Wild alternatives: Accounting for and rethinking the relationship between wild game and food security in Appalachian food systems

From Food Security to Nutrition Security for All

10.1093/oso/9780198755173.003.0005 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 196-283

Author(s):

Uma Lele ◽

Sambuddha Goswami

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Food Systems ◽

Public Health Problem ◽

Transformative Change ◽

Global Public Health ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Food Security And Nutrition ◽

Zero Hunger ◽

Relationship Of ◽

The Relationship

Malnutrition, in all its forms, is a critical global public health problem. Food production and consumption patterns are also the largest challenges to planetary boundaries. Transformative change is needed in research, information and outreach, political commitment, and financial and institutional capacity to achieve sustainable and equitable food systems. Change, to date, has been incremental, not transformative; however, it is essential to significantly improve outcomes, an issue which will be a central theme of the United Nations’ Food Systems Summit 2021 and the intensive discussions leading up to it. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have powered the recent food security and nutrition discourse. And yet, SDG2 (zero hunger) is not broad enough; it does not pay enough attention to the growing incidence of obesity, as do the World Health Assembly targets for 2025. Furthermore, the interrelationships of the sub-targets of SDG2 are anything but straightforward. Growth in agricultural productivity does not necessarily increase incomes of small farmers, and productivity growth does not always assure improved nutrition. Increased income does not necessarily lead to improved nutrition. This also applies to the relationship of SDG2 to several other of the 16 SDGs. Increasingly, the concept of multidimensional poverty (MDP) has received attention in explaining food security and nutrition. MDP is substantially higher than income poverty, particularly among children. In addition, the chapter examines the relationship of gender inequality and nutrition, gender and obesity, nutrition transition, and the roles of changing lifestyles, food systems, and modern food chains.

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An Intersectionality-Based Policy Analysis Examining the Complexities of Access to Wild Game and Fish for Urban Indigenous Women in Northwestern Ontario

Frontiers in Communication ◽

10.3389/fcomm.2021.762083 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

Author(s):

Breanna Phillipps ◽

Kelly Skinner ◽

Barbara Parker ◽

Hannah Tait Neufeld

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Food Safety ◽

Policy Analysis ◽

Food Systems ◽

Food Sovereignty ◽

Indigenous Women ◽

Wild Food ◽

Wild Game ◽

Northwestern Ontario ◽

Indigenous Foods

The destruction of Indigenous food systems is a direct consequence of the settler-colonial project within Canada and has led to decreasing access to Indigenous foods, disproportionate rates of food insecurity and disconnection from Indigenous food systems and environments. We interviewed Indigenous women, non-Indigenous staff of Indigenous-serving organizations, and policymakers (i.e., those who develop, interpret, or implement wild food policy) to explore how the policy context has impacted Indigenous women and their communities’ experiences of accessing Indigenous foods in urban northwestern Ontario. We applied an Intersectionality-Based Policy Analysis (IBPA) Framework to shape our research questions and guide the thematic analysis of the data. We found that stakeholder groups had differing understandings of the issue of accessing wild foods and Indigenous food security and their actions either supported or disrupted efforts for access to wild food to promote food security or Indigenous Food Sovereignty. Policymakers cited necessary barriers to promote food safety and support conservation of wildlife. Staff of Indigenous-serving organizations approached the issue with consideration of both Western and Indigenous worldviews, while Indigenous women spoke about the ongoing impacts of colonial policy and government control over their lands and territories. The main policy areas discussed included residential school policy, food regulation, and natural resource regulation. We also investigated community-level strategies for improvement, such as a wild game license. Throughout, we tied the colonial control over ‘wildlife’ and the Western food safety discourse, with infringements on Indigenous Food Sovereignty, experiences of racism in food settings and on the land, as well as with broad control over Indigenous sovereignty in Ontario. This work contributes to an increased understanding of how Western discourses about health, food, and the environment are perpetuated through systemic racism in government policy and reiterated through policymakers' views and interpretations or actions. Government institutions must develop culturally safe partnerships with Indigenous leaders and organizations to facilitate a transfer of power that can support Indigenous Food Sovereignty.

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Researching (with) Major Food Retailers

Gastronomica The Journal of Food and Culture ◽

10.1525/gfc.2015.15.3.33 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 33-39 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

David Evans

Keyword(s):

Food Systems ◽

Academic Research ◽

Social Scientists ◽

Major Food ◽

Food Retailers ◽

Food Retailer ◽

The One ◽

The Uk ◽

The Relationship ◽

Opening Up

This paper considers the relationship between social science and the food industry, and it suggests that collaboration can be intellectually productive and morally rewarding. It explores the middle ground that exists between paid consultancy models of collaboration on the one hand and a principled stance of nonengagement on the other. Drawing on recent experiences of researching with a major food retailer in the UK, I discuss the ways in which collaborating with retailers can open up opportunities for accessing data that might not otherwise be available to social scientists. Additionally, I put forward the argument that researchers with an interest in the sustainability—ecological or otherwise—of food systems, especially those of a critical persuasion, ought to be empirically engaging with food businesses. I suggest that this is important in terms of generating better understandings of the objectionable arrangements that they seek to critique, and in terms of opening up conduits through which to affect positive changes. Cutting across these points is the claim that while resistance to commercial engagement might be misguided, it is nevertheless important to acknowledge the power-geometries of collaboration and to find ways of leveling and/or leveraging them. To conclude, I suggest that universities have an important institutional role to play in defining the terms of engagement as well as maintaining the boundaries between scholarship and consultancy—a line that can otherwise become quite fuzzy when the worlds of commerce and academic research collide.

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Food Security As Peacebuilding: Analyzing the Relationship between Food Security and Conflict Data to Support Empirical Policy Making

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.2970936 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Charles Martin-Shields ◽

Wolfgang Stojetz

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Policy Making ◽

The Relationship

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Enhancing the Glopan Food Systems Framework by Integrating Gender: Relevance for Women in African Agriculture

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13158564 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (15) ◽

pp. 8564

Author(s):

Elizabeth Mkandawire ◽

Melody Mentz-Coetzee ◽

Margaret Najjingo Mangheni ◽

Eleonora Barusi

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Food Systems ◽

Food System ◽

Social Systems ◽

Gender Inequalities ◽

Gender Barriers ◽

Nutrition Security ◽

African Agriculture ◽

Agriculture And Food ◽

Systems Framework

Globally, gender inequalities constrain food security, with women often disproportionately affected. Women play a fundamental role in household food and nutrition security. The multiple roles women play in various areas of the food system are not always recognised. This oversight emerges from an overemphasis on one aspect of the food system, without considering how this area might affect or be affected by another aspect. This study aimed to draw on international commitments and treaties using content analysis to enhance the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Security food systems framework by integrating a gender perspective. The study found that generally, there is a consensus on specific actions that can be taken to advance gender equality at specific stages of the food system. However, governance and social systems constraints that are not necessarily part of the food system, but have a significant bearing on men and women’s capacity to effectively participate in the food system, need to be addressed. While the proposed conceptual framework has some limitations, it offers a foundation on which researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders can begin conceptualising the interconnectedness of gender barriers in the food system.

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Food Insecurity Partially Mediates the Association Between Drug Use and Depressive Symptoms among Men who have Sex with Men in Los Angeles, California

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980021002494 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-26

Author(s):

David A. Wiss ◽

Marjan Javanbakht ◽

Michael J. Li ◽

Michael Prelip ◽

Robert Bolan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

High Risk ◽

Los Angeles ◽

Drug Use ◽

Food Insecurity ◽

Hiv Positive ◽

Sex With Men ◽

The Relationship ◽

Hiv Negative

Abstract Objective: To understand the relationship between drug use, food insecurity (FI), and mental health among men who have sex with men (MSM). Design: Cohort study (2014-2019) with at least one follow-up. Setting: Visits at 6-month intervals included self-assessment for FI and depressive symptoms. Urine testing results confirmed drug use. Factors associated with FI were assessed using multiple logistic regression with random effects for repeated measures. General structural equation modeling tested whether FI mediates the relationship between drug use and depressive symptoms. Participants: Data were from HIV-positive and high-risk HIV negative MSM in Los Angeles, CA (n=431; 1,192 visits). Results: At baseline, FI was reported by 50.8% of participants, depressive symptoms in 36.7%, and 52.7% of urine screening tests were positive for drugs (i.e., marijuana, opioids, methamphetamine, cocaine, ecstasy). A positive drug test was associated with a 96% increase in the odds of being food insecure (95% CI: 1.26-3.07). Compared to those with high food security, individuals with very low food security have a nearly 7-fold increase in the odds of reporting depressive symptoms (95% CI: 3.71-11.92). Findings showed 14.9% of the association between drug use (exposure) and depressive symptoms (outcome) can be explained by FI (mediator). Conclusion: The prevalence of FI among this cohort of HIV-positive and high-risk HIV-negative MSM was high; the association between drug use and depressive symptoms was partially mediated by FI. Findings suggest that enhancing access to food and nutrition may improve mood in the context of drug use, especially among MSM at risk for HIV-transmission.

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