Father Jose Maria Gimeno has a mission - he wants to convert mothers in Venezuela's slums. His message: Stop eating meat, cook with soy!
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00:00In the slums of Venezuela, Father Jose Maria Jimeno is on a mission.
00:12His message?
00:13Stop eating meat and start eating soy-based protein.
00:19But his motive isn't morality, nor sustainability.
00:26Because I've been asked if I'm a vegetarian, and I say primarily no.
00:32In a country with poor nutrition, unreliable electricity and rising costs, could carne
00:38de soya be the answer to this priest's prayers?
00:41And can he convince the masses to give up meat?
01:00Daily bread for Father Jose Maria is a typical Venezuelan cornflour arepa.
01:06It's with an unusual ingredient.
01:08Instead of the traditional carne mechada, or stewed beef, he uses carne de soya, dried
01:14soya chunks.
01:16It's a cheap and rich source of protein.
01:19But in meat-loving Venezuela, many people haven't tried it.
01:28There is a big culture of eating meat and of grilling, so it's hard to introduce these
01:33new products.
01:35But when you can't, you have to look for alternatives.
01:40I also use fish when I can, but often I can't.
01:44I don't have the power to multiply fish.
01:46If I had it, I would, but I can't.
01:50On the other hand, I can multiply soya because it's affordable.
01:55In Barquisimeto, Venezuela's fourth largest city, the Iglesia San Francisco de Asis used
02:01to be the main cathedral, but like the country, its fortunes have declined.
02:08It's now a simple parish church.
02:12The bells are silent.
02:16The clock is frozen.
02:18And the walls are sprouting weeds.
02:23Well here, us priests do everything.
02:27For several decades, this Spanish priest has cared for his church's every need — physical,
02:34spiritual and nutritional.
02:37In Venezuela's years of crisis, he's been evangelizing the benefits of carne de soya.
02:44But he's not promoting veganism or vegetarianism.
02:48His motivation is purely pragmatic.
02:53He visits the residents of the nearby barrio, or slum, to give support and comfort.
03:01This woman is suffering from cancer.
03:04And she can't pay for treatment.
03:08And now you're ready to dance salsa.
03:09Almost, but this is as much as I can do.
03:14But in a week you'll fully be dancing salsa.
03:20Venezuelans can't afford basic food, or have no way to conserve it.
03:28I have two refrigerators, and both are not working for the same reason.
03:33There were several blackouts in a row, and that's when they were damaged.
03:43I have this cold box.
03:45I have to buy ice every day.
03:50I try to cook only what I consume the same day, so the food doesn't spoil.
03:59Venezuela's frequent electricity failures are one reason why Jose Maria is trying to
04:05convince people to stop relying on perishable meat.
04:10Today he's inviting people to come to the church and hear his message about alternatives.
04:19There will be a little talk for all the mothers about nutrition and protein, the necessity
04:23for protein for the children who are staying too small.
04:26Yes, they're not growing at all.
04:30Yes, I had an aunt who made meat from lentils.
04:33Well, it wasn't meat, but it tasted like meat.
04:40It's the suffering of the children that motivated Jose Maria to search for a solution.
04:46Doctors say many children born during the crisis years are undersized and underweight.
04:57Pediatricians specialized in nutrition told us that the most worrying thing was the lack
05:01of protein in children.
05:07They told us about lentils, beans, and also about a product that we did not know about.
05:15It's called carne de soya.
05:20At the church, professional chef Karim Dugate is giving a class.
05:25He's a member of the congregation and gives his time to teach the women of the barrio
05:29how to prepare tasty carne de soya.
05:38Boil the water, turn off the heat, put the protein in that water, leave it for a few
05:46minutes, then later strain it.
05:49We do the same procedure again five to six times to get rid of that flavor that maybe
05:57your daughter doesn't like or that children are not going to like.
06:05Children are eating less meat due to rising costs.
06:09Average meat consumption has fallen by more than half in recent years.
06:16Not all of us can afford one kilo of meat to eat, or at least in a week we can't.
06:21Not with these salaries that we unfortunately have.
06:29Normal minced meat costs five dollars for a kilo.
06:32This is much more affordable.
06:34It costs one dollar.
06:36The women have seen the effects of poor nutrition on their children, like those playing in the
06:41parish school next door.
06:46Chef Karim has another trick to help them give their families more protein without them
06:50tasting a difference.
06:53Mix meat with carne de soya.
06:59For example, you can add bacon or pig's trotters so that it takes on another flavor, and obviously
07:06your tomato sauce, mayonnaise and mustard.
07:10They won't even realize, they won't know, and you're giving them more protein.
07:20Jose Maria is off to buy more dried soya supplies.
07:24His scooter is electric, but his transport selection, like his diet, is practical.
07:29Venezuela suffers from gasoline shortages.
07:32Drivers wait hours, even overnight, to fill their tanks.
07:36Jose Maria's electric scooter costs the same as a gas-fueled motorbike without the problems
07:42of petrol.
07:45Today he's visiting the factory that supplies his carne de soya.
07:55He gets a tour from the quality control manager, Ligia Guzman.
08:03This is the only factory in Venezuela that produces soya in these conditions to be consumed
08:09as food.
08:12She tells Jose Maria his church is not alone.
08:18This is a country where there is a lot of need and hunger.
08:22This product can really help a lot of people, but many people don't know about it.
08:30Sunday morning, Jose Maria prepares to give mass.
08:39Not a form of nourishment that is more important, yes, the spiritual.
08:43Love, and giving love to others, fulfills more than food itself.
08:49And I think that's how it is here.
08:52It's how many of the humble people persist, who sometimes lack material nourishment, because
08:57of the warmth and love of those around them.
09:03We have to do our bit as much as we can and ask the Lord to give us initiatives to help.
09:14Some of his parishioners now follow both his sermons and his dietary recommendations.
09:20This family has converted to carne de soya after trying it at Jose Maria's table.
09:28The children liked it, and even I was fooled because I thought it was beef, but it was
09:31soy meat.
09:32It's more nutritious than beef, has a lot of protein and is healthier to eat.
09:39It doesn't seem like soy meat.
09:41It's like meat, normal meat.
09:46Beneath the bell tower in the church kitchen, Chef Karim and the class are preparing a popular
09:51dish.
09:56Today we're going to make lasagna.
09:58Here in Venezuela we call it pasticho, which is lasagna.
10:02We'll make it with carne de soya, with bechamel and cheese, just like lasagna.
10:12First time.
10:13I have to learn.
10:14Well, it's similar to meat, but let's see how it tastes now, how I prepare it.
10:22Now for the taste test.
10:25God bless this food that they're about to share, the food of their labor, soy meat pasticho.
10:30In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen.
10:34These meat eaters can't tell the difference.
10:40Very good.
10:41Excellent pasticho.
10:42Spectacular top marks.
10:43I've never used carne de soya, but from now I will.
10:49A complete success.
10:52Today all the participants were impressed.
10:54Now they will change their mentality and methods to cook with meat and protein from
10:57soy.
10:59This church is teaching how sustainable and healthy options are often the most economical
11:04and practical.
11:07And they also help spiritual growth.
11:10When we gave catechesis, religious education, to the children, they would fall asleep.
11:17One day I asked them how many had not had breakfast today, and 90% of them raised their
11:21hands.
11:22They had not had breakfast.
11:24We can't evangelize if the children are not well fed.
11:27If they're not fed and are not healthy, they will not be able to study, they will not be
11:31able to be formed spiritually, nor in sciences or normal education.
11:40Sometimes Jose Maria finds it difficult to follow his own sermons.
11:46A little bit of chorizo or cured ham is difficult for me to say no to.
11:53It is a good Spaniard.
11:56Father Jose Maria Jimeno is doing his part to ease Venezuelans' daily struggles.
12:02But carne de soya can't solve everything.
12:08Rather than giving them food, I would like to give them well-paid work, so that everyone
12:11can eat what they want, not what others give them.
12:23For more information, visit www.fema.org