José Martín Ramos Diaz is enrolled in the M.A. in Environment, Development and Peace. Back home in Finland, he works at the University of Helsinki as a university researcher in the Department of Food & Nutrition.
As a Peruvian who has lived in Finland for 12 years, José Martín straddles an interesting cultural divide. In our conversation with Martin, he shares his experience of combining these two cultures, how they inform his work and why he has chosen to study at UPEACE now...
JM: I went to Finland initially to study a master’s programme on food science and, from then, I just kind of fell into the world of academia there. Since I was small, I’ve always liked exploring unfamiliar situations, and going to Finland was really testing my limits. How comfortable could I be in a culture that was completely different to my own in every way? When I arrived, I didn’t know anyone there, it was like landing on the moon. But weirdly, I found in some ways my personality suited Finland more, because I’m not a really loud guy. In Peru, I am more of a shy guy, the quiet one, but in Finland, people say how can you be shy!? I’ve now been there for 12 years, but it hasn’t been 12 years of just being in Finland, because my work as a Ph.D. student has actually sent me all around Europe collaborating with different scientists.
I now work as a food scientist, looking mainly at food processes and structures, and how to transform raw materials like a seed or a grain into a final product like a legume or pasta. I specialise in the ‘extrusion process,’ which is essentially a type of equipment that allows you to carry out these transformations by inserting basic ingredients, such as flour and water, and then changing variables such as temperature to make lots of different food products. I am passionate about the universality of this machine and believe that it could be used in food security. I imagine giving this equipment to rural communities or a single town and how much it could transform their lives by being able to make such a variety of foods from just one piece of equipment.
At the moment, I am working on using extrusion to make artificial meat products. For example, we are using vegetable proteins and fava beans to try and mimic a chicken breast. This technology has actually been around since the 70s, but back then, no one was interested. Now, with what we know about climate change and the rise of vegetarianism and veganism, artificial meats are in high demand. This is a popular trend in Finland, with many people cutting meat out of their diet, and so they are searching for alternative supplements that feel and taste like meat.
However, I came to UPEACE because I was feeling that Finland is a bit like a bubble, academia is another bubble, and I felt these two bubbles couldn’t see the bigger picture. Being here is part of me trying to change that. I began to question what I am doing, why am I doing it and who am I doing it for? I really wanted to learn how to connect the knowledge I have with real people, with the development of the community. How could I make the work I am doing to find meat replacements relevant in Peru, in Latin America, where meat is not just part of survival but a part of people’s identity? I don’t want these artificial meat products to just be made for Europe. I want them to be accessible, available and appealing for people all over the world. So I came here to try and learn about food security and work out how I can use my work beyond the lab to really improve people’s lives.
Now I am always asking myself: what is our social responsibility? What can this do for the lives and health of disadvantaged groups? I am applying an ethical focus so that I have a human-based approach to scientific development.
To find out more about José Martín’s innovative work in artificial meat click the link below:
https://researchportal.helsinki.fi/en/persons/jose-martin-ramos-diaz/publications/
Written by: Lillie Toon
Photo by: Jed Allen