The use of wild foods in Malawi

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Periodical article

Title:	The use of wild foods in Malawi
Author:	Mikkola, Heimo
Year:	1997
Periodical:	The Society of Malawi Journal
Volume:	50
Issue:	2
Pages:	40-53
Language:	English
Notes:	biblio. refs.
Geographic terms:	Malawi Central Africa
Subjects:	game meat edible plants Medicine, Nutrition, Public Health Wild plants Food resources
External link:	https://www.jstor.org/stable/29778981
Abstract:	The use of wild foods has often been seen as a coping mechanism during times of malnutrition and famine. On the basis of interviews conducted between February and September 1997 with 110 Malawians, selected randomly in Lilongwe City and several rural villages in Mzimba district, the author describes the most common use of wild foods in Malawi. Almost all respondents indicated that they ate wild fruits and mushrooms. Wild nuts, seeds, leaves, flying ants, termites, wild pigeons, and guinea fowl were all regularly eaten. Frogs, lizards, snakes, and crocodiles were rarely eaten, but birds and rodents were quite popular, as well as game mammals, depending on their availability. The results demonstrate the importance of wild foods in the Malawian diet. Legumes are particularly important as complements to carbohydrate products such as maize, rice, and other cereals. Bibliogr.