IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i15p8371-d602330.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Transformation of Food Culture on the Case of Kyrgyz Nomads—A Historical Overview

Author

Listed:
  • Aiperi Otunchieva

    (Specialised Partnerships in Sustainable Food Systems and Food Sovereignty, Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences, University of Kassel, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany)

  • Jorobek Borbodoev

    (Department of Philosophy and Humanitarian Disciplines, Faculty of Humanitarian Knowledge, Kyrgyz State University Named after I. Arabaev, Bishkek 720026, Kyrgyzstan)

  • Angelika Ploeger

    (Specialised Partnerships in Sustainable Food Systems and Food Sovereignty, Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences, University of Kassel, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany)

Abstract

The society in Kyrgyzstan experiences a triple burden of malnutrition which occurs when undernutrition, overnutrition and micronutrient deficiency coexists, straining the public health system. This research investigates historical trends of nutrition transition of nomadic and semi-nomadic Kyrgyz and foods consumed earlier before industrialisation and intensification of agriculture started. Qualitative research design inspired by historical analysis and sociological methods were employed. Saturation sampling was used to conduct 15 semi-structural interviews and informal conversations with non-participant observation. Secondary data analysis was conducted based on Kyrgyz nomads’ scientific studies from history and anthropology, agricultural politics and nutrition studies. Results suggest that Kyrgyz nomads have undergone several periods of change of social and political order since the mid-19th century till nowadays from nomadic tribe-based system to predominantly sedentarism and limited semi-nomadic lifestyle. The collectivisation of farms, urbanisation and planned type of economy led to shifts in lifestyle and diets. Furthermore, with trade liberalisation and open economy policies, the entrance of food corporations impacted the nutritional status of the population. The study also reveals several traditional foods rich in nutrients. Consumption of forgotten and neglected plants might improve the nutrition status of the current population. Nutrition intervention programs should definitely consider locally available foods as part of public nutrition.

Suggested Citation

  • Aiperi Otunchieva & Jorobek Borbodoev & Angelika Ploeger, 2021. "The Transformation of Food Culture on the Case of Kyrgyz Nomads—A Historical Overview," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-19, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:15:p:8371-:d:602330
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/15/8371/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/15/8371/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pingali, Prabhu, 2007. "Westernization of Asian diets and the transformation of food systems: Implications for research and policy," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 281-298, June.
    2. Shigaeva, Jyldyz & Darr, Dietrich, 2020. "On the socio-economic importance of natural and planted walnut (Juglans regia L.) forests in the Silk Road countries: A systematic review," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xuehui Zhang & Wenjing Zhang & Zekui Ning, 2023. "The Evolving Status of Agricultural Products in the Global Value Chain since China and Kyrgyzstan Established Diplomatic Relations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-15, February.
    2. Jamilah Mohd Salim & Siti Nursyadiq Anuar & Khatijah Omar & Tengku Rozaina Tengku Mohamad & Nur Azura Sanusi, 2023. "The Impacts of Traditional Ecological Knowledge towards Indigenous Peoples: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-22, January.
    3. Kimsanova, Barchynai & Sanaev, Golib & Herzfeld, Thomas, 2022. "Dynamics of food consumption during political instability: evidence from Kyrgyzstan," 96th Annual Conference, April 4-6, 2022, K U Leuven, Belgium 321213, Agricultural Economics Society - AES.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Virna Estefania Moran-Rodas & Verena Preusse & Christine Wachendorf, 2022. "Agricultural Management Practices and Decision-Making in View of Soil Organic Matter in the Urbanizing Region of Bangalore," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-27, May.
    2. Dietrich, Jan Philipp & Schmitz, Christoph & Müller, Christoph & Fader, Marianela & Lotze-Campen, Hermann & Popp, Alexander, 2012. "Measuring agricultural land-use intensity – A global analysis using a model-assisted approach," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 232(C), pages 109-118.
    3. Vani S. Kulkarni, 2014. "Global middle class and dietary patterns: a sociological perspective," Chapters, in: Raghbendra Jha & Raghav Gaiha & Anil B. Deolalikar (ed.), Handbook on Food, chapter 20, pages 515-538, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Hanjra, Munir A. & Qureshi, M. Ejaz, 2010. "Global water crisis and future food security in an era of climate change," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 365-377, October.
    5. Fang Xia & Lingling Hou & Songqing Jin & Dongqing Li, 2020. "Land size and productivity in the livestock sector: evidence from pastoral areas in China," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 64(3), pages 867-888, July.
    6. Andi Syah Putra & Guangji Tong & Didit Okta Pribadi, 2020. "Spatial Analysis of Socio-Economic Driving Factors of Food Expenditure Variation between Provinces in Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-18, February.
    7. Thomas Reardon & David Zilberman, 2022. "Symbiotic, Resilient, and Rapidly Transforming Food Supply Chains in LMICs: Supermarket and E-commerce Revolutions Helped by Wholesale and Logistics Co-pivoting," NBER Chapters, in: Risks in Agricultural Supply Chains, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Post Lori & Issa Tariq & Schmitz Andrew & Oehmke James, 2021. "Enabling the Environment for Private Sector Investment: Impact on Food Security and Poverty," Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization, De Gruyter, vol. 19(1), pages 25-37, May.
    9. Khondoker A. Mottaleb & Dil Bahadur Rahut & Gideon Kruseman & Olaf Erenstein, 2018. "Wheat Production and Consumption Dynamics in an Asian Rice Economy: The Bangladesh Case," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 30(2), pages 252-275, April.
    10. Baldos, Uris Lantz C. & Hertel, Thomas W., 2014. "Global food security in 2050: the role of agricultural productivity and climate change," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 58(4), October.
    11. Jacinto F. Fabiosa, 2005. "Growing Demand for Animal-Protein-Source Products in Indonesia: Trade Implications," Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) Publications 05-wp400, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University.
    12. Huong, Pham Thi Mai & Hau, Nguyen Van & Kaufmann, Brigitte & Valle-Zarate, Anne & Mergenthaler, Marcus, 2009. "Emerging supply chains of indigenous pork and their impacts on small-scale farmers in upland areas of Vietnam," 2009 Conference, August 16-22, 2009, Beijing, China 51628, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    13. Prabhu Pingali & Mathew Abraham, 2022. "Food systems transformation in Asia – A brief economic history," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 53(6), pages 895-910, November.
    14. Garg, Shamita & Sushil,, 2021. "Determinants of deglobalization: A hierarchical model to explore their interrelations as a conduit to policy," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 433-447.
    15. Waldron, Scott A. & Brown, Colin G. & Longworth, John W., 2009. "China’s Agricultural Modernisation Program: an assessment of its sustainability and impacts in the case of the high-value beef chain," 2009 Conference, August 16-22, 2009, Beijing, China 50784, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    16. Shenggen Fan, 2016. "A Nexus Approach to Food, Water, and Energy: Sustainably Meeting Asia’s Future Food and Nutrition Requirements," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 55(4), pages 297-311.
    17. Ephraim Nkonya & Jawoo Koo & Edward Kato & Zhe Guo, 2013. "Trends and Patterns of Land Use Change and International Aid in Sub-Saharan Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2013-110, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    18. Minten, Bart & Reardon, Thomas & Vandeplas, Anneleen, 2009. "Linking urban consumers and rural farmers in India: A comparison of traditional and modern food supply chains," IFPRI discussion papers 883, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    19. Qaim, Matin & Andersson, Camilla I.M. & Chege, Christine G.K. & Kimenju, Simon Chege & Klasen, Stephan & Rischke, Ramona, 2014. "Nutrition Effects of the Supermarket Revolution on Urban Consumers and Smallholder Farmers in Kenya," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 180976, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.
    20. Minten, Bart & Singh, K.M. & Sutradhar, Rajib, 2013. "Branding and agricultural value chains in developing countries: Insights from Bihar (India)," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 23-34.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:15:p:8371-:d:602330. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.