Connecting with our roots

Every culture has a history of embracing plant-based foods

No matter where in the world your ancestors come from, if you look hard enough into your family’s heritage, you’ll probably find a rich tradition of plant-centered eating.

The so-called “western diet” in which meat and dairy make up more than a third of people’s caloric intake is a historic aberration.1 Plant-centered cuisines are still the norm in many of the world’s food cultures. Globally, the vast majority of protein – about two-thirds – still comes from plant-based sources like beans, lentils, tofu, and rice.2 In recognizing plant-based foods’ rich history, we can better understand and appreciate our own upbringings and heritages.

“Despite how significant food is in Latinx culture, I thought my veganism was unconnected from my heritage when I started my transition. One afternoon, I came home from the supermarket with quinoa and [my father] laughed, saying when he was growing up in Peru, they ate quinoa with apples every day … I started to learn about how my indigenous ancestors called quinoa ‘the mother grain’ and ate primarily plants.”

Amy Quichiz, in “Going Vegan Deepened My Relationship To My Latinx Roots”

“By adopting a plant-based diet, and in the quest to veganize all my favorite Korean foods, I am also being truer to myself, and my roots, than I ever was as a meat-eater. I am my halmunee’s granddaughter.”

Joanne Lee Molinaro, thekoreanvegan.com

“With respect to Black foodways, I suggest that black veganism . . . is the ideal form of soulful eating and the way Black people can decolonize our diets and delink from coloniality.”

Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter, in The Spirit of Soul Food

Plant-forward thinking is not only sprouting a better future, it’s the way we connect with our roots.

Endnotes

Future Foods: Global Trends, Opportunities, and Sustainability Challenges, 2022, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780323910019000384

Stacy Pyett, “It’s not as simple as replacing animal- with plant-based protein,” Wageningen University and Research, accessed August 14, 2023, https://www.wur.nl/en/article/its-not-as-simple-as-replacing-animal-with-plant-based-protein.htm