Food Consumption Patterns and Use of Country Foods by Native Canadians Near Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada

ObjectivesCountry (traditional) foods are integral to Inuit culture, but market food consumption is increasing. The Qanuilirpitaa? 2017 Nunavik Health Survey (Q2017) reported similar country food consumption frequency compared to that in 2004; however, examining food items individually does not account for diet patterns, food accessibility, and correlations between food items. Our objective was to identify underlying dietary profiles and compare them across sex, age, ecological region, and food insecurity markers, given the links among diet, health, and sociocultural determinants.MethodsFood frequency and sociodemographic data were derived from the Q2017 survey (N = 1176). Latent profile analysis identified dietary profiles using variables for the relative frequencies of country and market food consumption first, followed by an analysis with those for country food variables only. Multinomial logistic regression examined the associations among dietary profiles, sociodemographic factors, and food insecurity markers (to disassociate between food preferences and food access).ResultsFour overall dietary profiles and four country food dietary profiles were identified characterized by the relative frequency of country and market food in the diet. The patterns were stable across several sensitivity analyses and in line with our Inuit partners’ local knowledge. For the overall profiles, women and adults aged 30–49 years were more likely to have a market food–dominant profile, whereas men and individuals aged 16–29 and 50+ years more often consumed a country food–dominant profile. In the country food profiles, Inuit aged 16–29 years were more likely to have a moderate country food profile whereas Inuit aged 50+ were more likely to have a high country food–consumption profile. A low country and market food–consumption profile was linked to higher prevalence of food insecurity markers.ConclusionWe were able to identify distinct dietary profiles with strong social patterning. The profiles elucidated in this study are aligned with the impact of colonial influence on diet and subsequent country food promotion programs for Inuit youth. These profiles will be used for further study of nutritional status, contaminant exposure, and health to provide context for future public health programs.

Food insecurity is an urgent public health issue for Aboriginal people in Canada because of high rates of poverty; the effects of global climate change and environmental pollution on traditional food systems; and high rates of diet-related diseases. However, to date, public health has operated with conceptualizations of food security that were developed in non-Aboriginal contexts; they do not take full account of the traditional food practices of Aboriginal people or Aboriginal conceptualizations of food security. In this paper, I argue that there are unique food security considerations for Aboriginal people related to the harvesting, sharing and consumption of country or traditional foods, which impact the four pillars of food security: access, availability, supply and utilization. Thus food security conceptualizations, policies, and programs for Aboriginal people must consider both the market food system and traditional food system. Given the centrality of traditional food practices to cultural health and survival, I propose that cultural food security is an additional level of food security beyond individual, household and community levels. Conceptualizations of food security for Aboriginal people will be incomplete without qualitative research to understand Aboriginal perspectives; such research must take account of the diversity of Aboriginal people.

Nutrient intakes of native canadians near Wood Buffalo National Park

Education and Food Consumption Patterns in China: Household Analysis and Policy Implications

Infectivity of Toxoplasma gondii in northern traditional (country) foods prepared with meat from experimentally infected seals.

Executive Summary: The Micronutrient Initiative (MI) issued the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) a project to assess the extent to which iodized salt is used in processed foods, as well as food processors’ level of knowledge on iodine nutrition. Iodine is an essential micronutrient required by the body that is found in a limited number of foods, thus many individuals require additional sources of iodine to meet their daily requirement. Without these additional sources, a range of disorders referred to as iodine deficiency disorders (IDD), including mental impairment, may become present, with over 2 billion people worldwide at risk due to insufficient iodine nutrition. IDD is especially damaging during the early stages of pregnancy and in early childhood. In their most severe form, IDD includes cretinism, stillbirth, and miscarriage, and increased infant mortality. Since 1994 the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) have recommended universal salt iodization (USI) as a safe, cost‐effective, and sustainable strategy to ensure sufficient intake of iodine by all individuals. However, USI has in practice tended to focus only on table salt and not all salt destined for human consumption. Recent trends, particularly in industrialized countries, show that individuals are consuming the majority of their salt through processed foods, in which iodized salt is generally not used, rather than through iodized table salt. Additionally, recent initiatives to encourage reduced sodium consumption have prompted many consumers to reduce their intake of iodized table salt. While these trends in sodium consumption are more frequently observed in industrialized countries, they are expanding into many developing countries where iodine deficiency is also a concern. Thus countries which focus on iodization of table salt alone may not achieve optimal iodine nutrition of their population. This report provides an overview of the 2 Phases of this project. Phase I was to conduct an environmental scan/desk review of processed food consumption patterns in 39 countries selected by MI (see ). Phase II was to conduct an electronic survey of food processors and detailed telephone interviews with a small sample of select company representatives from 16 countries (see ). Per the scope of work, IFT conducted a desk review to determine the types and level of processed food consumption in the 39 countries of interest, as well as to identify suppliers of the major processed foods consumed and the use of salt as an ingredient in those products. Whenever possible, IFT also gathered information on the sodium content of widely consumed processed foods and the sources of salt currently used in these products; the types of processed foods and extent to which they are consumed by different socioeconomic groups; if iodized salt was used in processed foods; and whether or not there are policies in place to influence dietary salt reduction and how these efforts are implemented. For Phase II, IFT reached out to food company representatives to determine their use of iodized salt in processed food products; their sources of salt; their awareness of iodine nutrition and salt as a fortification vehicle; and their interest in learning more about salt iodization. For the purposes of this project, processed foods are considered to be all food products that have undergone a change of character or been altered from their original form. Preselected countries (from MI) for Phase I of the iodized salt in processed foods project. Countries with heavy Countries with high Countries with Latin American European burden for IDD burden for IDD opportunity to progress countries countries India Russia Senegal Chile United Kingdom Pakistan Afghanistan Ghana Argentina Ireland Ethiopia United Republic of Tanzania Ukraine Mexico Finland China Democratic Republic of Congo Kenya Bolivia Netherlands Sudan Iraq Mozambique Uruguay Australia Indonesia Bangladesh Niger New Zealand Philippines Yemen Egypt Angola Haiti Turkey South Africa Brazil Nigeria Nepal

Purpose: This study aims to determine the influence of household income, head of household education level, and number of family members on consumption patterns in Ogan Komering Ulu Regency. Methodology: The study uses quantitative descriptive analysis with multiple linear regression analysis tools. Results: The findings show that household consumption is influenced not only by regional typology but also by socioeconomic conditions. Multiple linear regression analysis reveals that household income, head of household education level, and number of family members positively correlate with food and non-food consumption patterns in Ogan Komering Ulu Regency. Findings: Hypothesis testing indicates that household income significantly affects food and non-food consumption patterns. The education level of the head of household also significantly affects both food and non-food consumption patterns. However, the number of family members significantly affects food consumption patterns but does not significantly affect non-food consumption patterns. Novelty: This research provides insights into how socioeconomic factors influence consumption patterns in a specific region. Originality: The study offers a detailed analysis of the relationship between household socioeconomic characteristics and consumption patterns. Conclusions: Household income and head of household education level significantly influence both food and non-food consumption patterns, while the number of family members significantly influences only food consumption patterns. Type of Paper: Empirical Research Article Keywords: Consumption Patterns, Food, Non-Food, Household

Food Security Status of Indigenous Peoples in Canada According to the 4 Pillars of Food Security: A Scoping Review.

An integrated assessment of environmental sustainability and nutrient availability of food consumption patterns in Latin America and the Caribbean

Food sovereignty among Inuit in Nunavut, Canada has long meant year-round harvest of country (hunted, fished, or gathered) food. In recent decades, climatic and non-climatic challenges have complicated these subsistence activities, threatening food security. We examine the meaning of country food, identify determinants of low-yield periods of country food harvest and their effects on community health, and summarize coping strategies and ideas for sustaining food security during these “leaner” periods. Thirty semi-structured interviews were conducted in July and August of 2018 with elders and/or hunters and trappers in Cambridge Bay and Pond Inlet. We found country food holds diverse meanings in the lives of our participants, including for their diet and nutrition, health, Inuit identity and traditions, practice of harvest and subsistence, and spirituality. Participants reported reduced wildlife populations, environmental or weather issues, changing wildlife migration patterns, and financial or equipment-related constraints as determinants of low-yield periods of harvest. Community health is impacted during lean periods across four interrelated dimensions: “craving” of country food, physical health, mental health, and nutrition. Due to their lifelong reliance on country food, elders were described as being particularly vulnerable and are prioritized within the traditional food sharing system. The most commonly cited coping strategies were turning to intra- or inter-community food sharing networks for country food and purchasing groceries. To support communities during low-yield periods of harvest, participants suggested increased support for Hunters and Trappers Organizations to acquire country food for community distribution, as well as greater financial and equipment support for harvesters.

This chapter explores Inuvialuit country food access and exchange networks in Inuvik, Northwest Territories amid growing food security concerns. Country or traditional foods continue to have roles that are foundational individual and community well-being, however, its distribution amongst households has become highly uneven. We argue that the high degree of transience and employment in wage labor, weakened social connections, limited purchasing options, and exclusive country food sharing arrangements have contributed to the variability in access to this valued foodstuff. While some groups such as Elders are prioritized for traditional food sharing, wage laboring adults without extended family support or the skills and time to hunt often experience what we refer to as 'country food insecurity.' The inability of some Inuvialuit to satiate their hunger for foods that connects them to their culture, identity, and homeland is an issue of food sovereignty.

The Food Consumption Survey (FCS), conducted for over 20 years by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MARM), is the most reliable source of data to evaluate the food consumption and dietary patterns of Spain. The aim of this study was to assess population food availability per capita per day, which allows the calculation of energy and nutrient intake and comparison with the Recommended Nutrient Intakes for the Spanish population. In addition, different markers of the quality of the diet have been evaluated. The sample consisted of consumption and distribution data, obtained from the nationwide representative FCS for the period 2000-2006. A two-stage sampling method was applied, where in the first stage the units to be sampled were towns or local entities, and in the second stage households that were going to be part of the final sample from those entities were selected. Units consisted of towns or local entities in the national territory. The sample size was 619 selected entities. Units in the second stage were households from the selected towns (8200 homes). The data allowed the calculation of energy and nutrient intakes, using food composition tables. The quality of the diet was also evaluated: the adequacy of the diet in meeting the recommended intakes for energy and nutrients; energy profile; dietary fat quality; dietary protein quality; nutrient density; and Mediterranean diet adequacy indices. The present data were compared with previous data obtained by our research group in 1964, 1981 and 1991. Using the most recent data, average intake comprised milk and derivatives (379 g/person/day), fruit (310 g/person/day), vegetables and greens (302 g/person/day), cereals and derivatives (214 g/person/day), meat and meat products (179 g/day), fish (100 g/person/day), oil and fat (48 g/person/day), precooked food (34 g/person/day), eggs (32 g/person/day), and legumes and pulses (11.9 g/person/day). There was also a high consumption of non-alcoholic beverages (433 g/person/day) and alcoholic beverages (247 g/person/day). In consequence, meat and meat product consumption was higher than the recommendations, whereas for cereals and their derivatives, vegetables and greens, fruit, and legumes and pulses, consumption was below recommendations for the Spanish population. Some staple and traditional Mediterranean foods (bread, potatoes and olive oil) showed a dramatic decline when compared with data from Household Budget Surveys in 1964 data. Energy intake declined by about 300 kcal/person/day, when compared with the 1964 mean consumption. Insufficient nutrient intakes were found in the young adult population for zinc and folic acid in both sexes, and for iron in women, when compared with dietary reference values. Food consumption patterns in Spain and energy and nutrient intakes have changed markedly in the last 40 years, differing at present from the traditional and healthy Mediterranean diet.

The paper is about change in food production and consumption pattern in Pakistan. Food availability per capita per annum in Pakistan increased from 298.1 kg in 1979 to 1980 to 414.8 kg in 2007 to 2008 at a rate slower than Population growth (from 85.09 million to 163.8 million over the same period) (Government of Pakistan, 2010). Food consumption pattern in Pakistan are exception and changing by weight nearly three quarters of the diet is made up of cereals and milk product. In addition over half of the expenditure for major food items is on cereals, and milk products (Walters and Mehmood, 1990). The food production (Cereals, Gram, Pulses, Vegetables, Potatoes, and Fruits, Animal product Poultry Product, Sugar and Veg.Ghee) was increased by 52% in 1990 to 2000 over the 1979 to 1990 and by 34.9% in 2000 to 2010 over the 1990s. The annual rate of growth in overall food production rose to 3.9, 4.2 and 2.8% in the 1980s, 1990s and last recent decade against 3.1, 2.4 and 1.9% growth of population in same time period. Food grain production was increased by 32.8 to 29.5% during last thirty years. Key words: Food production, food consumption, food consumption statistics, food grains, population growth, Cobb Douglas type production function.

Traditional foods (often referred to as “country foods”) play a critical role in Indigenous culture, nutrition, food sovereignty and food security. Policies that prioritize store‐bought food are often viewed as undermining these foods. We provide evidence that two recent policy reforms that subsidize store‐bought food in the Northwest Territories do not appear to negatively impact traditional foods. Our analysis uses community surveys conducted in the Northwest Territories that measure the importance of consumption and production of traditional country food along several margins. Using a difference‐in‐differences methodology, we show that two transitions associated with the Nutrition North Canada subsidy program—the transition from Food Mail to Nutrition North from 2011 to 2012 and the expansion of subsidy eligibility to new communities in 2016—had a zero or positive impact on these outcomes. We use price and quantity data from multiple sources to provide evidence on mechanisms and find support for an interpretation based on country foods having a high income elasticity and low substitutability with store‐bought meat and other foods.

This report presents the results of a consultation process within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community of Brisbane in relation to the promotion of traditional foods, and in relation to the strategies needed to formulate a nutrition intervention programme to promote their increased consumption. The consultation process was through a survey questionnaire carried out by the Aboriginal and Islander Community Health Service, which sought information on some of the factors which would influence their consumption. It investigated how 'traditional' or 'bush' foods are defined by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the current consumption patterns of traditional foods, and the factors which influence these patterns. The survey also sought information regarding taste preferences in relation to traditional foods, and those opinions, attitudes and beliefs which might influence their consumption, such as taboos on totemic species. Other practical factors such as affordability, availability and accessibility were also investigated. Most importantly, the survey questionnaire sought information with regard to the cultural values and significance attached to traditional foods, and the most culturally appropriate methods of supplying and distributing them. Information obtained from the survey showed that despite the fact that this urban Indigenous community does not have access to land for traditional hunting and harvesting, and that members require a permit for harvesting even certain marine resources, traditional foods remain highly culturally significant. Bush foods to be promoted need to be the traditional foods of the local urban Indigenous Community, not bush foods in general. Furthermore, traditional animal foods are more culturally significant than plant foods and those traditional animal foods that are already commercially available are not as culturally significant as those that are not. The consumption of traditional foods by Indigenous people cannot be divorced from production or supply, distribution and preparation processes. For Indigenous people the whole sequence from hunting through to eating carries cultural significance. The cultural significance of certain animal foods in particular cannot be separated from their traditional means of production and supply. For the full value, nutritional and cultural, of such foods to be realised in any dietary intervention programme. Indigenous people therefore need to be involved at every stage from production to their end use. Recommendations which stemmed from this consultation process pointed to the necessity for traditional foods to be made available at a 'bush tucker canteen', in meals prepared by Indigenous people. Furthermore, permits for traditional hunting and harvesting of marine resources should be made more easily available to urban Indigenous people, as well as access to lands for harvesting wildlife, both of which would permit involvement in the production of traditional foods, and go a long way towards meeting Indigenous people's needs to integrate production and consumption of traditional foods. Such a programme would not only improve the health and nutrition of Indigenous people, but also contribute towards fulfilling those cultural and spiritual needs that are inextricably part of their association with the land.