Prestige plays key role in food choices

JAKARTA (JP): People's choices about food have to do with prestige as well as traditional beliefs, experts said on Saturday in a seminar that sought to understand why local food was losing out to foreign cuisine.

If Indonesia wanted to encourage people to consume "healthy" local food, they said, there would have to be research on public eating habits.

The experts -- anthropologists Meutia F. Swasono, Naniek Kasniah and Koentjaraningrat and nutritionist Suryatini N. Ganie -- made the comments at a national workshop on traditional food at the University of Indonesia.

"Eating habits are not easy to change. Any effort to improve nutrition should be based on a sound understanding of the eating habits of a given community," said Swasono, who has conducted research into the eating habits of the Minang people of Sumatra, the Toraja people of South Sulawesi and people in Java.

Studies show that, apart from taste, both prestige and traditional beliefs play important roles in determining food choices.

Among the Minang people, for instance, the level of vegetable consumption is low because meat is considered to be both more tasty and more "prestigious" than vegetables.

"The consumption pattern is difficult to change, despite professionals' advice. Even those suffering from chronic heart ailments will not change readily," said Swasono, who is of Minang descent.

Anthropologist Naniek Kasniah also spoke of the relationship between a community's eating habits and its traditional beliefs about food.

For example, in West Nusa Tenggara, where the infant mortality rate is high, parents believe that newly-born babies should be given food before they are breast-fed.

They also believe that newly-born babies will grow up to be tender and loving if they are given honey.

Noted nutritionist Suryatini N. Ganie pointed said that local food was suffering from a relative lack of promotion.

With better promotion, local eateries would be able to compete with foreign food, she said, citing the popularity of the Javanese fried chicken restaurant chain, Mbok Berek.

One of the highlights of the workshop was the release of the results of a study on soybean cake, or tempe, which is widely looked down upon as "low class" food.

Researchers said their research showed that the nutritious tempe was good as a cure for diarrhea and slowed the aging process.

Anthropologist Koentjaraningrat even suggested the establishment of a national research and development center on tempe.

When opening the three-day workshop on Friday, President Soeharto said that local scientists should conduct research on local traditional food, rather than waiting for a foreign expert come and do it. (anr)