Indigenous peoples' food systems for health: finding interventions that work

Kuhnlein, Harriet V.; Erasmus, B.; Creed-Kanashiro, Hilary; Englberger, Lois; Okeke, Chinwe S.; Turner, Nancy J.; Allen, Lindsay; Bhattacharjee, Lalita

doi:10.1017/s1368980006009876

Cited by 91 publications

(131 citation statements)

References 8 publications

(5 reference statements)

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“…The most noteworthy contribution came from the semi-wild fruit D. edulis , reported in 30.1% of the recalls and contributing 4.8% of total energy intake in the village. This is surprising as other studies have mentioned indigenous food systems where biodiversity is widely used and thus supposed to provide many essential nutrients and variety in diets [3], [5], [8]. However, until now, only a few studies were able to calculate the complete nutrient contributions of correctly identified wild species [15].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

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A Biodiverse Rich Environment Does Not Contribute to a Better Diet: A Case Study from DR Congo

Termote

Meyi²,

Djailo

et al. 2012

PLoS ONE

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The potential of biodiversity to increase and sustain nutrition security is increasingly recognized by the international research community. To date however, dietary assessment studies that have assessed how biodiversity actually contributes to human diets are virtually absent. This study measured the contribution of wild edible plants (WEP) to the dietary quality in the high biodiverse context of DR Congo. The habitual dietary intake was estimated from 2 multiple-pass 24 h dietary recalls for 363 urban and 129 rural women. All WEP were collected during previous ethnobotanical investigations and identified and deposited in the National Botanical Garden of Belgium (BR). Results showed that in a high biodiverse region with precarious food security, WEP are insufficiently consumed to increase nutrition security or dietary adequacy. The highest contribution came from Dacryodes edulis in the village sample contributing 4.8% of total energy intake. Considering the nutrient composition of the many WEP available in the region and known by the indigenous populations, the potential to increase nutrition security is vast. Additional research regarding the dietary contribution of agricultural biodiversity and the nutrient composition of WEP would allow to integrate them into appropriate dietary guidelines for the region and pave the way to domesticate the most interesting WEP.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Various indigenous food systems described in Kuhnlein et al [8] provide a wide array of nutrients required for good health and well-being. In many of such communities, traditional food products are increasingly being replaced by imported or newly introduced foods, in particular rich in refined and processed foods, fats and sugars [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Biodiverse Rich Environment Does Not Contribute to a Better Diet: A Case Study from DR Congo

Termote

Meyi²,

Djailo

et al. 2012

PLoS ONE

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“…Consistent with this transition, people are increasingly experiencing a host of diet-related and community-based health problems, including but not limited to higher incidences of colorectal cancer, obesity and diabetes (15, 16), as well as to various chronic psychological and psychosocial problems, such as domestic violence, alcoholism, depression and drug abuse (17). While direct causality among one or more of these dietary changes and health trends are difficult to clinically establish, the consensus among many health researchers, practitioners and local people is that solutions for these problems are best situated in local food-system reform and revitalization (18, 19). …”

Section: Cultural and Nutritional Transitionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rebuilding northern foodsheds, sustainable food systems, community well-being, and food security

Gerlach

Loring

2013

International Journal of Circumpolar Health

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BackgroundMultiple climatic, environmental and socio-economic pressures have accumulated to the point where they interfere with the ability of remote rural Alaska Native communities to achieve food security with locally harvestable food resources. The harvest of wild foods has been the historical norm, but most Alaska Native villages are transitioning to a cash economy, with increasing reliance on industrially produced, store-bought foods, and with less reliable access to and reliance on wild, country foods. While commercially available market foods provide one measure of food security, the availability and quality of market foods are subject to the vagaries and vulnerabilities of the global food system; access is dependent on one's ability to pay, is limited to what is available on the shelves of small rural stores, and, store-bought foods do not fulfill the important roles that traditional country foods play in rural communities and cultures. Country food access is also constrained by rising prices of fuel and equipment, a federal and state regulatory framework that sometimes hinders rather than helps rural subsistence users who need to access traditional food resources, a regulatory framework that is often not responsive to changes in climate, weather and seasonality, and a shifting knowledge base in younger generations about how to effectively harvest, process and store wild foods.ObjectiveThe general objective is to provide a framework for understanding the social, cultural, ecological and political dimensions of rural Alaska Native food security, and to provide information on the current trends in rural Alaska Native food systems.DesignThis research is based on our long-term ethnographic, subsistence and food systems work in coastal and interior Alaska. This includes research about the land mammal harvest, the Yukon River and coastal fisheries, community and village gardens, small livestock production and red meat systems that are scaled appropriately to village size and capacity, and food-system intervention strategies designed to rebuild local and rural foodsheds and to restore individual and community health.ResultsThe contemporary cultural, economic and nutrition transition has severe consequences for the health of people and for the viability of rural communities, and in ways that are not well tracked by the conventional food security methodologies and frameworks. This article expands the discussion of food security and is premised on a holistic model that integrates the social, cultural, ecological, psychological and biomedical aspects of individual and community health.ConclusionWe propose a new direction for food-system design that prioritizes the management of place-based food portfolios above the more conventional management of individual resources, one with a commitment to as much local and regional food production and/or harvest for local and regional consumption as is possible, and to community self-reliance and health for rural Alaska Natives.

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“…In remote subarctic Indigenous (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) communities of the Northwest Territories (NTs), Canada, the ongoing reliance on country foods (ie locally harvested land mammals, fish, birds and plants) is associated with improved nutrition, food security and lower rates of chronic disease [3–5]. Country foods in some Dene communities were previously estimated to provide up to 32% of the daily energy of adults, mainly through the frequent consumption of some locally harvested land animals (caribou, moose), birds (spruce hen, scoter, ptarmigan) and fish (whitefish, coney, trout, cisco, walleye, pike) [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design of a human biomonitoring community-based project in the Northwest Territories Mackenzie Valley, Canada, to investigate the links between nutrition, contaminants and country foods

Ratelle

Laird

Majowicz

et al. 2018

International Journal of Circumpolar Health

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Community-based projects place emphasis on a collaborative approach and facilitate research among Indigenous populations regarding local issues and challenges, such as traditional foods consumption, climate change and health safety. Country foods (locally harvested fish, game birds, land animals and plants), which contribute to improved food security, can also be a primary route of contaminant exposure among populations in remote regions. A community-based project was launched in the Dehcho and Sahtù regions of the Northwest Territories (Canada) to: 1) assess contaminants exposure and nutrition status; 2) investigate the role of country food on nutrient and contaminant levels and 3) understand the determinants of message perception on this issue. Consultation with community members, leadership, local partners and researchers was essential to refine the design of the project and implement it in a culturally relevant way. This article details the design of a community-based biomonitoring study that investigates country food use, contaminant exposure and nutritional status in Canadian subarctic First Nations in the Dehcho and Sahtù regions. Results will support environmental health policies in the future for these communities. The project was designed to explore the risks and benefits of country foods and to inform the development of public health strategies.

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Indigenous peoples' food systems for health: finding interventions that work

Cited by 91 publications

References 8 publications

A Biodiverse Rich Environment Does Not Contribute to a Better Diet: A Case Study from DR Congo

A Biodiverse Rich Environment Does Not Contribute to a Better Diet: A Case Study from DR Congo

Rebuilding northern foodsheds, sustainable food systems, community well-being, and food security

Design of a human biomonitoring community-based project in the Northwest Territories Mackenzie Valley, Canada, to investigate the links between nutrition, contaminants and country foods

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