Taming the pandemic? The importance of homemade plant-based foods and beverages as community responses to COVID-19
Abstract 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 ov...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2020-12-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-020-00426-9 |
| _version_ | 1819122292446199808 |
|---|---|
| author | 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 |
| author_facet | 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 |
| author_sort | Andrea Pieroni |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T06:50:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d0562de102f147b7a0f0105d8ac27213 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1746-4269 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T06:50:08Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-d0562de102f147b7a0f0105d8ac272132022-12-21T18:35:11ZengBMCJournal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine1746-42692020-12-011611910.1186/s13002-020-00426-9Taming the pandemic? The importance of homemade plant-based foods and beverages as community responses to COVID-19Andrea Pieroni0Ina Vandebroek1Julia Prakofjewa2Rainer W. Bussmann3Narel Y. Paniagua-Zambrana4Alfred Maroyi5Luisa Torri6Dauro M. Zocchi7Ashley T. K. Dam8Shujaul M. Khan9Habib Ahmad10Yeter Yeşil11Ryan Huish12Manuel Pardo-de-Santayana13Andrei Mocan14Xuebo Hu15Odara Boscolo16Renata Sõukand17University of Gastronomic SciencesInstitute of Economic Botany, The New York Botanical GardenDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca’ Foscari University of VeniceDepartment of Ethnobotany, Institute of Botany and Bakuriani Alpine Botanical Garden, Ilia State UniversityNational Herbarium of Bolivia, Institute of Ecology, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (UMSA)Department of Botany, University of Fort HareUniversity of Gastronomic SciencesUniversity of Gastronomic SciencesUniversity of Gastronomic SciencesDepartment of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam UniversityDepartment of Genetics, Hazara UniversityDepartment of Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy, Istanbul UniversityDepartment of Natural Sciences, The University of Virginia’s College at WiseDepartment of Biology, Autonomous University of MadridDepartment of Pharmaceutical Botany, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and PharmacyInstitute for Medicinal Plants, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural UniversityLaboratory of Economic Botany and Ethnobotany, Department of Biology, Fluminense Federal UniversityDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca’ Foscari University of VeniceAbstract 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.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-020-00426-9EthnobotanyEthnomedicineFood medicinesEthnogastronomyHealthy foodCOVID-19 |
| spellingShingle | 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 Ethnobotany Ethnomedicine Food medicines Ethnogastronomy Healthy food COVID-19 |
| title | Taming the pandemic? The importance of homemade plant-based foods and beverages as community responses to COVID-19 |
| title_full | Taming the pandemic? The importance of homemade plant-based foods and beverages as community responses to COVID-19 |
| title_fullStr | Taming the pandemic? The importance of homemade plant-based foods and beverages as community responses to COVID-19 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Taming the pandemic? The importance of homemade plant-based foods and beverages as community responses to COVID-19 |
| title_short | Taming the pandemic? The importance of homemade plant-based foods and beverages as community responses to COVID-19 |
| title_sort | taming the pandemic the importance of homemade plant based foods and beverages as community responses to covid 19 |
| topic | Ethnobotany Ethnomedicine Food medicines Ethnogastronomy Healthy food COVID-19 |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-020-00426-9 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT andreapieroni tamingthepandemictheimportanceofhomemadeplantbasedfoodsandbeveragesascommunityresponsestocovid19 AT inavandebroek tamingthepandemictheimportanceofhomemadeplantbasedfoodsandbeveragesascommunityresponsestocovid19 AT juliaprakofjewa tamingthepandemictheimportanceofhomemadeplantbasedfoodsandbeveragesascommunityresponsestocovid19 AT rainerwbussmann tamingthepandemictheimportanceofhomemadeplantbasedfoodsandbeveragesascommunityresponsestocovid19 AT narelypaniaguazambrana tamingthepandemictheimportanceofhomemadeplantbasedfoodsandbeveragesascommunityresponsestocovid19 AT alfredmaroyi tamingthepandemictheimportanceofhomemadeplantbasedfoodsandbeveragesascommunityresponsestocovid19 AT luisatorri tamingthepandemictheimportanceofhomemadeplantbasedfoodsandbeveragesascommunityresponsestocovid19 AT dauromzocchi tamingthepandemictheimportanceofhomemadeplantbasedfoodsandbeveragesascommunityresponsestocovid19 AT ashleytkdam tamingthepandemictheimportanceofhomemadeplantbasedfoodsandbeveragesascommunityresponsestocovid19 AT shujaulmkhan tamingthepandemictheimportanceofhomemadeplantbasedfoodsandbeveragesascommunityresponsestocovid19 AT habibahmad tamingthepandemictheimportanceofhomemadeplantbasedfoodsandbeveragesascommunityresponsestocovid19 AT yeteryesil tamingthepandemictheimportanceofhomemadeplantbasedfoodsandbeveragesascommunityresponsestocovid19 AT ryanhuish tamingthepandemictheimportanceofhomemadeplantbasedfoodsandbeveragesascommunityresponsestocovid19 AT manuelpardodesantayana tamingthepandemictheimportanceofhomemadeplantbasedfoodsandbeveragesascommunityresponsestocovid19 AT andreimocan tamingthepandemictheimportanceofhomemadeplantbasedfoodsandbeveragesascommunityresponsestocovid19 AT xuebohu tamingthepandemictheimportanceofhomemadeplantbasedfoodsandbeveragesascommunityresponsestocovid19 AT odaraboscolo tamingthepandemictheimportanceofhomemadeplantbasedfoodsandbeveragesascommunityresponsestocovid19 AT renatasoukand tamingthepandemictheimportanceofhomemadeplantbasedfoodsandbeveragesascommunityresponsestocovid19 |