Soppu Mela’ in Mysuru Celebrates Leafy Greens and Culinary Heritage

Rapid Summary

• A two-day ‘Soppu’ Mela (Leafy Greens Festival) began in Mysuru on Saturday to promote leafy green vegetables and revive culinary traditions.
• Organized by Sahaja Samrudha, Hulikadu Farmers Producer Company, and ICAR-JSS Krishi Vigyan Kendra, the event is held at Nanjaraja Bahadur Choultry.
• R. Santosh Nayak emphasized the erosion of customary knowledge regarding leafy greens in urban areas while highlighting their mental health benefits.
• G. Janardhan underscored the nutritional value of leafy greens, promoting them for their role in improving eyesight, blood pressure control, and immunity building.
• concerns over chemical pesticide use were raised by B.N.Gnanesh; he urged consumers to support poison-free foods and enduring farming practices.
• Director of Sahaja Samrudha highlighted the overlooked medicinal properties of naturally growing leafy greens frequently enough dismissed as weeds.
• Farmers from across Karnataka are displaying over 150 varieties of greens alongside seeds, organic products, value-added goods, and medicinal plants.
• Sunday events include a cooking competition featuring greens dishes and a children’s drawing competition titled “greens as I See Them.”

Indian Opinion Analysis

The ‘Soppu’ Mela provides a valuable platform not only to revive India’s rich culinary heritage but also to raise awareness about sustainable agricultural practices that address modern health challenges arising from chemically treated produce. The participation of diverse farmers from tribal regions and rural women underscores grassroots efforts toward food literacy while highlighting their crucial role as custodians of traditional agricultural knowledge.

The festival’s emphasis on nutrition further aligns with national priorities like combating malnutrition through micronutrient-rich diets such as those offered by leafy greens-especially relevant given rising lifestyle diseases in urban centers. Encouraging poison-free farming might also promote consumer-driven shifts toward sustainability within India’s agricultural landscape.

By blending education with cultural recognition through competitions for both adults and children, this initiative could foster wider acceptance for local food biodiversity-a step forward at preserving indigenous ecological systems often overlooked during commercial vegetable cultivation trends.

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