Posho is still the best food
A LOT has been said about posho and its persistent appearance on the school menu nationwide. The man who started it all is Vice President Gilbert Bukenya of the upland rice scheme fame. Little wonder, therefore, that his press secretary had to give us evidence on why Bukenya was using rice as the be
George Bita
A LOT has been said about posho and its persistent appearance on the school menu nationwide. The man who started it all is Vice President Gilbert Bukenya of the upland rice scheme fame. Little wonder, therefore, that his press secretary had to give us evidence on why Bukenya was using rice as the best tool.
I think it is myopic reasoning to say posho is one reason many Africans’ brains remain stunted.
From the biological point of view, posho is a carbohydrate which has a tiny but vital role in the daily food pyramid responsible for good health.
Bread, rice or cereals form the base of the food pyramid as they are required in comparatively big quantities while fats and oils are needed in a small quantity.
Other foods such as milk, meat, beans, fruits and vegetables also feature in this daily food nutritional demand.
So, rice and posho fall in the same class and are basically energy-giving foods with no significant role in body-building or brain-building.
Energy intake varies from about 1,000 to more than 4,000 calories a day depending on age, sex and physical activity.
If the energy intake is insufficient for the body’s needs, weight loss occurs and stored fat or protein would be used to supply the required energy.
Hence a simple comparison by grain-size implies the maize seed has comparative advantage over the much smaller rice grain.
The problem with school diet is not posho, but what it is served with. I would instead expect the agitators to call for a varied diet.
In fact this does not apply to only schools, but millions of children in rural homes who feed, days on end, on only starchy foods that retard their growth. This revolution on good feeding will hold much sense if it begins at home with even the less fortunate members of society who cannot afford rice being helped out of poverty. Children from such households get to school to glorify posho as a Godsend, while some of us can afford to ridicule the same.
The varied diet for all youngsters should include millet flour, cassava or potatoes with various vegetables, fruit, eggs or cheese. What is needed for good development of the person’s body is not a single food like posho or rice, but a proper diet to maintain a desirable body composition and a large capacity for physical and mental development.
Unless this is just a campaign for schools to embrace the much-hyped upland rice scheme, school authorities should be spared the posho versus rice debate and instead be enlightened on the basic four food groups essential for body growth and development.
The writer is a journalist
A LOT has been said about posho and its persistent appearance on the school menu nationwide. The man who started it all is Vice President Gilbert Bukenya of the upland rice scheme fame. Little wonder, therefore, that his press secretary had to give us evidence on why Bukenya was using rice as the best tool.
I think it is myopic reasoning to say posho is one reason many Africans’ brains remain stunted.
From the biological point of view, posho is a carbohydrate which has a tiny but vital role in the daily food pyramid responsible for good health.
Bread, rice or cereals form the base of the food pyramid as they are required in comparatively big quantities while fats and oils are needed in a small quantity.
Other foods such as milk, meat, beans, fruits and vegetables also feature in this daily food nutritional demand.
So, rice and posho fall in the same class and are basically energy-giving foods with no significant role in body-building or brain-building.
Energy intake varies from about 1,000 to more than 4,000 calories a day depending on age, sex and physical activity.
If the energy intake is insufficient for the body’s needs, weight loss occurs and stored fat or protein would be used to supply the required energy.
Hence a simple comparison by grain-size implies the maize seed has comparative advantage over the much smaller rice grain.
The problem with school diet is not posho, but what it is served with. I would instead expect the agitators to call for a varied diet.
In fact this does not apply to only schools, but millions of children in rural homes who feed, days on end, on only starchy foods that retard their growth. This revolution on good feeding will hold much sense if it begins at home with even the less fortunate members of society who cannot afford rice being helped out of poverty. Children from such households get to school to glorify posho as a Godsend, while some of us can afford to ridicule the same.
The varied diet for all youngsters should include millet flour, cassava or potatoes with various vegetables, fruit, eggs or cheese. What is needed for good development of the person’s body is not a single food like posho or rice, but a proper diet to maintain a desirable body composition and a large capacity for physical and mental development.
Unless this is just a campaign for schools to embrace the much-hyped upland rice scheme, school authorities should be spared the posho versus rice debate and instead be enlightened on the basic four food groups essential for body growth and development.
The writer is a journalist