She is the World Food Prize 2021 Winner – discoverer of the nutritional difference between “feeding” and “nourishing” people. I am sure it was a moment of brilliance, an insight: Initially pointed to by intuition, later proven by logic (research).
Who is Ms Shakuntala? Written by ANN, her Biography says[1] (Author Not Named, “2021 Thilsted,” Worldfoodprize.org):
In evaluating the nutritional composition of small native fish species in Southeast Asia, (Shakuntala Haraksingh) Thilsted was the first to establish that commonly consumed small fish were important sources of essential micronutrients and fatty acids.
Small fish, big nutrition. We Asians loved fish, that was all we knew. They were relatively cheap and even easy to catch in rivers and streams.
She led groundbreaking research showing that the content and bioavailability of necessary nutrients in small fish species were much higher than previously reported, and revealing that consuming fish enhanced the absorption of nutrients from plant-based foods.
Doing further research, she found that the big contents in nutrients coupled with their high bioavailability in small fishes in turn made the nutrients from plant-based foods more highly bioavailable for consumers, us.
This new, expanded knowledge of the nutritional profile of fish reshaped the scientific understanding of the benefits of fish in diets.
Now we humans know we need the Small Fish to eat the Big Fish!
Similarly, Albert Einstein discovered the Theory of Relativity expressed as: E=mc2, or Energy (E) equals mass(m) multiplied by the speed of light(c) squared. That is why I am proposing in the name of Ms Shakuntala the
2nd E = mc2
where
E = Efficacy
mc2 = micronutrients squared.
Translation: Micronutrients are in fact Macronutrients!
It was her fealty, or loyalty to research that paved the way for such a huge & wonderful discovery. Imitating Hamlet in his soliloquy (Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, 1603), that’s why I say to Ms Shakuntala:
“Fealty, thy name is woman!”
The biography further says:
Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted, native of Trinidad and Tobago and a citizen of Denmark, will receive the 2021 World Food Prize for her groundbreaking research, critical insights and landmark innovations in developing holistic, nutrition-sensitive approaches to aquaculture and food systems. By bringing together interdisciplinary and international collaborators, she drove transformations in aquatic food systems to deliver improved nutrition, resilient ecosystems and secure livelihoods for millions of vulnerable people across the globe.
She improved nutrition, made ecosystems resilient, and secured livelihoods for millions – how can one woman singlehandedly do all that? She did!
Of the award, she herself says:
Aside from personal joy and gratitude, as a scientist, I feel this award is an important recognition of the essential but often overlooked role of fish and aquatic food systems in agricultural research for development. Fish and aquatic foods offer life-changing opportunities for millions of vulnerable women, children, and men to be healthy and well-nourished.
Let me repeat her: “The essential but often overlooked role of fish and aquatic food systems in agricultural research for development.” Lady, you are my “Albert Einstein of Food Science”!@517
[1]https://www.worldfoodprize.org/index.cfm?nodeID=96346&audienceID=1&fbclid=IwAR0OtEYExeps04Q5FVppIuvwd0CxXFl8epR-X5c9DEugm0CKS2NNaKxMpDY
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