excerpt from what i eat by peter menzel and faith d'aluisio

8/6/2019 Excerpt From What I Eat by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio

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http://whatieat.org/http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/tenspeed/http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780984074402http://www.borders.com/online/store/TitleDetail?defaultSearchView=List&LogData=%5Bsearch%3A+13%2Cparse%3A+44%5D&cm_mmc=CJ-_-2193956-_-2665379-_-88x31+logo&type=1&searchData={productId%3Anull%2Csku%3Anull%2Ctype%3A1%2Csort%3Anull%2CcurrPage%3A1%2CresultsPerPage%3A25%2CsimpleSearch%3Afalse%2Cnavigation%3A5185%2CmoreValue%3Anull%2CcoverView%3Afalse%2Curl%3Arpp%3D25%26view%3D2%26type%3D1%26page%3D1%26kids%3Dfalse%26nav%3D5185%26simple%3Dfalse%26sku%3D9780984074402%2Cterms%3A{sku%3D9780984074402}}&storeId=13551&catalogId=10001&sku=0984074406&ddkey=http:SearchResultshttp://search.barnesandnoble.com/What-I-Eat/Peter-Menzel/e/9780984074402?r=1&afsrc=1&isbsrc=Yhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0984074406?ie=UTF8&tag=randohouseinc-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0984074406


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800

22 W H A T I E A T

Historically, the diet of the semi-nomadic

Maasai people consisted of meat, blood, and

copious amounts of milk, but politics and en-

croaching development have taken a large

bite out of communal land, making it diffi-

cult to successfully graze a large herd. Today,

cornmeal and potatoes produced by others

are more likely to be the centerpiece of the

Maasai diet.

In times of drought, Maasai family for-

tunes are in jeopardy, and thats where mostMaasai pastoralists in Kenyas semiarid Rift

Valley find themselves these days: locked in

a losing battle with Mother Nature.

SOUTHERN GREAT RIFT VALLEY A typical

Maasai mans conversation with a wife he

hasnt seen for a while begins with How are

the cows? The family herd is, in essence,

the family bank account and, as such, is

all-important. They keep their animals safe,

count them often, sell them only when they

have to, and, increasingly, rarely eat them.

When we meet Noolkisaruni Tarakuai in

her village of Olgos, just outside the Ma-

sai Mara National Reserve, the 38-year-old

mother of seven is organizing the butcher-

ing of a pregnant cow that has fallen and is

dying. The reason for its distress isnt yet

clear, but the cow is lying on the ground a

20-minute walk from her house, and shes

going to have to kill it. Her husband, Kipanoi

Ole Sammy Tarakuai, the local chief, is con-sulted, as the death of a cow is a serious

matter, and he gives permission. Once the

word goes out, every family in the area sends

a representative or two to claim a bit of the

meat. As a Maasai elder, Chief Sammys role

is to ensure the well-being of his clan, which

generally means sharing everything he owns.

Typically, all members of a Maasai clan have

a responsibility to every other clansman, and

sharing is common.

Three young men show up with matches

and prepare to eat their instant meal on-site.

They gather brush and sit down to wait for

their piece of cow. A passing herdsman wan-

ders by and waits for a piece as well.

Life on the dry, scrubby plain can be unfor-

giving, but there are both good and bad years.

In a good year, Noolkisaruni says, Ill milk

the cows until I have a calabash [gourd] full,

then prepare milk tea and ugali [cornmeal

porridge] for the children, and ugaliand a

cup of milk for the herdsman. The herdsman

is the most important person herewithout

him, theres no milk. After he leaves with the

herd, I eat ugaliif there is some left and have

a cup of milk myself. This is either fermented

BREAKFAST AND DINNER Ugali (thick cornmeal porridge), 14.1 oz (only half is pictured) Banana,

3.4 oz Black tea (2), 12 fl oz; with whole milk, 2 fl oz; and sugar, 2 tbsp Water, hauled from a

reservoir and boiled, 2.1 qt

CALORIES 800

Age: 38 Height: 5'5" Weight: 103 pounds

Noolkisaruni TarakuaiThe Maasai Herder

KENYA

ONE DAYS FOOD

IN JANUARY
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8 0 0 1 9 0 0 23

Noolkisaruni Tarakuai, third of four wives of a Maasai chief, at her familys corral with her typical days worth of food. The prolonged drought that has taken a

toll on livestock and wild animal populations alike throughout sub-Saharan Africa has also taken a toll on its people. There is little forage left for Noolkisarunis

cattle, and the gaunt cows produce barely enough milk for their calves, leaving only a pittance for Noolkisarunis family and herdsmen. At left: Two months

after we visited, the Tarakuai family sent a message saying, The chief has fewer than 50 cows and calves left from his large herd of more than 400, and it is

getting dire because the rains have not been adequate. The family was only able to salvage the hides, which they sold.


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Before sunrise,

Noolkisaruni (top left)

helps a calf reunite

with its mother before

the morning milking.

The cattle will spend

the day on the arid

plain searching for

food. Later (top

right), village women

haul drinking water

from the reservoir dug

for them by an aid

organization. In the

afternoon, her family

and neighbors butcher

a pregnant cow (at

left) that couldnt

walk. A neighbor

displays the cause: a

tangle of indigestible

plastic bags that was

lodged in the cows

stomach.


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800 The Maasai Herder Kenya


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27

In the early morning

in her windowless,

round, dung-

and-mud house,

Noolkisaruni Tarakuairinses spoons in a

cooking pot as her

herder waits for his

breakfast of cornmeal

porridgeugaliand

sweet hot tea before

setting off for the day

to graze the familys

cattle on the southern

Kenyan plain. When

the cows find enough

to eat, there is also

milk to drinkeither

fresh or soured for

preservation. The

amount of milk that

Noolkisaruni can draw

during drought is so

minimal that theres

no need to preserve

it. Its barely enough

to give just a taste

to the herdsman, her

husband, and her

children; theres so

little, she collects

it in a tin cup ratherthan a gourd. The

herdsmen, who can

be paid in money or in

goats, are people who

have lost their herd to

drought or predation

by wild animals.

They must work for

someone else until

they earn enough to

rebuild their herd.

The herdsmen live

with the family

full-time and only go

home during school

vacations, when the

children can take

care of the animals.


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http://whatieat.org/http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/tenspeed/http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780984074402http://www.borders.com/online/store/TitleDetail?defaultSearchView=List&LogData=%5Bsearch%3A+13%2Cparse%3A+44%5D&cm_mmc=CJ-_-2193956-_-2665379-_-88x31+logo&type=1&searchData={productId%3Anull%2Csku%3Anull%2Ctype%3A1%2Csort%3Anull%2CcurrPage%3A1%2CresultsPerPage%3A25%2CsimpleSearch%3Afalse%2Cnavigation%3A5185%2CmoreValue%3Anull%2CcoverView%3Afalse%2Curl%3Arpp%3D25%26view%3D2%26type%3D1%26page%3D1%26kids%3Dfalse%26nav%3D5185%26simple%3Dfalse%26sku%3D9780984074402%2Cterms%3A{sku%3D9780984074402}}&storeId=13551&catalogId=10001&sku=0984074406&ddkey=http:SearchResultshttp://search.barnesandnoble.com/What-I-Eat/Peter-Menzel/e/9780984074402?r=1&afsrc=1&isbsrc=Yhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0984074406?ie=UTF8&tag=randohouseinc-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0984074406

excerpt from what i eat by peter menzel and faith d'aluisio

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