NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Debater Michael Mutito, rising to join a debate about traditional Kenyan food, said the proof of his argument rode with every relief convoy rolling through his country.

"Have you ever seen the Kenya Red Cross carry a sack of arrowroots (or) cassavas to Turkana?" the primary school student asked rhetorically. "They carry maize, beans, wheat, vegetable oil but I have never seen them carry traditional foods."

Mutito was speaking at a debate on traditional foods versus exotic foods at the Nairobi National Museum, where area students convened recently for a symposium as part of a three-day fair celebrating traditional foods as elements of cultural diversity.

"The theme brings to focus what we Kenyans have ignored for years," said keynote speaker Fidelis Nakhulo, an official with the Ministry of Education. "Indeed we have a rich heritage with great diversity, which we should be proud to identify with. Organizing a fete like this one is a major contribution towards asserting our cultural heritage."

He said the biodiversity of traditional foods was important for food security as well as a source of national pride.

"The French eat frogs and snails, the Chinese and Koreans eat dogs. We should be proud of our foods too," he said.

Students from area schools performed songs, traditional dances, plays and poems citing the benefits of embracing locally available traditional foods. A Belgian nongovernmental organization contributed a lunch featuring traditional foods, including sweet potatoes, groundnut sauce, arrow roots, millet porridge, fish and boiled bananas.

Local artist Muthoni Ndonga, the event's mistress of ceremonies, praised the fair as a good start but said much more is needed.

"We still have a lot to do to sensitize the community on the value of traditional foods," she said. "Many of us are still arrogant. This event was a success but we need more of these avenues to disseminate information to the people."

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