scholarly journals Importance of the traditional food systems for First Nations adults living on reserves in Canada

2021 ◽  
Vol 112 (S1) ◽  
pp. 20-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malek Batal ◽  
Hing Man Chan ◽  
Karen Fediuk ◽  
Amy Ing ◽  
Peter Berti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Traditional Food ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Government Regulations ◽  
Food Frequency ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Environment Study ◽  
Multivariable Analyses ◽  
Multiple Challenges

Abstract Objective To describe the traditional food (TF) systems of First Nations in Canada, including intake, barriers and promoters. Methods The First Nations Food, Nutrition and Environment Study is a cross-Canada participatory study of First Nations adults below the 60th parallel that obtained data for communities excluded from other national studies. A food frequency questionnaire was used to establish frequency of TF intake (number of days in a year) to allow comparisons across ecozones/regions in Canada. Grams of TF intake were also calculated using frequency multiplied by average portions from 24-h recalls. Closed- and open-ended questions attempted to identify some of the key barriers and concerns regarding TF access and use. Multivariable analyses were run to determine what factors are associated with increased TF consumption. Results Across communities, there is a strong preference by adults to have TF in the diet more often. Consumption of land animals was most frequently reported in most ecozones except for the Pacific Maritime and Mixedwood Plains, where fish and plants, respectively, were more frequently consumed. First Nations identified structural and environmental challenges such as development, government regulations and climate change, along with household barriers such as insufficient capital for equipment and transportation, lack of time and absence of a hunter in the household. Multivariable analyses revealed that the highest intake of TF occurred in the Taiga Plains ecozone, and for older individuals and men. Conclusion Identifying solutions that empower First Nations at all levels is required to overcome the multiple challenges to the inclusion of TF in the diet.

scholarly journals Levels of metals and persistent organic pollutants in traditional foods consumed by First Nations living on-reserve in Canada

2021 ◽  
Vol 112 (S1) ◽  
pp. 81-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hing Man Chan ◽  
Kavita Singh ◽  
Malek Batal ◽  
Lesya Maruska ◽  
Constantine Tikhonov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Dietary Exposure ◽  
Food Samples ◽  
Harp Seal ◽  
Traditional Food ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Traditional Foods ◽  
Contaminant Exposure ◽  
Significant Contributor ◽  
Environment Study

Abstract Objectives First Nations may have a higher risk of contaminant exposure from the consumption of traditional foods. The objective of this study was to measure concentrations of metals and organochlorines in traditional foods commonly consumed by First Nations in Canada and estimate the risk from dietary exposure. Methods Data were collected from the participatory First Nations Food, Nutrition and Environment Study (2008–2018). Traditional food samples were collected by community members and concentrations of metals and organochlorines were measured. The population-weighted mean daily contaminant intake from traditional food items was estimated. Hazard quotients (HQs) were calculated by dividing contaminant intake with the toxicological reference values (TRVs). Results A total of 2061 food samples (different parts and organs) from 221 species were collected. The highest concentrations of cadmium were found in the kidneys of land mammals: moose kidney was the most significant contributor to intake. The meat of land mammals and birds had the highest lead concentrations and were the most significant contributors to intake. Arsenic was highest in seaweed, and prawn was the most significant contributor. Mercury and methyl mercury were highest in harp seal meat, with walleye/pickerel contributing most to intake. Harp seal meat also had the highest p,p′-DDE and PCB concentrations, and ooligan grease and salmon were the most significant contributors to intake. The percentage of adults eating traditional food who exceeded the TRVs was 1.9% for cadmium, 3.7% for lead, 13.6% for arsenic, 0.7% for mercury, and 0% for p,p′-DDE and PCBs. All median HQs, and most 95th percentile HQs, were less than 1. Conclusion These results can be used as a baseline of contaminant levels and exposure in traditional foods for future monitoring programs and to support risk assessment programs.

scholarly journals Applying a Political Economy of Health standpoint to traditional food acquisition practices and the inequitable prevalence of obesity and diabetes amongst First Nations peoples in British Columbia

2014 ◽  
Vol 57 (03) ◽  
pp. 65-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Merz ◽  
Malcolm Steinberg
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
British Columbia ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food Sovereignty ◽  
Nutrition Transition ◽  
Traditional Food ◽  
Obesity And Diabetes ◽  
Political Economy Of Health ◽  
Public Health Protection

The inequitable population prevalence rates of obesity and diabetes being experienced by First Nations peoples in British Columbia require public health protection practitioners to deepen their inquiry into the social determinants of these chronic conditions. These attempts need to be placed within the context of food insecurity that is garnering growing attention from public health at large and, more specifically, within the emerging Indigenous consensus understanding of the relationship between the ongoing nutrition transition and the inequitable prevalence rates of these conditions. We suggest that these reflections are productively theorized from a Political Economy of Health standpoint and supported by representative findings from the First Nations Regional Longitudinal Health Survey. This theoretical perspective supports the viewpoint that the inequitable expression of these chronic conditions can be attributed to the nutrition transition that populations experienced as they were shifted from a traditional subsistence diet to a commoditized, industrialized food production system. This analysis also supports the structural recommendations of the British Columbia Food Systems Network Working Group on Indigenous Food Sovereignty that would remove barriers and threats to traditional food acquisition. These include making environmental protection and conservation of biological diversity a priority in all land use planning; setting aside adequate tracts of land for the protection, conservation, and restoration of Indigenous food systems; giving priority to traditional food and cultural values in contemporary forestry, fisheries, rangeland, and agrarian management policies and practice; and giving priority to Indigenous food and cultural harvesting over commoditized, export-oriented commercial harvesting. Public health protection practitioners will be progressively challenged to support these recommendations by the communities they serve. Although there is no guarantee that implementation of these recommendations will reverse the trend of decreasing participation rates in traditional food harvesting in British Columbia, we suggest that unless many of the systemic irrationalities, vested interests, and historically unjust rationales for maintaining the status quo with respect to Indigenous food sovereignty are interrogated and challenged, an ancient lifeway grounded in demonstrably sustainable traditional food harvesting practices will remain threatened.

scholarly journals Comparison of measures of diet quality using 24-hour recall data of First Nations adults living on reserves in Canada

2021 ◽  
Vol 112 (S1) ◽  
pp. 41-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malek Batal ◽  
Hing Man Chan ◽  
Amy Ing ◽  
Karen Fediuk ◽  
Peter Berti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Diet Quality ◽  
Healthy Eating Index ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Recall Data ◽  
Multiple Challenges ◽  
24 Hour Recall ◽  
Processed Products

Abstract Objective Assess the diet quality of First Nations adults in Canada using percentage energy from traditional foods (TF) and ultra-processed products (UPP), food portions from the 2007 Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide - First Nations, Inuit and Métis (EWCFG-FNIM) and a Healthy Eating Index (HEI). Methods Data collection for this participatory research occurred in 92 First Nations reserves across Canada from 2008 to 2016. Percent daily energy intakes were estimated from 24-hour recalls for TF and NOVA food categories. Portions of food groups from the 2007 EWCFG-FNIM were compared to recommendations. A Canadian-adapted HEI was calculated for each participant. Results The percent energy from TF was 3% for all participants and 18% for consumers. Meat and alternatives were above the EWCFG-FNIM recommendations and all other food groups were below these. HEI was “low” with only older individuals attaining “average” scores. HEI was above “average” in 4 regions. UPP represented 55% of energy, the largest proportion from a NOVA category. Conclusion The diet quality of First Nations adults in Canada is nutritionally poor. The nutrition, food security and health of First Nations would be improved by better access to TF and healthy store-bought food. However, poor diet is only one aspect of the difficulties facing First Nations in Canada. Researchers and policy makers must strive to better understand the multiple challenges facing First Nations Peoples in order to foster empowerment and self-determination to develop First Nations living conditions and lifestyles that are more culturally sound and more conducive to health.

Social-Ecological Diversity and Traditional Food Systems

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ranjay Kumar Singh ◽  
Nancy J. Turner ◽  
Victoria Reyes-Garcia ◽  
Jules Pretty
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Traditional Food ◽  
Ecological Diversity ◽  
Social Ecological

scholarly journals Supermarket-Led Development and the Neglect of Traditional Food Value Chains: Reflections on Indonesia’s Agri-Food System Transformation

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Vetter ◽  
Marianne Nylandsted Larsen ◽  
Thilde Bech Bruun
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Food System ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Traditional Food ◽  
System Transformation ◽  
Food Retail ◽  
Food Value

The rapid expansion of modern food retail encapsulated in the so-called ‘supermarket revolution’ is often portrayed as a pivotal driving force in the modernization of agri-food systems in the Global South. Based on fieldwork conducted on horticulture value chains in West Java and South Sulawesi, this paper explores this phenomenon and the concerted efforts that government and corporate actors undertake with regard to agri-food value chain interventions and market modernization in Indonesia. The paper argues that after more than 15 years of ‘supermarket revolution’ in Indonesia, traditional food retail appears not to be in complete demise, but rather adaptive and resilient to its modern competitors. The analysis of local manifestations of supermarket-led agricultural development suggests that traditional markets can offer certain advantages for farmers over supermarket-driven value chains. The paper further identifies and discusses two areas that have so far been neglected by research and policymaking and which warrant further investigation: (i) the simultaneous transformations in traditional food value chains and their relation to modern markets, and (ii) the social and environmental performances of modern vis-à-vis traditional food value chains.

scholarly journals Racial discrimination and allostatic load among First Nations Australians: a nationally representative cross-sectional study

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah Cave ◽  
Matthew N. Cooper ◽  
Stephen R. Zubrick ◽  
Carrington C. J. Shepherd
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
Allostatic Load ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Socioeconomic Background ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Multiple Challenges ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Increased allostatic load is linked with racial discrimination exposure, providing a mechanism for the biological embedding of racism as a psychosocial stressor. We undertook an examination of how racial discrimination interacts with socioecological, environmental, and health conditions to affect multisystem dysregulation in a First Nations population. Methods We conducted latent class analysis (LCA) using indicators of life stress, socioeconomic background, and physical and mental health from a nationally representative sample of Australian Aboriginal adults (N = 2056). We used LCA with distal outcomes to estimate the effect of the latent class variable on our derived allostatic load index and conducted a stratified analysis to test whether allostatic load varied based on exposure to racial discrimination across latent classes. Results Our psychosocial, environmental, and health measures informed a four-class structure; ‘Low risk’, ‘Challenged but healthy’, ‘Mental health risk’ and ‘Multiple challenges’. Mean allostatic load was highest in ‘Multiple challenges’ compared to all other classes, both in those exposed (4.5; 95% CI: 3.9, 5.0) and not exposed (3.9; 95% CI: 3.7, 4.2) to racial discrimination. Allostatic load was significantly higher for those with exposure to racial discrimination in the ‘Multiple challenges’ class (t = 1.74, p = .04) and significantly lower in the ‘Mental health risk’ class (t = − 1.67, p = .05). Conclusions Racial discrimination may not always modify physiological vulnerability to disease. Social and economic contexts must be considered when addressing the impact of racism, with a focus on individuals and sub-populations experiencing co-occurring life challenges.

Agriculture, health, and wealth convergence: bridging traditional food systems and modern agribusiness solutions

2014 ◽  
Vol 1331 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurette Dubé ◽  
Patrick Webb ◽  
Narendra K. Arora ◽  
Prabhu Pingali
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Traditional Food
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document