Bush foods and edible weeds of agriculture: perspectives on dietary use of wild plants in Africa, their role in maintaining human nutritional status and implications for agricultural development

bibliographic database
Line

Book chapter

Title:	Bush foods and edible weeds of agriculture: perspectives on dietary use of wild plants in Africa, their role in maintaining human nutritional status and implications for agricultural development
Authors:	Grivetti, L.E. Frentzel, C.J. Ginsberg, K.E.
Book title:	Health and disease in tropical Africa: geographical and medical viewpoints
Year:	1987
Pages:	51-81
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Subsaharan Africa
Subject:	edible plants
Abstract:	This chapter explores the thesis that economic and nutritional improvement in rural Africa can be achieved by maintaining or increasing current dietary utilization of locally available edible wild plants. A review of the literature on dietary wild plants used in West, East, and Southern Africa demonstrates that dietary use of edible wild plants is central to many sub-Saharan societies. Wild plants are commonly important in the diet throughout the year, or especially during periods just before harvest. It is less clear from published evidence whether or not edible wild species duplicate or complement nutrients provided by domesticated species. One problem is the lack of data on energy and nutrient composition for African wild species. It can be well documented, however, that wild plants continue to sustain individuals and societies during periods of drought. The data presented document the unqualified need for sustained research on edible wild plants in sub-Saharan Africa. Bibliogr.