Academic literature on the topic 'Indigenous food system'

Indigenous and traditional foods crops (ITFCs) have multiple uses within society, and most notably have an important role to play in the attempt to diversify the food in order to enhance food and nutrition security. However, research suggests that the benefits and value of indigenous foods within the South African and the African context have not been fully understood and synthesized. Their potential value to the African food system could be enhanced if their benefits were explored more comprehensively. This synthesis presents a literature review relating to underutilized indigenous crop species and foods in Africa. It organizes the findings into four main contributions, nutritional, environmental, economic, and social-cultural, in line with key themes of a sustainable food system framework. It also goes on to unpack the benefits and challenges associated with ITFCs under these themes. A major obstacle is that people are not valuing indigenous foods and the potential benefit that can be derived from using them is thus neglected. Furthermore, knowledge is being lost from one generation to the next, with potentially dire implications for long-term sustainable food security. The results show the need to recognize and enable indigenous foods as a key resource in ensuring healthy food systems in the African continent.

AbstractObjectiveTo describe how Indigenous Peoples understand how to enhance use of their food systems to promote sustainability, as demonstrated in several food-based interventions.DesignComments contributed by partners from case studies of Indigenous Peoples and their food systems attending an international meeting were implemented with public health interventions at the community level in nine countries.SettingThe Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Conference Center in Bellagio, Italy, where experiences from case studies of Indigenous Peoples were considered and then conducted in their home communities in rural areas.SubjectsLeaders of the Indigenous Peoples’ case studies, their communities and their academic partners.ResultsReported strategies on how to improve use of local food systems in case study communities of Indigenous Peoples.ConclusionsIndigenous Peoples’ reflections on their local food systems should be encouraged and acted upon to protect and promote sustainability of the cultures and ecosystems that derive their food systems. Promoting use of local traditional food biodiversity is an essential driver of food system sustainability for Indigenous Peoples, and contributes to global consciousness for protecting food biodiversity and food system sustainability more broadly. Key lessons learned, key messages and good practices for nutrition and public health practitioners and policy makers are given.

For centuries, some Indigenous Peoples of the Americas have planted corn, beans and squash or pumpkins together in mounds, in an intercropping complex known as the Three Sisters. Agriculturally, nutritionally and culturally, these three crops are complementary. This literature review aims to compile historical foods prepared from the products of the Three Sisters planting system used in Indigenous communities in the region encompassing southern Quebec and Ontario in Canada, and northeastern USA. The review does not discuss cultural aspects of the Three Sisters cropping system or describe foods specific to any one Indigenous group, but rather, gives an overview of the historical foods stemming from this intercropping system, many foods of which are common or similar from one group to another. Some of the methods of food preparation used have continued over generations, some of the historical foods prepared are the foundation for foods we eat today, and some of both the methods and foods are finding revival.

According to Natifs (North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems), the first action in understanding the Foundations of an Indigenous Food System Model is the “Removal of Colonized Thought.” food sovereignty, physical and spiritual connection to land, and sustainable food practices are interlocked with decolonial action. Considering Traditional Knowledge (TK), as intellectual property, what does it mean for libraries to collect books containing TK, such as cookbooks written by Indigenous authors, published by Indigenous publishers or otherwise dealing with Indigenous Food Systems? Mindful of the colonial impacts on cookbook publishing in Canada, the author proposes a 4-part framework for libraries when acquiring or weeding Indigenous cookbooks to and from their collections. Used as a tool, the framework promotes the stewardship of collections (and metadata) that do not perpetuate colonial violence through language and Eurocentrism, but champion Indigenous authors, publishers, and content. Written from the position of queer-settler, the essay provides examples of published works that meet the criteria of the framework, celebrating Indigenous Food Systems that predate librarianship’s colonial classification. Through personal narrative, the author demonstrates how the offerings of such texts can become integrated into a personal stewardship of the teachings being shared that directly informs the case for equitable collections management.

Underutilised indigenous plants can support and strengthen the existing food system, as they are considered as socio-economically and environmentally appropriate. These plants generally adapt to marginal conditions, which is essential for a resilient agriculture and sustainable food systems. The current study relied on food security and indigenous plants data collected from some selected rural households from the North West Province of South Africa. The utilised data were collected through a multi-stage sampling technique with the aid of a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire, while descriptive methods Foster–Greer–Thorbecke (FGT) and binary logistic regression were used for data analysis. The models produced a good fit for the data, and the computed F-value was statistically significant (p < 0.01). The study examined socio-economic and food security status based on the knowledge and the perception of indigenous plants by the households. The incidence of food insecurity (θ0) was 0.4060, indicating that 40.6% of the participants were food insecure while 59.4% were food secured. Binary logistic regression results indicate that factors such as age, gender, educational attainment, inclusion of indigenous plants in diet, food expenditure, and access in the study area impacted results. It was also evident that the participants had considerable knowledge of indigenous plants. However, these indigenous plants were not cultivated or included in the diet by the majority of the participants. The formulation of appropriate holistic policies that support the incorporation of the indigenous plants into the food system is recommended.

Business as usual or transformative change? While the global agro-industrial food system is credited with increasing food production, availability and accessibility, it is also credited with giving birth to ‘new’ challenges such as malnutrition, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation. We reviewed the potential of underutilized indigenous and traditional crops to bring about a transformative change to South Africa’s food system. South Africa has a dichotomous food system, characterized by a distinct, dominant agro-industrial, and, alternative, informal food system. This dichotomous food system has inadvertently undermined the development of smallholder producers. While the dominant agro-industrial food system has led to improvements in food supply, it has also resulted in significant trade-offs with agro-biodiversity, dietary diversity, environmental sustainability, and socio-economic stability, especially amongst the rural poor. This challenges South Africa’s ability to deliver on sustainable and healthy food systems under environmental change. The review proposes a transdisciplinary approach to mainstreaming underutilized indigenous and traditional crops into the food system, which offers real opportunities for developing a sustainable and healthy food system, while, at the same time, achieving societal goals such as employment creation, wellbeing, and environmental sustainability. This process can be initiated by researchers translating existing evidence for informing policy-makers. Similarly, policy-makers need to acknowledge the divergence in the existing policies, and bring about policy convergence in pursuit of a food system which includes smallholder famers, and where underutilized indigenous and traditional crops are mainstreamed into the South African food system.

With over 6 million coronavirus pandemic deaths, the African continent reported the lowest death rate despite having a high disease burden. The African community’s resilience to the pandemic has been attributed to climate and weather conditions, herd immunity, repeated exposure to infectious organisms that help stimulate the immune system, and a disproportionately large youth population. In addition, functional foods, herbal remedies, and dietary supplements contain micronutrients and bioactive compounds that can help boost the immune system. This review identified significant traditional fermented foods and herbal remedies available within the African continent with the potential to boost the immune system in epidemics and pandemics. Methodology: Databases, such as PubMed, the Web of Science, and Scopus, were searched using relevant search terms to identify traditional African fermented foods and medicinal plants with immune-boosting or antiviral capabilities. Cereal-based fermented foods, meat-, and fish-based fermented foods, and dairy-based fermented foods containing antioxidants, immunomodulatory effects, probiotics, vitamins, and peptides were identified and discussed. In addition, nine herbal remedies and spices belonging to eight plant families have antioxidant, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, hepatoprotective, cardioprotective, and antiviral properties. Peptides, flavonoids, alkaloids, sterols, ascorbic acid, minerals, vitamins, and saponins are some of the bioactive compounds in the remedies. Bioactive compounds in food and plants significantly support the immune system and help increase resistance against infectious diseases. The variety of food and medicinal plants found on the African continent could play an essential role in providing community resilience against infectious diseases during epidemics and pandemics. The African continent should investigate nutritional, herbal, and environmental factors that support healthy living and longevity.

From the Arctic to the South Pacific, Indigenous Peoples have experienced a rapid nutrition transition involving the decline of traditional/subsistence-based ways of life and the adoption of a “Western” diet that is high in saturated fats, sugar, and processed foods. This dietary shift has been paralleled by an increased prevalence of obesity, diabetes, and, other diet-related chronic diseases. In the Arctic, rapidly changing biophysical conditions, globalization, and integration into market economies are collectively challenging access to both country foods and nutritious market foods. Food security and nutrient adequacy thus remain elusive for Inuit communities of northern Canada. Premised upon the view that human well-being is predicated upon complex and dynamic interactions between ecosystems, economies, and societies, this dissertation integrates multiple lines of inquiry and scales of engagement (community, regional, and national) to further understanding of the nutrition transition among Inuit in Canada. The thesis is comprised of two sections. Section 1 bridges the often disparate fields of human nutrition and wildlife conservation by addressing key questions about the status and management of Arctic species, and the implications for Inuit food security and health. For example, caribou (Rangifer tarandus) populations across the circumpolar north are currently experiencing dramatic declines in abundance and restrictions on Inuit subsistence harvest are currently implemented for several caribou populations. Caribou, however, is the primary source of protein and several micronutrients involved in the prevention of anemia (e.g. iron zinc, copper, riboflavin, and vitamin B12) in the contemporary diet of Inuit adults. Caribou consumption is also positively associated with hemoglobin levels in Inuit adults. Section 2 considers elements of the market food system in Inuit communities. We found that the most popular market foods consumed by Inuit (e.g. sweetened beverages, added sugar, and bread) contribute significantly to total diet energy while contributing minimally to most micronutrients. Using optimization models, we have demonstrated that a nutritious diet (one meeting Health Canada dietary reference intake values) is theoretically feasible based on a mix of country food and market food, and at relatively little additional cost from current diets. However, significant deviations in patterns of food expenditure away from sweetened beverages, towards dairy, and whole fruits and vegetables would be required. Taken collectively, this thesis provides important information, as well as new tools, and approaches, for communities, wildlife conservation and public health professionals to jointly promote ecosystem and human health in a rapidly changing environment.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa is rich in biodiversity among which are semi-domesticated vegetable species which are known as wild or indigenous vegetables. These wild indigenous vegetables have been reported to be good in nutritional qualities such as macro and micronutrients. However, there is still a high prevalence of malnutrition; especially micronutrient deficiencies among low or marginal income bracket of the population. The use of indigenous vegetables has been proposed as part of the solutions to the problems of micronutrient malnutrition among these populations. Indigenous vegetables are an important source of food in the maize based subsistence farming sector of rural South Africa. Their main role is as relish as they are used as an accompaniment for staple cereal based diets. They are also generally reported to be rich in micronutrients. Although they may be consumed in small quantities, they influence the intake of cereal staples, manage hunger and play a central role in household food security for the poorer rural groups. Mixing several indigenous vegetables species in one meal contributes to dietary diversity in terms of more vegetable types as well as in terms of choice of relish. For some very poor families indigenous vegetables are substitutes for some food crops. The seasonal occurrence of these vegetables leaves many families without a food source during the off-season. Indigenous vegetables increase agro-biodiversity at the household level. This agro-biodiversity helps in buffering against the accumulation and multiplication of pests and diseases and provides important cover for the soil. Further research on agronomic, social and economic dimensions is required to understand the roles of IV in subsistence farming systems in South Africa. The survey study revealed that indigenous vegetables were important in the diets of most rural people in the study area. They were consumed as relish although they were not being cultivated. Their method of acquisition was gathering from homesteads and the wild. These vegetables were also believed to be medicinal. The local naming of wild vegetables varied among villages in the same district such that a vegetable in one village was assigned to a different species of vegetable in another village. They were reportedly abundant during summer and there was a decrease in availability off-season leaving vulnerable people who rely on them with a food shortage. The utilisation of wild vegetables among South Africans is reported to be declining due to over reliance on introduced temperate species. Efforts to domesticate and cultivate wild vegetables could be hampered by several factors including seed dormancy and premature flowering. In this present study dormancy was observed in C. olitorius. The response of wild genotypes of C. olitorius with different seed sizes to various dry heat and hot water treatments was evaluated. Steeping seeds in boiling water (95oC) for ten seconds and soaking seeds in a hot water bath at 80oC for ten minutes resulted in the highest response to germination in this species. The study also recorded significant interactions between heat treatment and seed sizes. We concluded that C. olitorius seeds of different sizes require diverse durations of exposure to heat treatment methods to break dormancy caused by an impermeable seed coat. Cleome gynandra is another species that is consumed as a vegetable in various parts of the world including Africa. The plant is also used as a medicinal herb for the treatment of various human diseases. Among the wild vegetables, C. gynandra has been reported to flower prematurely, a phenomenon known as bolting and common in many vegetable crops. Premature flowering (bolting) can be as a response to temperature extremes and photoperiod and affects many other leafy vegetables such as lettuce (Lactuca sativa), spinach (Spinacea oleracea) and mustard rape (Brassica juncea). Bolting leads to production losses in leaf vegetable crops as they flower before they have produced an economic yield. The removal of flowers and nitrogen application resulted in significant increases in the fresh and dry weight of cleome leaves. Removal of flowers resulted in a 46% increase in fresh weight of leaves. The observed positive response of leaf yield to removal of flowers offers a possible way to deal with the problem of bolting. The continuous removal of the flowers leads to increased utilisable leaf yield. The application of incremental amounts of nitrogen top dressing results in increased leaf yield in C. gynandra. The response of selected indigenous vegetables (Corchorus olitorius and Amaranthus cruentus) to micronutrients added to the soil was compared with the response of a reference crop; Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla). For all the levels of micronutrients applied, Swiss chard accumulated Cu, Zn and Mn in the leaves at significantly (p<0.01) higher concentrations than the wild vegetables. Variations between the vegetables in the micronutrients were greater for Zn (72–363 ppm) and Mn (97.9–285.9 ppm) for Cu (8.8–14 ppm). C. olitorius had the least capacity to concentrate Mn and Zn in the leaf, which suggested that this vegetable is a less attractive candidate for agronomic bio-fortification of these elements. However, C. olitorius accumulated Fe at a significantly higher concentration (327 ppm) in the leaves than did Amaranthus (222 ppm) or Swiss chard (295 ppm). Sulphur as a macronutrient varied little in the plant species tested. The mean S concentration in the leaves ranged from 0.26% in C. olitorius to 0.34% in Amaranthus cruentus and Swiss chard. We concluded that the different vegetables have different abilities to take up Cu and Zn in the order Swiss chard > Amaranthus > Corchorus, and that they responded to micronutrients added to the soil but only up to certain limits of supplementation. The results from this current study seem to contradict the belief that wild vegetables have the inherent ability to concentrate mineral micronutrients in their tissue. Factors such as environment, anti-nutrients, dietary diversity, plant parts, plant age, and varieties result in differences in reported nutritional composition of indigenous vegetables. Post-harvest handling, storage, cooking and preservation also alter the composition. The need to optimise protocols for each vegetable type and for different laboratories makes analysis expensive. Equipment and methods of analysis are varied and may not be comparable, making it difficult to generalise on the composition of these vegetables. The Agricultural Research Council of South Africa and other stake holders are conducting studies on some aspects of these vegetables. There are still many information gaps regarding many aspects of these vegetables which require research attention. These include; the selection and improvement of genotypes, seed biology and germination studies, agronomic (population, fertiliser, crop mixtures) studies and phyto-chemical evaluation of these important species in order to encourage the overall use of these important indigenous resources. Finally, there is need to promote their increased utilisation.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Suid- Afrika is ryk aan biodiversiteit waaronder half-mak groente spesies, wat as wilde of inheemse groente bekend is, voorkom. Hierdie wilde inheemse groente is aangedui om goed in voedingswaarde te wees met voldoende makro-en mikrovoedingstowwe. Daar is egter nogsteeds 'n hoë voorkoms van wanvoeding, veral tekorte aan mikronutriënte onder die lae of marginale inkomstegroep van die bevolking. Die gebruik van inheemse groente word voorgestel as deel van die oplossing van die probleem van wanvoeding onder hierdie bevolkings. Inheemse groente is 'n belangrike bron van voedsel in die mielie gebaseerde bestaansboerdery sektor van landelike Suid-Afrika. Hul vernaamste rol is as smoor waar dit gebruik word tesame met stapelvoedsel in ʼn graan-gebaseerde dieet. Hierdie groentes was oor die algemeen ook aangedui om ryk te wees in mikrovoedingstowwe. Hoewel hulle verteer kan word in klein hoeveelhede, beïnvloed hulle die inname van graan stapelvoedsel, en speel 'n sentrale rol in huishoudelike voedselsekuriteit vir die armer landelike groepe. Vermenging van verskeie inheemse groente spesies in een maaltyd dra by tot die dieet diversiteit in terme van meer groentesoorte sowel as in terme van die keuse van smaak. Vir 'n paar baie arm gesinne is inheemse groentes die plaasvervanger vir gewone groente gewasse. Die seisoenale voorkoms van hierdie groente laat baie gesinne sonder 'n bron van voedsel gedurende die af-seisoen. Inheemse groente verhoog landbou-biodiversiteit op ʼn huishoudelike vlak . Hierdie landbou-biodiversiteit help buffer teen die opbou en vermeerdering van peste en siektes en bied belangrike dekking vir die grond. Verdere navorsing op akkerbou-, maatskaplike en ekonomiese aspekte is nodig om die rolle van inheemse groentes in bestaansboerdery in Suid-Afrika te verstaan. Die studie opname het getoon dat inheemse groente belangrik was in die dieet van die meeste mense van die platteland in die studie area. Hierdie groentes was gebruik as smoor hoewel hulle nie gekweek word nie. Hul metode van verkryging is deur dit te versamel van huise en die natuur. Die groentes word ook as medisinaal beskou. Die plaaslike benaming van wilde groente het gewissel tussen dorpe in dieselfde distrik, tot so 'n mate dat die benaming van groente tussen dorpe verskil. Hulle was na bewering volop in die somer, en daar was 'n afname in die beskikbaarheid af-seisoen, wat kwesbare mense, wat staatmaak op hul voorkoms, met 'n tekort aan kos laat. Die benutting van wilde groente onder Suid-Afrikaners daal as gevolg van die afhanklikheid in nuwe spsies. Pogings om te mak en wilde groente te kweek, kan belemmer word deur verskeie faktore, insluitend saaddormansie en voortydige blom. In hierdie studie was dormansie waargeneem in C. olitorius. Die reaksie van wilde genotipes van C. olitorius met verskillende saad groottes op verskeie droë hitte en warm water behandelings, was geëvalueer. Sade was geweek in kookwater ( 95oC ) vir tien sekondes en ander in 'n warm water bad by 80oC vir tien minute, en het gelei tot die hoogste reaksie op ontkieming in hierdie spesie. Die studie het ook belangrike interaksies tussen hitte behandeling en saad groottes getoon. Ons het tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat C. olitorius sade van verskillende groottes diverse duur van blootstelling vereis en ook so m.b.t. die ondeurdringbare saadhuid. Cleome gynandra is nog 'n spesie wat as 'n groente in verskeie dele van die wêreld, insluitend Afrika verbruik word. Die plant word ook gebruik as 'n medisinale plant vir die behandeling van verskeie siektes van die mens. Onder die wilde groente, was C. gynandra aangedui om vroeg te blom, 'n verskynsel wat bekend staan as “bolting” en is algemeen in baie groente gewasse. Voortydige blom (vas) kan wees as 'n reaksie op die temperatuur uiterstes en fotoperiode en raak ook baie ander groen groente soos blaarslaai (Lactuca sativa) , spinasie (Spinacea oleracea) en mosterd (Brassica juncea ) . “Bolting” lei ook tot produksie verliese in blaar groentegewasse as hulle blom voordat hulle 'n ekonomiese opbrengs opgelewer het. Die verwydering van blomme en stikstof toediening het gelei tot 'n aansienlike toename in die vars en droë gewig van Cleome blare. Verwydering van blomme het gelei tot 'n toename van 46% in vars gewig van die blare. Die waargenome positiewe reaksie van die blaar opbrengs deur verwydering van blomme bied 'n moontlike manier om die “bolting” probleem te hanteer. Die voortdurende verwydering van die blomme lei tot verhoogde bruikbare blaar opbrengs. Die toepassing van toenemende stikstof topbemesting het verhoogde blaar opbrengs in C. gynandra tot gevolg. Die reaksie van geselekteerde inheemse groente (Corchorus olitorius en Amaranthus spp ) met mikrovoedingstowwe toegevoeg tot die grond, is in vergelyk met die reaksie van 'n verwysings gewas; spinasiebeet (Beta vulgaris var cicla . ). Vir al die vlakke van mikronutriente toegepas, was die spinasiebeet opgehoopte Cu , Zn en Mn in die blare, in beduidend (p <0.01 ) hoër konsentrasies as die wilde groente.

Estuaries serve as nursery areas for a large number of estuary-associated fish species. Some of these taxa also use river catchments as nursery areas. During the upstream migration of this latter group, the juveniles are prone to predation by native and alien predatory fish inhabiting the system. The rate of invasion of ecosystems by alien organisms can be directly linked to anthropogenic influences, including both intentional and unintentional introductions by alien organisms into new regions. The largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides, is a facultative piscivorous fish that has been successfully introduced worldwide for the main purpose of sport fishing. Where introduced, it has been found to negatively impact native fish and invertebrate species through predation, competitive exclusion and displacement of indigenous fish species. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the predatory impact of largemouth bass on the estuary-associated Cape moony Monodactylus falciformis, Cape stumpnose Rhabdosargus holubi and freshwater mullet Myxus capensis in the lower Kowie River of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. A combination of approaches was employed during this study. Stomach contents, stable isotopes and fatty acid analyses were employed for the reconstruction of the diet of largemouth bass. Acoustic telemetry was used to elucidate largemouth bass movements, particularly their ability to enter the upper reaches of the Kowie Estuary. Stomach contents and stable isotopes analyses showed that M. salmoides exhibit an ontogenic shift in diet, with small and medium sized individuals consuming the higher proportion of fish prey, while large sized individuals mostly consumed invertebrates such as crabs (Potamonautes sidneyi) and Odonata larvae, while consuming only a small proportion of estuary-associated fish. Fatty acid analysis only showed a direct connection between the fatty acid profiles of largemouth bass and those of M. capensis and M. falciformis. The acoustic telemetry results indicated that some M. salmoides individuals periodically move into the upper reaches of the estuary following river flood events. The results obtained from all these approaches highlight the risk posed by largemouth bass introductions on indigenous fish species, particularly those that enter the areas occupied by these top predators.

The development of agroecological food systems in the Andes provides a fruitful study environment for understanding innovation processes in participatory research. In this particular context two knowledge based communities - the modern scientific and the traditional indigenous form an intercultural dialogue that frames the conditions for innovation to be developed and sustained. This thesis presents an exploratory case study of the Communal Agricultural Risk Management project in Challa, Bolivia. A project that aims at combining local knowledge with technological innovation as a strategy to reduce vulnerability to climate risk by strengthening local production systems. The study applies a sociotechnical approach to agricultural knowledge and information systems to analyse how innovations are facilitated and sustained by the projects main actor - the local stakeholder and participatory researcher denominated as Yapuchiri. The main findings of the study conclude that innovation is facilitated but not sustained as vertical linkages between actors and diverging perceptions of personal benefits, project goals and material/immaterial resources limit the performance of the system. The study consequently suggests that the Yapuchiris have to reach consensus on mutual benefits with the collective coordination of agroecological practices in order to find equitable partnerships that help to sustain their work after the project has ended.

Inadequate nutrition in preschool-aged children in an urban indigenous community outside of Santo Domingo, Ecuador has a negative impact on growth and development. Nutritional assessments have shown that children are underweight and that there are some effects of stunting and wasting in the population. This study was conducted to assess the extent of food security in this indigenous community in preparation for addressing two of the Millennium Development Goals for 2015: reducing the under-five child mortality rate by two-thirds and eradicating extreme poverty and hunger. An aim was to validate on-site assessment measures in this indigenous community regarding geographic circumstances, transportation, food culture systems and other barriers to food intake. These are interrelated and impact nutritional data collected on Tsáchila families in Ecuador. Mixed methods research were conducted to examine the factors that contribute to nutritional intake. The results showed observed food intake was less than food intake reported on the FFQ. Micronutrient and macronutrient levels, weight-for-height and height-for-age measures were below the WHO standard deviations for Z-scores for this population.

A presente dissertação trata da Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional (SAN) entre os povos indí-genas sob a perspectiva do Direito Humano a Alimentação Adequada (DHAA) e da Soberania Alimentar (SA). Apresenta à experiência dos indígenas Asheninkas do Alto Rio Envira, nar-rada a partir deles mesmos, com o Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos (PAA) enquanto be-neficiários fornecedores, no Município de Feijó, Estado do Acre. O PAA invest igado é exe-cutado pelo governo do estado e a modalidade é a Compra com Doação Simultânea. Demons-tra-se, por meio do Estudo de Caso, que o PAA pode fortalecer a segurança alimentar e nutri-cional dessas sociedades diferenciadas com manutenção da sua autonomia cultural. Com isso, debate-se as questões sobre a prioridade legal conferida a estes segmentos e a valorização para a aquisição de produtos tradicionais, intrínsecos á cultura, alimentação e culinária indí-gena. A ressignificação e adequação do Programa localmente unida aos laços de reciprocidade e parentesco, típicos das comunidades indígenas, contribuem para o acesso e manutenção de famílias isoladas geograficamente no Programa. Argumenta-se ainda, que a participação indí-gena no PAA, uma vez seguido os princípios legislativos do Programa e o respeito à autode-terminação dos povos, fortalece o resgate e manutenção dos sistemas alimentares tradicionais dos povos indígenas em seus territórios e terras indígenas já conquistadas legalmente. Assim, o PAA constitui-se não apenas em uma politica geradora de renda, mas, reúne, principalmen-te, características opostas às politicas indigenistas praticadas no passado.
This dissertation discusses food security and nutrition between indigenous people under the consideration of The Human Right to Adequate Food and Food sovereignty perspectives. It presents the experience of the Asheninkas’ people from the high Envira River with the Food Acquisition Program (PAA) in Feijo municipality, from their narratives as suppliers-beneficiaries. The program studied is implemented by the state government in the modality of Buy with Simultaneous donation. It is demonstrated through this case study that the PAA can strengthen food security and nutrition of these diverse societies maintaining their cultural au-tonomy. By this means, questions about the legal priority given to these segments and the appreciation to the acquisition of traditional products, intrinsic to indigenous culture, food and cuisine, are raised and debated. The local reinterpretation and adaptation of the program com-bined with the reciprocity ties and parentage, typical of indigenous communities, contribute to the access and maintenance of geographically isolated families in the program. It is further argued that the indigenous participation on PAA, once its legislative principles and the respect for these people self-determination are observed, strengthens the recovery and maintenance of indigenous traditional food systems in indigenous territories and lands already occupied legal-ly. Therefore, the PAA is not just a income generation policy, but also, and specially, a policy with opposite characteristics from the old indigenous policies.

The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of Klawock's Tribal Citizens' relationship to harvesting what is colloquially known as customary and traditional foods and/or native foods. The state and federal governments categorize these culturally specific goods as subsistence foods. An unearthed, 5,360-year-old basket potentially links modern day Klawock Tribal Citizens with their ancestral ties to the region. Throughout this time, families in this region of Southeast Alaska have been participating in a form of indigenous fishery. Despite access to multiple grocery stores and fish canneries, tribal citizens choose to expend their family's efforts to harvest their own sockeye out of the Klawock watershed. Oral history and ethnography and methodologies were employed to record personal relationships with the harvest of these resources while also documenting a context in which these relationships exist. Klawock Cooperative Association's staff worked alongside the student researcher and participants to analyze the data and produce findings. Engaging in customary and traditional activities rewards participants with intrinsic facets of their identity. Alongside reinforcing identities, these activities teach participants about family dynamics and working as a team, as well as the responsibilities that come with. These responsibilities are formed through the assignment of roles and provide people with purpose. The roles of individuals within their family dynamic parallel their understanding of their place within the larger society. Having a purpose and knowing their place shapes participant's accomplishments in the food system and honors them with feelings of pride. Based on these findings, KCA interprets customary and traditional activities as an epistemology in which increased access and participation provides an upwards trajectory of community health.

Increasingly unpredictable, extreme and erratic rainfall with higher temperatures threatens to undermine the adaptive capacity of food systems and ecological resilience of smallholder landscapes. Despite growing concern, land managers still lack quantitative techniques to collect empirical data about the potential impact of climatic variability and change. This thesis aims to assess how ecosystem services and function and how this links with biodiversity and human wellbeing in smallholder agro-ecosystems in a changing climate. To this end, rather than relying on scenarios or probabilistic modelling, space was used as a proxy for time to compare states in disparate climatic conditions. Furthermore, an integrated methodological framework to assess ecosystem services at the field and landscape level was developed and operationalised, the results of which can be modelled with measures of wellbeing. Various multidisciplinary analytical tools were utilised, including ecological and socio-economic surveys, biological assessments, participatory open enquiry, and documenting ethnobotanical knowledge. The study was located within monsoon rice farms in the Terai Plains of Nepal, and dry season vegetable farms in Northern Ghana. Sites were selected that are climatically and culturally diverse to enable comparative analysis, with application to broad areas of adaptive planning. The linkages that bring about biophysical and human changes are complex and operate through social, political, economic and demographic drivers, making attribution extremely challenging. Nevertheless, it was demonstrated that within hotter and drier conditions in Ghana long-tongued pollinators and granivores, important for decomposition processes and pollination services, are more abundant in farms. Results further indicated that in cooler and drier conditions in Nepal, the taxonomic diversity of indigenous and close relative plant species growing in and around farms, important for the provisioning of ecosystem services, decreases. All other things equal, in both Nepal and Ghana findings indicate that overall human wellbeing may be adversely effected in hotter conditions, with a potentially significantly lower yields, fewer months of the year in which food is available, higher exposure to natural hazards and crop loss, unemployment, and psychological anxiety. Yet, surveys indicate smallholders continue to maintain a fair diversity of species in and around farms, which may allow them to secure basic necessities from provisioning ecosystem services. Moreover, farmers may employ adaptive strategies such as pooling labour and food sharing more frequently, and may have greater access to communication, technology, and infrastructure. Novel methodological and empirical contributions of this research offer predictive insights that could inform innovations in climate-smart agricultural practice and planning.

MA (African Studies)
Centre for African Studies
This study explored indigenous medicinal knowledge of Phonda in the Vhembe District. It has been noticed that phonda is becoming a scarce crop. The objectives entail seeking to solicit information on the uses of phonda, to understand the attitudes of local households towards phonda and to establish what can be done to restore the cultivation of phonda. The study used qualitative method involving unstructured interviews to collect and thematically analyse data. Purposive sampling and snowballing methods were used to make up the study sample. From literature, it is known that traditional health practitioners used phonda for treatment of certain diseases and illnesses. Phonda is no longer common, but the study sought to encourage the cultivation of phonda. The study employed an Afrocentric paradigm of social change as the conceptual framework. The study found that many households no longer plough phonda as they used to in the past. The study recommends that people should be educated on the importance of phonda to encourage them to plough it. Additionally, the researcher recommends further studies into different purposes of phonda and areas to boost its farming.

This book suggests that the genesis of Black American foodways, and soul food in particular, was the survival and preservation of the Black community. However, if soul food is to remain a response to social and food injustice in the Black community, given the myriad of ways industrial agriculture harms Black people—economically, environmentally, ideologically—what should soul food look like today? In seeking to answer this question, this book explores the relationship between and among food, Christian, and cultural identity among African Americans by examining the U.S. food system and the impact that current policies and practices have on Black, Indigenous, and other people of color. Using liberation theology and decolonial methods, the book argues for and constructs an anti-oppressive theological anthropology that serves as the foundation for liberatory Black foodways. The book concludes by offering three theologically grounded food practices as a way to begin addressing food injustice and to move toward food sovereignty in Black and other marginalized communities: soulfull eating (of which an agent and context specific black veganism is seen as ideal), seeking justice for food workers, and caring for the earth.

Indigenous peoples often claim that colonial powers, such as settler states, violate Indigenous peoples’ collective self-determination over their food systems, or food sovereignty. Violations of food sovereignty are often food injustices. Yet Indigenous peoples claim that one of the solutions to protecting food sovereignty involves the conservation of particular foods, from salmon to wild rice. This chapter advances an argument that claims of this kind advance particular theories of food sovereignty and food injustice that are not actually grounded in static conceptions of Indigenous cultures; instead, such claims offer important contributions for understanding how settler colonial domination is a form of injustice that undermines key relationships that support Indigenous collective self-determination as an adaptive capacity.

AbstractIt is a truism that the impacts of any crisis always fall unevenly. In this chapter, we focus on the experience of COVID-19 by a particular population group, Indigenous Australians living in extremely remote circumstances. Here key responses to the disruption wrought by the pandemic have paradoxically registered as reprieve. In Australia, remote-living Indigenous peoples live in deep poverty and were anticipated to be highly vulnerable to food insecurity and supply chain disruption. Surprisingly, the pandemic served to disrupt in other ways. The hegemonic characterization of welfare-dependent Indigenous peoples as morally deficient subjects in need of discipline and control could not be sustained as the country “locked down” and over a million others became “welfare dependent” overnight. Unemployment benefits were temporarily doubled, and onerous work-for-the-dole mutual obligations eased. This essay explores potential positive changes to systems of food provisioning caused by government responses to COVID-19. The remote food security “crisis” is shown to be mainly an artefact of government policies designed to punish the poor and push unemployed remote-community residents into jobs. We propose permanent reform to the social security system that will enhance food security and liberate Indigenous peoples to more effectively self-provision and exercise “food sovereignty”.

AbstractCOVID-19 has brought to light the multiple cracks in the logistically integrated, financialized and commodity-based capitalist food system. As with other aspects of social life thrown into disruption amid the global health, economic and environmental downturn, the early weeks of the pandemic seemed to offer the hope of transformative possibility, a “portal” towards different food systems. The time seemed ripe for the kinds of radical transitions that social movements and peasants’ organizations have requested for decades: subverting the “conventional” food system without going back to “corporate normality”. However, when the multiple crises are characterized as exceptional rather than structural, a narrative of emergency and urgency is deployed to reinforce the power of the incumbents. The overlap between the pandemic and the climate crisis can be an opportunity, but hardly for peasants and indigenous people. As in Naomi Klein’s Shock Doctrine, corporate actors and billionaire philanthropists are using the rhetoric of urgency to push for changes that reinforce the status quo and do not address the root causes that have brought us here. In order to spark debate and reflections, my contribution engages with one example of ongoing co-optation of the state of climate and sanitary emergency: the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit as a new food policy arena where decisions are distanced from peasants, indigenous communities and citizens and put in the hands of corporations, financial investors and billionaire philanthropists.

AbstractFood system transformation provides the opportunity to shift current trends in all forms of malnutrition, prioritizing the availability and affordability of nutritious food for all – from shifting priorities in agricultural production, to improved food systems that favor nutrition and sustainability. The task of Action Track 4 is to explore approaches to doing so that will advance equitable livelihoods for producers, businesses, workers across the food system and consumers, with a particular emphasis on addressing inequalities and power imbalances. As the Science Group for AT 4, we explore the nature of these issues, using the drivers of food systems as articulated by the High Level Panel of Experts of the UN Committee on World Food Security (HLPE 2020) as framing. Small and medium-sized producers and people who rely on food systems in rural and urban areas for livelihoods are disproportionately affected by all biophysical and environmental drivers, including soil and water resources and climate change. Unequal opportunity in access to all types of resources reduces overall production, resilience and rural transformation. Advances in innovation, technology and infrastructure have had important impacts on food production and sustainability, transportation and processing along food value chains, marketing, and, ultimately, diets, including the consumption of both nutritious and unhealthy foods. However, achievement of equitable livelihoods in food systems will require that issues of access to contextually suitable innovation and technology, inclusive of indigenous knowledge, be substantially enhanced. Many economic and political factors can be essential causes of inequality and power imbalances at the household, community, national and global levels, which may constrain the ability of food system transformation to deliver poverty reduction and sustainable, equitable livelihoods. Finally, vast evidence illustrates that several socio-cultural and demographic drivers underpin inequalities among and within societies and constrain the potential for some to benefit from actions to improve their livelihoods, particularly women, youths, the disabled, the elderly and indigenous peoples. These issues have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic is having a significant impact on global commodity markets and trading systems, economic growth, incomes, and poverty levels, with a likely disproportionate burden falling on vulnerable communities in both urban and rural areas. This is likely to worsen inequalities and set back progress against poverty and hunger goals. To address these issues, we must transform not only food systems, but the structures and systems that continue to enable and exacerbate inequities. Drivers of food system inequities are highly interconnected, and progress in addressing one will likely require change across several. For example, globalization and trade interact with other powerful drivers, especially technology resource mobilization and demographic trends, which shape food production, distribution, and consumption. Hence, in the final section, we reflect on several factors that should be part of effective solutions for combating inequalities in food systems, including rights-based approaches. We then share a series of recommendations aimed at enhancing inclusive decision-making, protecting the livelihoods of those living in situations of vulnerability while creating opportunities, adapting institutions and policies to favor equitable food system livelihoods, and increasing investment so as to realize the potential of improved institutional and policy actions. We invite governments, businesses, and organizations to hold themselves and others to account in advancing equitable livelihoods, and open avenues towards realizing the potential of science, innovation, technology, and evidence to favor equitable livelihoods.

AbstractAchieving gender equality and women’s empowerment in food systems can result in greater food security and better nutrition, as well as more just, resilient and sustainable food systems for all. This chapter uses a scoping review to assess the current evidence on pathways between gender equality, women’s empowerment and food systems. The chapter uses an adaptation of the food system framework to organize the evidence and identify where evidence is strong, and where gaps remain. Results show strong evidence on women’s differing access to resources, shaped and reinforced by contextual social gender norms, and on links between women’s empowerment and maternal education and important outcomes, such as nutrition and dietary diversity. However, evidence is limited on issues such as gender considerations in food systems for women in urban areas and in aquaculture value chains, best practices and effective pathways for engaging men in the process of women’s empowerment in food systems, and how to address issues related to migration, crises and indigenous food systems. While there are gender-informed evaluation studies examining the effectiveness of gender- and nutrition-sensitive agricultural programs, evidence indicating the long-term sustainability of such impacts remains limited. The chapter recommends key areas for investment: improving women’s leadership and decision-making in food systems, promoting equal and positive gender norms, improving access to resources, and building cross-contextual research evidence on gender and food systems.

AbstractThe 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) was a call from the UN that brought together key players with the objective to provide potential solutions for transforming current food systems and increasing their sustainability, resilience, equitability, nutritional value, and efficiency. Key actors from science, business, policy, healthcare, the private sector, civil society, farmers, Indigenous Peoples, youth organisations, consumer groups, environmental activists, and other key stakeholders came together before, during and after the Summit, to review how food is produced, processed, and consumed across the world in order to bring about tangible, positive changes to the world’s food systems.The White/Wiphala Paper on Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems (FAO, 2021a) was a critical reference, an evidence-based contribution to the 2021 UNFSS that highlights the crucial role of Indigenous Peoples and their food systems as game-changers and shows us how we can respect, better understand, and protect said systems. The paper resulted from the collective work of Indigenous Peoples’ leaders, scientists, researchers, and UN staff. More than 60 Indigenous and non-Indigenous contributions from 39 organisations and ten experts in six socio-cultural regions were received by the Global-Hub on Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems. The Global-Hub on Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems is a knowledge platform that brings together Indigenous and non-Indigenous experts, scientists, and researchers to co-create intercultural knowledge and provide evidence about the sustainability and resilience of Indigenous Peoples’ food systems (https://www.fao.org/indigenous-peoples/global-hub/en/), which coordinated the writing and editing of the paper through a Technical Editorial Committee.The White/Wiphala paper emphasised the centrality of a rights-based approach, ensuring Indigenous Peoples’ rights and access to land, natural resources, traditional territorial management practices, governance, and livelihoods, as well as addressing the resilience and sustainability of their foods systems. The paper demonstrates how the preservation of Indigenous Peoples’ food systems is necessary for the health of more than 476 million Indigenous Peoples globally while providing valid solutions for addressing some of the challenges humankind faces on sustainability, resilience, and spirituality.It is essential to note critical developments that have occurred since the White/Wiphala paper was published in mid-2021, the July Pre-Summit in Rome, and the September Summit in New York, followed by COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021.For example, at COP26, little attention was given to food systems, despite their contribution to the climate crisis, with responsibility for 30% of greenhouse gas emissions (FAO, 2021b). COP26 highlighted the need to focus on mitigation strategies and adaptation in the face of the current climate crisis. These strategies must include Indigenous Peoples’ food systems as game-changers for effective climate adaptation strategies that they have been testing and adjusting for hundreds of years.At the UNFSS Pre-Summit in Rome, the Indigenous Peoples’ delegation voiced their concerns and presented three key proposals: the recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ food systems as a game-changing solution; the launching of a coalition on Universal Food Access and Indigenous Peoples’ food systems; and the request to create an Indigenous Peoples’ fund. All their concerns and proposals were rejected at the Pre-Summit, including launching a Coalition on Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems and Universal Food Access.In the aftermath of the UNFSS Pre-Summit, and thanks to the leadership of the Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), Indigenous leaders following the UNFSS, seven countries, and the FAO Indigenous Peoples Unit (PSUI), timely discussions and collective work led to the creation of a new Coalition on Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems.Thanks to the leadership of Mexico and the support of Canada, the Dominican Republic, Finland, New Zealand, Norway, and Spain, along with the support of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), the Global-Hub on Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems, and FAO, this Coalition was announced at the New York September UNFSS Summit.The Coalition on Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems builds upon the White/Wiphala Paper, establishing the objective of ensuring the understanding, respect, recognition, inclusion, and protection of Indigenous Peoples’ food systems while providing evidence about their game-changing and systemic nature. To support this objective, the Coalition organises its work around two main goals: Goal 1: Respect, recognise, protect and strengthen Indigenous Peoples’ food systems across the world; and Goal 2: Disseminate and scale-up traditional knowledge and good practices from Indigenous Peoples’ food systems with potential to transform global food systems across the board.

AbstractMarginal environments are characterized by constrained agricultural potential and resource degradation attributable to biophysical and politico-socio-economic factors. These environments and the indigenous people who cultivate them rarely attract academic interest, policy studies or investment. The agricultural expertise of indigenous communities is often overlooked by decision-makers. Interventions based on mainstream crops and external technologies may fail indigenous communities where a vast range of crops are cultivated in diverse production systems and in marginal environments. Hunger, malnutrition, and poverty in indigenous communities are high. The challenges should be approached from the perspectives and resources of indigenous people. In this chapter, we discuss four biogeographical regions, arid, semi-arid, humid and mountainous, representing large parts of marginal lands and innovations, investment opportunities, and proposed action for the transformation of food systems in these areas. Marginal areas and indigenous people can benefit from improved linkages between formal and indigenous knowledge systems, participatory and demand-driven technologies, integration of indigenous knowledge in research, improvements in local crops, integrated management and access to markets. Our recommendations for the transformation of food systems in these areas include (1) Efforts to mainstream diverse value chains, (2) Development of evidence-based policies (3) Awareness of under-utilized and forgotten crops (4) Collective action and (5) Coordinated public and private investment in research and development for the empowerment of indigenous people and the development of their land.

AbstractGlobally food systems are at a crossroads and new directions are needed. At the first UN Food Systems Summit, Secretary General Guterres stipulated that a transformation of food systems is necessary so that they support the health and well-being of all people and at the same time protect our planet. Nearly 300 commitments from civil society, farmers, youth and indigenous peoples and member states highlights Summit’s inclusive process to accelerate action (UN Food Systems Summit, 2021).

This paper discusses how architectural practices can engage with and be inspired by a culture that is more than 60.000 years old. How can architects learn from situated and embodied Indigenous knowledge systems in the Australian context? How can an ethical engagement with indigenous histories and practices inspire the development of future architectural practices? This paper proposes that a better understanding of indigenous relationships to land and our environment can inspire us as a society and as architects to imagine new ways of thinking and practising. Considering our numerous contemporary crises, such as climate change, species extinction, food insecurity, we might need to begin to challenge and question western European norms and frameworks. The persistence of colonial thinking, operating within a capitalist system, has been the root cause of most of our contemporary crises. To attempt to undo the polarities that persist between indigenous and non-indigenous knowledge and thinking, we might learn new ways of storytelling as a means of envisioning an alternative future. This paper understands the theme of the ‘ultra’ as that position that keeps us apart and stops us from sharing stories that might lead to alternative ways of speculating on shared spatial futures. To situate this discussion, we present a collaborative and pedagogical design experiment undertaken on the lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung. On this Country, tentative attempts to learn with the environment and its associated stories were ventured on a small field and storytelling was used to shift our understanding of country and architecture.

The COVID Observatories project examines the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on climatic risks and food systems among Indigenous Peoples (IPs) around the world. In India, the focus is on the IPs living in the Nilgiri Biosphere, spread over parts of three states; Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka, and includes five national parks and two wildlife sanctuaries (Figure 1). IPs are colloquially called ‘Adivasi’ or tribes and India is not a signatory to the IP declarations laid out by the UN. We use IP in this report to adhere international norms and reflect as media reports that tend to use IP and Adivasi, depending on the media portal.