandria and Cairo governorates). dough) or the salaya (quern). Home pro- Data were collected over a period of 50 duction and consumption of protein-rich years, in all seasons. Interviews were con- foods was investigated, and the practice of ducted in > 40 households in each gover- the age-old habit of gathering (or buying) norate (> 100 in Cairo and Alexandria and consuming edible wild plants was not- governorates). ed whenever relevant. Food consumption and nutrition-related The proportion that the garden produce information was obtained through a 24- contributed to the total family vegetable hour recall of food consumed the day pre- consumption was estimated and the rea- ceding the interview, followed by in-depth sons underlying the choice of vegetables inter-personal interviews lasting about 1 grown noted. The presence of yard animals hour and group interviews attended by 8– and keeping of animals (especially rabbits 12 housewives, neighbours and relatives and fowl) in urban settings, and the uses from the same location, usually lasting for made of them, was also recorded. 1.5–2 hours. The respondent was mostly The markets and food shops were visit- the housewife, who was responsible for ed and the degree of market dependence feeding the family. The sample was, how- for some food items that contribute to- ever, varied covering variations in age, sex, wards maintaining the integrity of the food education, occupation, income and social system (e.g. dark green leafy vegetables echelon. Information collected was not and dairy products) was assessed. The only on types of food but also the ingredi- growing increase in dependence on the lo- ents used in preparing it, how it was cal bread made from high extraction wheat served, and eating habits. This also includ- produced by a wide network of state subsi- ed management of leftovers, food associa- dized bakeries was investigated.

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