129glbergeret al.,2006). An orange-fleshed banana,
Utin Iap, contained 8 508 μg beta-carotene. This com-
pares to 3 0 μg beta-carotene for common banana. It
was shown that the carotenoid content was greater in
those varieties with the greater yellow or orange flesh
colouration. This led to the “Yellow Varieties” cam-
paign and the slogan “Go Yellow”. Both slogans
helped to brand the movement and provide further in-
terest.
A series of studies were conducted to analyse other
banana, giant swamp taro, breadfruit and pandanus
varieties, with potential for rich carotenoid content
due to the yellow or orange flesh colouration. The
results showed that the varieties with greater yellow
or orange flesh colouration did have a greater
carotenoid concentration (Englberger et al.,
2003a,b,c, 2008, 2009a, 2010d). These foods were
also shown to be rich in vitamins, minerals includ-
ing zinc, calcium, iron, and fibre.
Epidemiological studies also show that carotenoid-
rich foods protect against cancer, heart disease and
diabetes (WCRF/AICR, 2007; Kritchevsky, 1999;
Coyneet al.,2005). These non-communicable dis-
eases have become the major health problems in the
FSM. For example, in Pohnpei, 32 percent of adults
now are afflicted with diabetes (WHO, 2008). Thus,
the yellow-fleshed, carotenoid-rich foods and vari-
eties can play a double role. They can help to protect
against vitamin A deficiency disorders and also help
against these non-communicable diseases.
3.2 Formation of a non-governmental organization
The Island Food Community of Pohnpei (IFCP) was
chartered as a non-governmental organization in
2004, and adopted the Go Local slogan in 2005. With
the formation of an organization devoted entirely to
the promotion and research of local foods, impor-
tant progress was made in going forward with local
food promotion.
3 .3 GO LOCAL slogan
One of the important parts of the intervention to in-
crease production and consumption of local foods
was the reviving of the slogan “Go Local”, introduced
first by a government officer Bermin Weilbacher in
the 1980s (Englberger et all., 2010c). As many people
were already familiar with the term and it captured
the many broad aspects of what local foods involve, it
caught on quite quickly. It provided “project brand-
ing” and gave a unifying aspect to the campaign.
The term refers to a food-based approach to im-
proving health, and increasing food production and
consumption. The term was changed slightly to
“Let’s go local” in order to soften the term and
make it a group activity. Billboards, t-shirts, songs
and promotional pens were made to present the
slogan and it became well known and popular.
The term also refers to many other important ben-
efits. This led to the development of an acronym
“CHEEF” to describe the chief or many benefits of
local food. These are Culture, Health, Environment,
Economics and Food security. Thus, the campaign
not only encouraged to “go local” but also empha-
sized the many reasons on why to go local.3 .4 Involvement with the CINE-led global health
project
As part of the global health study led by the Centre
for Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition and Environment,
the traditional food system in Pohnpei, FSM, was
documented (Englberger et al., 2 009b) and pro-
moted (Englberger et al.,2010a). A target commu-
nity was selected, Mand Community, along with
these criteria: around 500 in population, rural, ac-
cessible and willingness to participate. The first
phase focused on the documentation (around three
months) of the traditional food system, which is
documented in Chapter 6 of the published book by
CINE and Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations (Kuhnlein et al.,2009; Englberger et
al.,2009b).
The second phase focused on the implementation
of a two-year community-based, interagency, par-
ticipatory intervention, aiming at increasing local
food production and consumption.
Multiple methods were used, including awareness,