potato crisps in glittering packets are a delight to crunch on and labelled red apples are good for a munch but our elders may have been luckier in savouring healthier wild berries off the bushes they neither needed any processing nor packaging the fruity delicacies ranging from the kandam and ansalim to churnam and konneram can still be plucked in some pockets directly and relished for their wholesome content and generally sweet taste a wide variety from the fruit basket helped our elders use the resource sustainably for their consumption but though goa is a biodiversity hotspot the traditional knowledge is sadly fading changing tastes and lifestyles in a highly urbanized setting investment trends and market demands have taken a heavy toll of our cultural ethos it would be interesting to find out what our elders were eating three generations back apart from the commonest fruits like bananas and before the introduction of apples and oranges says m k janarthanam head of the botany department at the goa university exploring the forests and patches of green areas for organic food was once a joyful experience for local populations with a few pastimes and occupations as young children we waited for the exciting summer months and roamed the fields jungles sloppy hills narrow rivulets and rocky cliffs we used these as adventure spots and frequent hunting grounds of wild fruits and berries says jayarama bhat a botanist availability of multifarious forms of entertainment has also dimmed our instinct for outdoor adventure basically we have lost our capabilities as hunters in finding our food fruits what we want now are readymade things available in the market janarthanam says the present generation is aware of kiwis cherries strawberries and other exotic fruits though these are not cultivated here but many are not exposed to the local fruit heritage the exploration and adventure taught several skills to the youth ln a way it was a great learning of not only about fruits but also as an art of treeclimbing rockcliff climbing swimming and other activities reminisces bhat the consumption of fruits as also vegetables is finally dictated by the market and huge investment says janarthanam ultimately it is true that marketing and big money determines what you are supposed to eat in the bargain this factor determines what should be available in the market our local heritage fruits have lost out in the process says janarthanam the sale of local fruits by the roadside under dusty conditions may be a deterrent for passers by to purchase growing wild on the hillside or small or big patches of forested areas near urban or rural places these local fruits are purely organic and need neither pesticides nor fertilizers the joy and fun lie in exploring sourcing and eating these freely available fruits but some of the plant species are slowly disappearing from the hill sides and plateaus i havent seen much of red kuntata eugenia caryophyllea or belsam as its called in konkani these days says