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Life Onboard |
LAST UPDATE
October 4, 2005
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| September 24, 2005 |
Healthy mind, healthy body, healthy world – Yumiko Otani |
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| Food designer Yumiko Otani |
Food designer Yumiko Otani was onboard Peace Boat to share her knowledge of nutrition and promote the eating of traditional grains. Many participants of varying ages and backgrounds attended her lectures, which focused on traditional foods, healthy eating, and mental well-being.
Yumiko first developed an interest in traditional grains when she was 30 years old. “I went to a natural restaurant and ate brown rice for the first time. It was very tasty, I felt energetic and my body felt happy,” she said. |
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| Yumiko and her sons on their traditional grain farm in Yamagata prefecture, Japan. (Photo courtesy of Yumiko Otani) |
This experience encouraged her to study the history of food around the world and the effect food has on the human body. Twenty-three years on, Yumiko and her family produce a huge range of grains on their farm in Japan’s northern region of Yamagata, and run an organic café in Tokyo. She also holds cooking and healthy living seminars, has founded a food education NGO, and is the author of 19 books.
Yumiko turned to a healthier lifestyle by eating seasonal grains, cereals and vegetables that were available around her. After years of ongoing research she believes the most important food for Japanese people to consume are grains (such as buck wheat, brown rice and a variety of millets), sea salt, organic vegetables, seaweed and fermented food. Each has qualities that strengthen and cleanse the body, she said. Foods that are not suited for the Japanese body include sugar, dairy products and meat. |
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| Yumiko explains to Peace Boat participants five foods which she believes should be the basis of everyone’s diet. |
There are many benefits to eating a diet high in traditional grains, said Yumiko. Grains can grow in a variety of conditions and do not require much fertilization. They contain nutrition in the form of fiber, minerals and protein. She recommended eating non-refined food, as foods that are bleached, refined, extracted and processed have comparatively little or no nutritional value.
In one lecture to Peace Boat participants, Yumiko pointed out the health and environmental problems throughout the world that result from excessive meat consumption. “The overgrazing of animals leads to desertification, water pollution and destruction of ecosystems. The earth can feed the population of the world ten times more than today if we eat grains instead of feeding them to livestock. The more meat you replace with grain, the less food shortages there will be in the world,” she said. |
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| A selection of grains that Yumiko makes into thousands of different dishes. (Photo courtesy of Yumiko Otani) |
Peace Boat participant Seiya Matsumiya said Yumiko’s lectures made him think about the origin of the food he eats. “I never really thought about where the food I eat comes from, and how it can have a negative impact on our environment. I hope someday her messages are heard throughout the world,” he said.
Yumiko founded a community based network called International Life and Food Association (ILFA), which seeks to show that food can change one’s body, lifestyle, and the world. “I learnt that the human body is a system that can heal and rejuvenate itself. I realized that we have to learn more about the real power of our bodies,” she said. |
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| An example of Yumiko’s creations. This burger is made from millet, but has the texture and taste of meat, she says. (Photo courtesy of Yumiko Otani) |
She also promotes the eating of ‘Peace Earth Food’. This means eating food that has not destroyed the natural environment where it was made. “It’s so important to know the history of food and how it was harvested. We ought to choose food that is not associated with destruction or violence in its harvesting process.”
She has managed her café, Tsubu Tsubu for more than twenty years. Fifteen similar cafes have been established throughout Japan, often by students of her popular seminars. Using grains that she and her family farm, she has created more than 2000 different dishes and Yumiko’s ongoing goal is to introduce as many people as possible to the health benefits and delicious taste of traditional grains.
Yumiko’s advice for better living is to get back to basics and eat traditional and local foods. “Every country’s indigenous food is very healthy. If you cook the food that surrounds you, and cook it traditionally, it will be healthy for you,” she said. She also advised making grains the biggest portion of one’s diet. “Eat grains! Make them 80 percent of your diet.” |
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