Access Lois Englberger's member's profile here
Access Harriet Kuhnlein's WN commentary here

Lois Englberger's picture of a baby being fed karat banana was used for a postage stamp. Lois also encouraged the revival of local fruit markets

The life of Lois Englberger, Association Council member who died in late September, is a special example of the philosophy and principles of public health nutrition in action. It will live on as her legacy. She lived and worked in the Pacific region since 1980, and specifically in Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia since 1997. In her work she was dedicated to celebrating, publicising, and above all reviving, the traditional food systems of the region. She did this as a biologist and a social scientist, an environmentalist, and a campaigner, networked in the region and internationally. She combined scholarship, vision, modesty; and also utter determination. Her mission was to ensure that the values of naturally biodiverse traditional food systems, so often overlooked, underestimated and in danger of being forgotten, be recognised and upheld.

Often this involved encouraging communities and families to believe that the native and established fruits of the earth, which so often become disregarded and even despised as economies are commercialised, are a better choice than the processed products in the shops. Another result of the work of Lois and her colleagues is the revival of local markets selling local fruits, as seen above (right).

Association president Barrie Margetts says: 'I first encountered Lois when I was editor of the journal Public Health Nutrition. We got talking about her work, and I encouraged her to submit a paper, which she did, and which we published. She was modest, but determined; she was not going to be put off what she knew was right. On our Council she was quiet, reflective, and always supportive. She recommended a number of colleagues as Association members, and continued to be active right up to the end. She will be missed, but her light will continue to shine'.

As a scientist Lois worked as part of the global Centre for Indigenous Peoples' Nutrition and Environment (CINE) network, whose founding director is Association Council member Harriet Kuhnlein. Jointly, they explained some of the work being done by Lois and her very many colleagues and friends, in a letter to World Nutrition – see Box 1.

Harriet Kuhnlein says: 'Lois contributed greatly to the team of collaborators in the CINE network, especially in her work with trusted local partners in the Island Food Community of Pohnpei (IFCP). As with all the CINE projects, Lois as the nutritionist developed the work on the scientific qualities of food, such as nutrient composition, precise identifications, and quantitative dietary evaluations. It is by building on this knowledge, central for communications and promotion of public health nutrition, that the IFCP has done so well, with leadership from Lois. May its work continue and flourish.

'As a small country, the Federated States of Micronesia have both state and national headquarter offices in the same town, which really help networking among the many government offices interested in food security. This networking, especially related to nutrition and the health of women and children, has captured the attention of communities, the state and the nation. This has spread, with multisectoral involvement of policy makers with diverse portfolios, to embrace the "Let's Go Local" movement. As evidence of this, the Governor's office decreed that all public functions would have only local food served. It was in the Governor's office where the memorial service for Lois was held in October.

'The word about success with local food promotion in Pohnpei has spread throughout many Pacific nations, who now champion agriculture and use local Pacific foods. Lois and several IFCP colleagues have shared their knowledge and success in health promotion using local foods. This kind of "scaling up" to communities and nations who have heard about the Pohnpei project and want similar activities and goals, is truly the gold standard of a successful project'.

Previously living in Tonga, Lois told the story of how she won the attention and affection of the literally great king, by encouraging him to reduce his weight by around 70 kilograms. This kind of striking and attractive direct action was typical of Lois. Probably her best-known work was the identification of the orange and red karat bananas, native to the Pacific region, as an intensely rich sources of carotenoids, and thus a natural way to prevent vitamin A deficiency. But her work went far beyond bananas and vitamin A. Thus, she published in the prestigious Journal of Food Composition and Analysis on the many cultivars and varieties of taro, breadfruit, and other species prevalent in the Pacific islands.

One of her most characteristic achievements was to persuade several offices of the government of the Federated States of Micronesia to work with and promote local food. Lois and the Island Food Community of Pohnpei worked with ministries including those responsible for elementary and higher education, health, tourism, agriculture, and commerce. She convinced government to issue a definitive set of postage stamps showing several Island foods, which now remind citizens every time they send or receive a letter, of the value of the these traditions in their lives and that of their families and communities. Access some of her work on the karat banana here. Another stamp, not shown as such below, was based on Lois's own photograph (left, above) of a Pohnpei baby being fed on karat banana. The flesh of the karat is far softer and more succulent than that of what are now the most common commercial varieties of banana, whose content of carotenoids and most other micronutrients is not significant. Could this be an historic first? The first time that food has been featured on postage stamps because of its nutritional value?

Lois and her campaigning work: recognition and promotion of the karat banana, intensely rich source of vitamin A. From poster to postage stamp

Lois's work and example feels like a microcosm of the way food and nutrition policy and practice should be, everywhere' says Association publications editor Geoffrey Cannon. 'From my perspective, living and working in Brazil, so much of what Lois has shown and achieved has resonance here. In Brazil too, there is neglect of old ways, and disrespect for traditional customs and beliefs. There is also an astounding biodiversity of native f 'oods, used in the past and still now usually by older rural communities, for the prevention and treatment of disease as well as food in what is now the usual sense. Gradually now, there is re-discovery of the intense nutritional richness of some native foods. There is also gradual recognition of the vital importance of all this in the revival and maintenance of local cultures, cuisines, economies, employment, and ways of life. I'm sure the same is true in India, China, elsewhere in Asia and Latin America, and in Africa. And one of Lois's personal qualities, so apparent in her work and in meeting her, is a secret of what will remain her success: her optimism, her positive demeanour. This shines out from what she wrote about herself, as an Association member'. (See Box 2). 'She remains an example to us all'.

Harriet Kuhnlein adds: 'I have known Lois since the early days of her doctoral thesis review and defence, and it truly pleases me that Lois and the IFCP have contributed to the mentorship of many graduate students in nutrition from several universities (the University of Arizona, Emory, McGill, among others). Graduate students were fortunate indeed to have this experience, often staying in the home of Lois and Konrad Englberger, sharing their table, and helping to brainstorm the next IFCP activities. And there were so many, such as designing a billboard for the road to the airport, distributing banana and taro cuttings for planting in home gardens, collecting and sending samples to a lab, interviewing women, assisting filming, contributing photographs for posters and publications, and helping Lois with her networking. Lois was a superb communicator. Many of us in the CINE network have resorted to separate files for our multitudes of "Lois emails" to treasure and refer to.

'Lois was always insistent that the success of the CINE project in Pohnpei, and of all the projects she helped develop, was the result of teamwork with many colleagues, in particular Adelino Lorens, the local agricultural leader and chair of the IFCP Board. Adelino, Kipid Albert, or Podis Pedrus often accompanied Lois to CINE meetings. Some of these have been held in Bellagio (Italy), Durban and Futululu (South Africa), Bangkok and Sanepong (Thailand), Galway (Ireland), and at CINE in Montreal. Their presence and testimonies about local success among their people added credibility to the project. At the symposium of the IUNS task force on Indigenous Peoples' Food Systems and Nutrition, of which Lois was a member, held in 2009 at the International Congress of Nutrition held in Bangkok, Lois delighted everyone with her song about the benefits of local food created for Pohnpei schools, which she sang in her yellow or orange "Let's Go Local" tee-shirt'.

Many friend and colleagues in the CINE network have sent heartfelt messages about the importance of Lois, and how she will be greatly missed. Messages are acknowledged at http://www.mcgill.ca/cine/research/global.