THE LIVING DESERT Available to Purchase

When Sir David Attenborough used this term, it conveyed a dramatic impression of animal life and its vitality in the desert which, to the uninitiated, could be considered as a wasteland. Equally dramatic is the variety and richness of plant life, evident occasionally and appearing as if by magic in response to a few drops of rain; but now in the days of intensive agriculture, the desert is producing richly, and to order, an abundance of crops. Has the technology bringing abundant water to areas which were arid for most of the year changed the eating habits of the Saudi? What are his traditional patterns of eating and would they be considered satisfactory both to prevent deficiency and to maintain harmony within a ‘NACNE’ style guideline? Have the traditional patterns of eating changed after the opening up of the country and, more recently, the development of intensive agriculture within the country? Derek H Shrimpton PhD provides some answers to these questions.