Can we grow veggies designed to combat diabetes? Manitoba researchers hope so – Atin Ito News
August 21 2024
Researchers at the University of Manitoba are working with a northern First Nation to develop vegetables with increased nutritional characteristics that may help combat health conditions like diabetes. But they also have to convince local folks to eat them.
U of M scientists team with remote First Nation to grow more nutritious vegetables, teach locals to love them.
“There’s a lot of stigma that we were met with,” said Stephanie R. Cook, Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN) smart farm operations manager. “People were like, ‘Oh … it’s artificial, it’s fake food.’ “
Cook understands this hesitancy, because in her first few months on the job, she was also too scared to eat the produce. Coming from a traditional background, she says she was taught that food comes from the earth, not from a lab.
