Brilio.net/en - Have you ever heard of the phrase mental tempeh? Its another way of saying that youve underestimated something or not thought something through. In Indonesian culture, the word tempeh (which is a traditional soybean product similar to a veggie burger patty) has become synonymous with low quality or worthless food. This association began 10 years ago when the countrys Bung Karno (a nickname for Indonesias former president Soekarno which means Brother Karno) said this about Indonesia: We are a big country, we are not tempeh country. Tempeh is cheap to make, and you make it by literally trampling on the food and smashing it into a paste. Soekarno used the analogy to convey the idea that Indonesia is not a country to be trampled on. However, this idea of worthlessness has been associated with tempeh in the minds of Indonesian people ever since.
The Indonesian Tempe Movement wants to change that. In fact, they want to bring a different message to the country and to the world: tempeh is a valuable, authentic Indonesian food that should make the Indonesian people proud, and for this reason tempeh should be developed and promoted as an important part of Indonesian culture.
Dr. F.G. Winarno, a professor of biotechnology at Atma Jaya University, founded the movement with the help of one of his former students, Amadeus Driando Ahnan. The movement promotes tempeh as a super food that was created using a fermentation technology originating in Indonesia.
Tempeh is a priceless heritage from our ancestors. Day by day, however, we realize that we have neglected it, said Driando to brilio.net/en. We want scientists to unite and work together to inspire our people to love tempeh more and appreciate its nutritional and cultural significance.
Driando, who is studying at the University of Massachusetts in the United States, discussed how, as their first step in promoting tempeh, the Tempe Movement held the International Conference on Tempe and its Related Products in February 2015. They also held the International Youth Conference on Tempeh 2015 for creative youths from various fields of study. The conference aimed to inspire youths to see the value of tempeh and its future development, and it boasted 300 participants, including participants from France, Poland, Korea, Japan and other countries.
So far the promotional efforts of the movement have succeeded admirably. Diandro and the Indonesian Tempe Movement were able to meet beauty queen and TV host Paulina Vega, who won the Miss Columbia pageant in 2013 and the famous Miss Universe pageant in the United States in 2014. They had her taste fried tempeh, and she loved it. Their promotional message was simple: if Miss Universe tried and loved tempeh -- a delicious, priceless staple of authentic Indonesian culture -- you should too.
Diandro and the Indonesian Tempe Movement also attended Europes International Biotechnology Leadership Camp 2015 -- i.e. International BioCamp 2015 -- that was held in Switzerland in Aug. 2015. They attended as representatives of Indonesia. It was just a way to let the world recognize tempeh as an authentic Indonesian food, said Diandro.
Besides educating society about the benefits and cultural significance of tempeh, explained Diandro, the long-term goal of the Indonesian Tempe Movement is to develop local soybeans for tempeh production. Why? So it can bring prosperity and sustainability to the lives of soybean farmers as well, explained Diandro.
Their research efforts have also recommended tempeh, thanks to its many health benefits, as an MP-ASI (Food Companion - Mother's Milk), which is a source of nutrition other than breast milk that contains vital nutrients for babies between 6 to 24 months. The Indonesian Tempe Movement submitted this declaration about tempeh based on the scientific assessment and recommendation of PATPI (Indonesian Association of Food Technologist), PERMI (Indonesian Society for Microbiology) and PERGIZI FOOD (Indonesian Nutritionist and Food Expertise Association).
If all goes well, eventually both government and private-funded research of tempeh will blossom, and a World Tempe Research Center will be established in Indonesia. In other countries, noted Diandro, many people conduct research about tempeh, including the USA, the Netherlands, and Japan, and Malaysia. Malaysia has also been thinking of establishing a research institution dedicated solely to tempeh. We can see how big the role of tempeh is, he said.
Diandro pointed out that it would be a bad development -- and tragic for Indonesia -- if the World Tempe Institution was built outside of Indonesia: Indonesia needs to learn from Koreas example in the way they developed the fermented food that is unique to their homeland. Korea has had the World Institute of Kimchi and the Special Museum of Kimchi. They have developed the highest standard of making Kimchi. Indonesia needs to rise to the same level with our food. We need to become the standard-bearer for making tempeh before other nations fill that role.
(brl/tis)
