One afternoon,

舊年我住喺一個印度本地人屋企

the young son was eating,

有一個晏晝

and at the sight of me, he quickly hid his curry behind his back.

佢哋嘅細仔食緊飯

It took a lot of persuasion to get him to show me what he was eating.

一見到我，就將佢嘅咖喱收喺背後

It turned out to be moth larvae,

說服咗佢好耐先佢畀我睇佢食緊咩

a traditional delicacy with the Madia indigenous people.

原來係蛾嘅幼蟲

I cried,

一種馬迪亞當地人嘅傳統美食

"Oh my God, you're eating these!

我喊住話：

I hope there's a little left for me!"

「我呀，你食緊呢啲嘢！

I saw disbelief in the boy's eyes.

希望你有剩返啲畀我食啦。」

"You ... eat these?"

然後我見到個男仔難以置信嘅眼神

"I love these," I replied.

「你…要食呢啲？」

I could see he did not trust me one bit.

我答：「我超鍾意食。」

How could an urban, educated woman like the same food as him?

我睇得出佢完全唔信我

Later, I broached the subject with his father,

一個城市嚟又受過教育嘅女人

and it turned out to be a mighty touchy affair.

點會同佢鍾意食同樣嘅嘢？

He said things like,

後來，我同佢爸爸討論呢個話題

"Oh, only this son of mine likes to eat it.

原來係一件極敏感嘅事嚟

We tell him, 'Give it up. It's bad.'

佢講咗顃似嘅嘢：

He doesn't listen, you see.

「哦。得呢個仔鍾意食蛾嘅幼蟲，

We gave up eating all this ages back."

我哋同佢講咪再食啦，唔好㗎

"Why?" I asked.

但你都見啦，佢唔聽我哋講

"This is your traditional food.

我哋冇食好耐啦。」

It is available in your environment,

我問佢哋：「點解呀？

it is nutritious,

係你哋嘅傳統食物嚟。

and -- I can vouch for it -- delicious.

喺你哋嘅生活環境搵到

Why is it wrong to eat it?"

好有營養價值

The man fell silent.

而且—我保證—好好食

I asked,

食佢有咩問題？」

"Have you been told that your food is bad,

然後佢爸爸冇出聲

that to eat it is backward,

我問佢：

not civilized?"

「係咪有人同你講過你啲食物唔好

He nodded silently.

係退化嘅

This was one of the many, many times in my work with indigenous people in India

冇文化嘅？」

that I witnessed shame around food,

他沉默咁點頭

shame that the food you love to eat,

呢次只係我同無數印度當地人做嘢時

the food that has been eaten for generations,

見證到佢哋以食物為恥嘅其中一次

is somehow inferior,

食你鍾意嘅食物

even subhuman.

世世代代都一直食緊嘅食物

And this shame is not limited to out-of-the-way, icky foods

係低級嘅

like insects or rats, maybe,

甚至係低人一等嘅

but extends to regular foods:

而且呢種羞恥感唔單止係講 一啲冷門、嘔心嘅食物

wild vegetables,

可能係，例如昆蟲、老鼠

mushrooms, flowers --

仲擴展到去正常食物：

basically, anything that is foraged rather than cultivated.

白色蔬菜

In indigenous India, this shame is omnipresent.

菌類，花—

Anything can trigger it.

基本上就係所有野生 而唔係農民種植嘅食物

One upper-caste vegetarian schoolmaster gets appointed in a school,

呢種以食物為恥嘅現象 喺印度當地普遍存在

within weeks, children are telling their parents it's yucky to eat crabs

任何因素都可能引起呢種羞恥感

or sinful to eat meat.

指派上流社會嘅素食校長去一間學校

A government nutrition program serves fluffy white rice,

啲學生唔洗幾個星期， 就同父母講食蟹好核突呀

now no one wants to eat red rice or millets.

或者食肉會有罪惡感

A nonprofit reaches this village with an ideal diet chart for pregnant women.

政府提供鬆軟白飯嘅營養計劃

There you go.

就令到宜家冇人想食紅米或者小米

All the expectant mothers are feeling sad

一個非貿利組織嚟到呢個小鎮 為孕婦能提供理想嘅膳食搭配

that they cannot afford apples and grapes.

就係咁

And people just kind of forget the fruits

全部孕婦都好傷心

that can be picked off the forest floor.

因為佢哋買唔起蘋果同法式薄餅

Health workers,

而大家似乎都唔記得咗

religious missionaries,

啲水果其實係森林地下就執到

random government employees

醫療人員

and even their own educated children

傳教士

are literally shouting it down at the indigenous people

政府官員

that their food is not good enough,

或者係佢哋受過教育嘅子女

not civilized enough.

都係大大聲同啲本地人講

And so food keeps disappearing,

佢哋嘅食物唔夠好

a little bit at a time.

唔夠文明

I'm wondering if you all have ever considered

所以呢啲食物就一啲一啲咁

whether your communities would have a similar history around food.

逐漸消失

If you were to talk to your 90-year-old grandmother,

我好奇你哋有冇認真諗過

would she talk about foods that you have never seen or heard of?

你社交圈子嘅人有冇類似嘅經歷

Are you aware how much of your community's food

如果當你同 90 歲嘅婆婆傾計

is no longer available to you?

佢會唔會講起啲 你從未見過或聽過嘅食物

Local experts tell me

你有冇發現有幾多你哋食開嘅食物

that the South African food economy is now entirely based on imported foods.

已經再搵唔返啦

Corn has become the staple,

當地專家同我講

while the local sorghum, millets, bulbs and tubers are all gone.

南非宜家嘅食物經濟鏈 完全依靠進口食物

So are the wild legumes and vegetables,

栗米成為咗主食

while people eat potatoes and onions, cabbages and carrots.

然而本土嘅高粱，小米， 球莖同塊莖類食物都消失哂

In my country,

當大家食緊薯仔、洋葱、 椰菜同紅蘿蔔嘅時候

this loss of food is colossal.

野生豆類同蔬菜都一樣消失哂

Modern India is stuck with rice, wheat

喺我嘅國家

and diabetes.

呢啲食物損失極為龐大

And we have totally forgotten foods like huge varieties of tubers,

現代印度充住大米、小麥

tree saps, fish, shellfish,

同糖尿病

oil seeds,

而且我哋完全唔記得一啲食物 例如各式各樣嘅塊莖類

mollusks, mushrooms, insects,

樹液、魚、貝類

small, nonendangered animal meats,

油籽、

all of which used to be available right within our surroundings.

蚌類、菌類、昆蟲

So where has this food gone?

小型、未瀕危動物肉類

Why are our modern food baskets so narrow?

呢一切曾經都係唾手可得

We could talk about the complex political economic and ecological reasons,

到底宜家呢啲食物去哂邊？

but I am here to talk about this more human phenomenon of shame,

點解現代社會食物種類咁少？

because shame is the crucial point

我哋可以講吓 複雜嘅政治經濟同生態原因

at which food actually disappears off your plate.

但我今日想講嘅係 呢種令人覺得羞恥嘅現象

What does shame do?

因為羞恥先係

Shame makes you feel small,

你碟上面食物消失嘅致命點

sad,

羞恥會做啲咩？

not worthy,

羞恥令你感到渺小

subhuman.

失落

Shame creates a cognitive dissonance.

冇價值

It distorts food stories.

次人一等

Let us take this example.

羞恥可以創造一種認知失調

How would you like to have

可以歪曲食物故事

a wonderful, versatile staple

我可以舉個例子

that is available abundantly in your environment?

你想唔想要一種

All you have to do is gather it,

奇妙又多功能嘅主食

dry it, store it,

係喺你身邊隨處可見嘅？

and you have it for your whole year

你只需要過去收集佢

to cook as many different kinds of dishes as you want with it.

風乾，收好

India had just such a food, called "mahua,"

然後你就可以成年都擁有啦

this flower over there.

可以用佢嚟做無數道你鍾意嘅菜式

And I have been researching this food for the past three years now.

印度就曾經有呢種食物叫做馬胡卡

It is known to be highly nutritious in indigenous tradition

就係呢種花

and in scientific knowledge.

過去三年我一直搵緊呢種食物

For the indigenous,

係當地傳統同科學知識記載嘅

it used to be a staple for four to six months a year.

富有極高營養價值嘅食物

In many ways, it is very similar to your local marula,

佢以前係當地人

except that it is a flower, not a fruit.

一年嘅四至六個月嘅主食

Where the forests are rich,

佢好多方面 都似你哋嘅馬魯拉果（marula)

people can still get enough to eat for the whole year

只係佢係花，而唔係水果

and enough spare to sell.

喺豐盛嘅森林入面

I found 35 different dishes with mahua

大家仍然可以收獲到成年嘅糧食

that no one cooks anymore.

而且仲有淨可以拎去賣

This food is no longer even recognized as a food,

我搵到 35 種唔同嘅馬胡卡菜式

but as raw material for liquor.

宜家已經冇人會再煮

You could be arrested for having it in your house.

佢甚至唔再比人視為食物

Reason? Shame.

而只係一種釀酒原料

I talked to indigenous people all over India

只係屋企藏有呢種食物 就已經可以拉你

about why mahua is no longer eaten.

點解？ 因為羞恥

And I got the exact same answer.

我問過所有印度當地人

"Oh, we used to eat it when we were dirt-poor and starving.

點解冇人再吃馬胡卡

Why should we eat it now?

都係得到一模一樣嘅答案

We have rice or wheat."

「哦，以前係因為又窮又餓先食啫

And almost in the same breath,

宜家做乜要食？

people also tell me how nutritious mahua is.

都有大米同小麥啦。」

There are always stories of elders who used to eat mahua.

與此同時

"This grandmother of ours, she had 10 children,

佢哋都話我知馬胡卡幾有營養價值

and still she used to work so hard, never tired, never sick."

實會聽到老人家食馬胡卡嘅故事

The exact same dual narrative every single where.

「我哋婆婆有 10 個細路

How come?

佢以前做嘢好辛苦 但從未試過攰或者病。」

How does the same food

周圍都聽到呢兩個一樣嘅故事

get to be seen as very nutritious and a poverty food,

點解？

almost in the same sentence?

點解同一樣食物

Same goes for other forest foods.

喺差唔多同一句嘢到

I have heard story after heartrending story

同時畀人認為富有營養價值 又象征住貧窮？

of famine and starvation,

森林嘅食物都一樣

of people surviving on trash foraged out of the forest,

我聽過一個又一個

because there was no food.

關於饑荒同挨餓令人心碎嘅故事

If I dig a little deeper,

大家要靠食森林搵到嘅垃圾為生

it turns out the lack was not of food per se

因為冇嘢食

but of something respectable like rice.

如果我再深究少少

I asked them,

原來唔係冇食物

"How did you learn that your so-called trash is edible?

而係冇好似米一樣咁體面嘅食物

Who told you that certain bitter tubers can be sweetened

我問佢哋

by leaving them in a stream overnight?

你哋點知道 呢啲所謂嘅垃圾係食得？

Or how to take the meat out of a snail shell?

邊個同你講呢啲咁苦嘅塊莖

Or how to set a trap for a wild rat?"

放喺溪入面一晚就會變甜？

That is when they start scratching their heads,

或者點識拎蝸牛殼入面嘅肉？

and they realize that they learned it from their own elders,

又點識設置陷阱捉老鼠？」

that their ancestors had lived and thrived on these foods for centuries

呢個時候佢哋就開始抓頭

before rice came their way,

然後就意識到係長輩教過佢哋

and were way healthier than their own generation.

佢哋嘅祖先係食米之前

So this is how food works,

呢啲嘢食已經興盛咗幾個世紀

how shame works:

而佢哋仲健康過宜家呢個世代好多

making food and food traditions disappear from people's lives and memories

呢啲就係食物嘅作用

without their even realizing it.

呢啲就係羞恥嘅作用：

So how do we undo this trend?

令食物同食物傳統 係大家嘅生活同記憶中消失

How do we reclaim our beautiful and complex systems of natural food,

甚至佢哋都唔覺嘅情況下

food given to us lovingly by Mother Earth according to her own rhythm,

咁我哋點逆轉呢種趨勢呢？

food prepared by our foremothers with joy

點樣重拾返我哋 美麗又複雜嘅自然食物系統

and are eaten by our forefathers with gratitude,

呢啲食物係地球媽媽有愛咁 用佢自己嘅節奏咁賜予我哋

food that is healthy, local, natural,

由我哋先祖媽媽用喜悅準備嘅

varied, delicious,

再由我哋先祖爸爸滿懷感激咁食

not requiring cultivation,

又健康、土生土長、自然、

not damaging our ecology,

多樣、好味、

not costing a thing?

唔需要耕種

We all need this food,

唔會破壞我哋生態系統

and I don't think I have to tell you why.

唔需要任何代價嘅食物

I don't have to tell you about the global health crisis,

我哋都需要呢啲食物

climate change, water crisis,

我諗唔洗講你哋都知點解

soil fatigue,

我唔需要同你哋講健康危機、

collapsing agricultural systems,

氣候變化、水源危機、

all that.

土壤退化、

But for me, equally important reasons why we need these foods

農業系統崩潰、

are the deeply felt ones,

所有呢啲危機

because food is so many things, you see.

但對我嚟講同樣咁重要嘅原因

Food is nourishment, comfort,

係我身同感受嘅原因

creativity, community,

因為食物代表好多嘢

pleasure, safety, identity

食物係營養、舒適感

and so much more.

創造力、凝聚力、

How we connect with our food

愉悅、安全、身份

defines so much in our lives.

仲有更多更多

It defines how we connect with our bodies,

咁我哋點同食物連繫

because our bodies are ultimately food.

定義咗我哋嘅生命好多面

It defines our basic sense of connection

定義咗我哋點同身體連繫

with our existence.

因為我哋身體終究都係由食物組成

We need these foods most today

定義咗我哋存在嘅基本連繫感知

to be able to redefine our space as humans

今日係我哋最需要呢啲食物嘅時候

within the natural scheme of things.

先可以定義到我哋人類

And are we needing such a redefinition today?

喺大自然結構中嘅位置

For me, the only real answer is love,

咁我哋需要咁重新定義咩？

because love is the only thing that counters shame.

對我嚟講，唯一嘅真正答案係愛

And how do we bring more of this love into our connections with our food?

因為只有愛可以對抗羞恥

For me, love is, in a big way,

咁點樣帶到更多嘅愛 去我哋同食物嘅連繫呢？

about the willingness to slow down,

對我嚟講，愛，好大程度上

to take the time to feel,

就係甘願去放慢

sense, listen, inquire.

用時間去感受、

It could be listening to our own bodies.

感應、傾聽、發問

What do they need beneath our food habits, beliefs

可以係傾聽我哋嘅身體

and addictions?

飲食習慣、信仰、嗜好之下

It could be taking time out to examine those beliefs.

我哋嘅身體需要啲咩？

Where did they come from?

愛可以用時間嚟研究呢啲信仰

It could be going back into our childhood.

佢哋嚟自邊到？

What foods did we love then,

可以追溯到我哋童年

and what has changed?

細個嘅時候鍾意食咩

It could be spending a quiet evening with an elder,

又咩唔同咗

listening to their food memories,

可以用個靜謐嘅夜晚同長輩傾偈

maybe even helping them cook something they love

聽吓佢哋對食物嘅回憶

and sharing a meal.

或者幫佢哋手煮啲佢哋鍾意食嘅嘢

Love could be about remembering

然後一齊食

that humanity is vast

愛可以係銘記

and food choices differ.

人性係豐富嘅

It could be about showing respect and curiosity

而食物選擇係多樣嘅

instead of censure

愛可以係向人展示出尊重同好奇

when we see somebody enjoying a really unfamiliar food.

而唔係譴責

Love could be taking the time to inquire,

當見到人享受緊一種好陌生嘅食物

to dig up information,

愛可以係用時間嚟發問、

reach out for connections.

發掘更多資訊

It could even be a quiet walk in the fynbos

主動去連繫

to see if a certain plant speaks up to you.

愛甚至可以靜靜咁喺弗因博斯散步

That happens.

睇吓有冇特定嘅一種植物同你講嘢

They speak to me all the time.

會㗎

And most of all,

佢哋成日都同我講嘢

love is to trust that these little exploratory steps

最重要係

have the potential to lead us to something larger,

愛係相信呢啲小小嘅探索腳步

sometimes to really surprising answers.

都有可能帶領到我哋搵到更大

An indigenous medicine woman once told me

有時仲有係好令人驚喜嘅答案

that love is to walk on Mother Earth

有個當地賣藥嘅女人同我講過

as her most beloved child,

愛就係以地球媽媽最愛之子嘅身份

to trust that she values an honest intention

喺佢身上行走

and knows how to guide our steps.

並且堅信佢重視真誠之心

I hope I have inspired you

知道佢會點樣指導我哋嘅每一步

to start reconnecting with the food of your ancestors.

我希望今日有啟發到各位

Thank you for listening.

開始重新同你哋祖先嘅食物連繫

(Applause)

多謝你哋傾聽