Nutritional Value and Bioactive Compounds of Leaves and Grains from Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.)

Quinoa is an important crop for food security and food sovereignty in Ecuador. In this study, we evaluated the nutritional value, bioactive compounds, and antinutrient compounds of leaves and grains of the Ecuadorian quinoa variety Tunkahuan, and we identified significant differences between the nutrient content in the leaves and grains. The quinoa leaves presented a higher protein content than the grains, as well as inorganic nutrients such as calcium, phosphorus, iron, and zinc. Both the grains and leaves had an appreciable phenolic content. In addition, the quinoa grains presented a higher content of the antinutrient saponin than the leaves, while the leaves contained more nitrates and oxalates than the grains. Thus, quinoa leaves and grains exhibit excellent potential for application in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

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

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.

Development and Implementation of a Hybrid Online and In-Person Food Sovereignty and Nutrition Education Curriculum for Native American Parents: The FRESH Study

The Food Resource Equity and Sustainability for Health (“FRESH”) study is an Indigenous-led intervention to increase vegetable and fruit intake among Native American children. As part of this study, we developed a hybrid (online and in-person) food sovereignty and nutrition education curriculum for the parents of these children. This 16-week curriculum was developed to promote household- and community-level healthy eating and food sovereignty practices to parents of preschool-aged children residing in Osage Nation, Oklahoma. A total of 81 parent/caregivers participated in the curriculum component of the FRESH study, with a median age of 34 years (range: 23–54 years). Most study participants were female (88.9%) and less than half (45.7%) had an annual household income of more than US$50,000. Most were married or had a significant other (76.5%) and worked full-time (65.4%). The median total number of children in the home <18 years of age was three (range: 1–8). Participation among the 94 parents was 56% during the first week and was 12% in the final week. Having some college or technical training (vs. having a college degree) and having an annual household income of US$20,000–US$50,000 (vs. more than US$50,000) were associated with fewer sessions attended ( p = 0.004 and 0.02, respectively) Being married (vs. not) was associated with higher attendance ( p < .0001). Participation in a hybrid food sovereignty and nutrition education curriculum for parents was generally low, but income, education, and marital status were associated with curriculum participation. Our research adds to the literature by describing the development and implementation of this curriculum and recommendations for future research incorporating Indigenous approaches to health.

A polycentric food sovereignty approach to climate resilience in the Philippines

Enhancing climate resilience in agrarian communities requires improving the underlying socioecological conditions for farmers to engage in adaptation and mitigation strategies, alongside collaborative and redistributive community development to reduce vulnerabilities. To overcome barriers to climate resilience in the Philippines, a grassroots farmer-led organization comprised of resource-poor smallholders, scientists, and nongovernmental organizations have organized a polycentric network over the past 30 years to implement food sovereignty initiatives. We explore the extent to which the network’s decentralized and farmer-led organizational structure; programming and services; promotion of diversified, organic, and agroecological farming systems; and political organizing and advocacy create broadly accessible and diverse pathways for resource-poor smallholders to build climate resilience. We find that the Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa Pag-Unlad ng Agrikultura’s (Farmer-Scientist Partnership for Development) polycentric governance approach directly addresses the root causes of vulnerability, particularly in working to reclaim farmer rights and control over resources, connecting local and global struggles, and revitalizing agrobiodiversity and place-based knowledge.

Land and the US Agrarian South

This review essay summarizes and synthesizes three books on Black and Indigenous agrarian struggles in the modern-day territories of the USA. It discusses how they recount the centrality of land, national liberation, self-reliant development, food sovereignty and sustainable forms of agriculture and land management to Black and Indigenous radical struggle. It then suggests parallels and divergences between those struggles and those in the Third World’s agrarian south. It focusses on the anti-systemic dimensions of national liberation struggles in the core, especially those carried out historically by Black and Indigenous movements, and details how those movements historically looked out beyond the US landmass for solidarity and to build internationalist fronts. Finally, it reflects on their role in destabilizing settler-capitalism in the USA.

Agrifood systems literacy: Insights from two high schools’ programs in Ontario

Following the increased industrialization and globalization of the prevailing agrifood system, researchers and practitioners have highlighted the detrimental impacts of this model on human health, food security, and the environment. As such, experts and citizens are calling for an increased awareness, through food literacy (FL), to improve health and justice and to transition towards sustainable agrifood systems. Building on field research, critical pedagogy, and existing FL analyses, we argue for incorporating both health and well-being, and agrifood systems dimensions into FL programming. By doing so, FL can contribute to promote individual health, as well as more sustainable agrifood systems policies and practices based on the principles of food sovereignty. Through qualitative research with students and teachers in two Ontario high schools, we explore the content and approaches taken in food-related programming. Aspects of FL among students are also explored in order to highlight their strengths and limitations. Further, we point to the challenges faced by teachers in delivering food-related courses. We propose a conceptual framework that highlights the benefits of including the multiple dimensions of FL as a way to test and improve existing FL programs, and eventually train future generations of teachers, students, and citizens.

Looking back, looking forward

The Earth to Tables Legacies Project emerged in 2015, growing out of personal relationships, but also built on a long trajectory of participatory research, multimedia arts production and popular education. We created an intergenerational and intercultural exchange of food activists working for food justice and food sovereignty with the initial goal of producing a feature length documentary. However, the project evolved over five years to culminate in a multimedia educational package with 10 short videos and 11 photo essays, all accompanied by facilitator’s guides. A web series on the pandemic is in production and a forthcoming book is to be published in 2021. The intergenerational production team included Deborah Barndt (co-director and co-editor), Lauren Baker (co-editor) and Alexandra Gelis (co-director). In this ‘report from the field,’ the two co-directors Alexandra and Deborah look back on the process of co-producing the visual materials for the interactive website and look forward to its potential use in university classes, schools, and social and environmental justice organizations. Parts of the essay include our zoom dialogue as we revisit our process over the past five years and try to elucidate our way of working, while reflecting on the challenges of the collaborative production and use of multimedia educational tools. Note that this essay utilizes the same kind of text with hyperlinks that are featured in our website and book. The reader is encouraged to click on the links to learn more about the people and their practices as well as the concept of a non-linear multimedia educational tool and process.