New video promotes yellow-fleshed foods and health

By Dr. Lois Englberger

'Going Yellow', a video produced by Micronesian Seminar in conjunction with Sight and Life and the Island Food Community of Pohnpei, presents an exciting combination of scientific information on food and health, as
well as humor and entertainment.

A premiere of the film is to be shown Friday 14 October, 2005, 3 pm at the PMA Studio, just following the First Day of Issue Ceremony of the Karat Banana postal stamps, as presided over by Governor Johnny P. David.

To quickly summarize, the story unfolds with a televised News Report on vitamin A deficiency and other serious health problems in Micronesia, which are related to the shift to consuming refined imported foods. A family
(two young teenage girls, a young boy, their mother and grandmother) is watching the television program, which then shows a young beauty queen, Miss Pacifica. She explains that she eats Karat and other local foods to keep
her strong and beautiful. This encourages one of the daughters to start eating better and leads into a drama that humorously explores Micronesian eating habits. The family, who is used to eating mainly rice, ramen,
corned beef, and turkey tails, slowly learns to add more local foods to their diet. A cast of goofy characters, including a grandmother who cries (in a comical and nostalgic way) because she misses the local foods that used to be so plentiful, helps make the serious issue of nutrition entertaining and fun.

Watch for special appearances by Uncle Domingko, a farmer who still grows all his own food, and Mr. Bubba, a Texan who has flown all the way to Micronesia just to see the famous Karat banana!!! He meets the family and joins them to celebrate "World Traditional Food Day." At the end all
"go local", and happily eat breadfruit, Karat banana, pandanus, taro rolls, and other local food delicacies. Other scenes in the video show activities of
the Island Food Community of Pohnpei and local agencies, Women's Day, Pohnpei Cultural Day, the Youth to Youth Program, the Mand Community local food project, traditional island food ceremonies, promotional posters and
booklets, and scenes from the DSM Nutritional Products laboratory in Switzerland, where many Micronesian foods have been analyzed for their nutrient content.

Thanks are firstly extended to the Sight and Life humanitarian organization in Switzerland, the initiators of the project, along with Dr. Englberger and the Island Food Community of Pohnpei. Sight and Life then contracted
Micronesian Seminar, with Father Fran Hezel and his team, to make the film and provided funding support.

Thanks are also warmly extended to the MicSem team, including Erik Steffen, Eugenia Samuel, and Eugene Augustine. Thanks also to the cast which
Features Eugene Pangelinan, Narlie Santos, Mina Phillip, Anida Defang, Wehns Billen, Maria Movick, Franny Peter, Mark Pangelinan, Robinson Andon, and Doug Hastings - most of whom had their first acting experience during the
Making of this video. Special thanks also to Mr. Gibson Santos who wrote the feature song "Let's Go Local" which is sung by his daughter Nazarene, and to the Mercedarian Sisters and Ellen's Market for the film sites.

It is hoped that this video will soon be aired on local television and may contribute towards increased local food production and consumption and health improvement.

Copies of this video are available on tape or DVD for $10 each from Micronesian Seminar and a shared copy for sharing at public events may be obtained for no charge from the Island Food Community of Pohnpei.