Traditional Food Systems Research Articles

Climate Change and Vibrio cholerae in Herring Eggs: The Role of Indigenous Communities in Public Health Outbreak Responses


 
 
 Climate change brings about novel types of public health emergencies. Unforeseen challenges put additional pressure on health systems and require innovative approaches to address emerging needs. The health of Indigenous Peoples is particularly impacted by the changing climate, because of their close connection to the land. For instance, the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being of coastal First Nations in British Columbia (BC), Canada, is interconnected with the abundance of healthy marine food sources that form the base of local traditional diets. The 2018 discovery of Vibrio cholerae illness in those who had eaten contaminated herring eggs not only had a clinical health impact but also created concerns for the safety of local food systems. The limited magnitude of the outbreak demonstrates the critical importance of collaborative partnerships between coastal First Nations communities in BC and health authorities working together in outbreak investigations. Yet, the lack of procedures that address cultural and institutional differences led to unnecessary discrepancies in the approach. This paper introduces the public health intervention used during the first ever Vibrio cholerae outbreak in coastal BC. The intervention has the potential to inform best practices when developing emergency response protocols potentially affecting Indigenous people and traditional foods. In this qualitative case study of the formal institutional documents and narratives of the key partners involved in the response, we assess the intervention, highlight the challenges and enablers, share lessons learned, and identify knowledge requirements to improve confidence in the traditional food system and support early warning systems.
 
 

Circuitos curtos de produção e abastecimento alimentar na pandemia:

A pandemia do COVID-19, deflagrada mundialmente ao final do primeiro trimestre de 2020, e que logo se fez acompanhar da consequente necessidade de imposição de medidas de isolamento social, acarretou um amplo e complexo conjunto de dificuldades alimentares. O inusitado do fenômeno para a sociedade contemporânea, tanto quanto sua inevitabilidade e a universalidade de sua abrangência social, acarretaram drásticas e profundas rupturas nos fluxos de suprimento alimentar, demandando atenção e medidas corretivas emergenciais. Nesse contexto, os circuitos curtos de produção e abastecimento alimentar tornaram-se alternativas amplamente demandadas, como soluções factíveis, viáveis e produtivas em resultados de curto prazo. A presente proposta teórico-metodológica para um protocolo de pesquisa visa orientar a exploração crítica do legado social dessas experiências de abastecimento alimentar da perspectiva analítica das inovações introduzidas, dos aprendizados que aportaram e do potencial para sua replicabilidade como tecnologias sociais relevantes e alternativas possíveis aos sistemas alimentares tradicionais.

Indigenous Food Sovereignty in the United States: Restoring Cultural Knowledge, Protecting Environments, and Regaining Health ed. by Devon A. Mihesuah and Elizabeth Hoover

Reviewed by: Indigenous Food Sovereignty in the United States: Restoring Cultural Knowledge, Protecting Environments, and Regaining Health ed. by Devon A. Mihesuah and Elizabeth Hoover Letitia M. McCune Indigenous Food Sovereignty in the United States: Restoring Cultural Knowledge, Protecting Environments, and Regaining Health. Edited by Devon A. Mihesuah and Elizabeth Hoover. Foreword by Winona LaDuke. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2019. ix + 355 pp. Illustrations, tables, index. $20.97, paper. It was with great pleasure that I accepted the offer to review this book. I have heard Devon Mihesuah speak inspiringly at conferences, know of the acclaimed books written and university affiliations of both editors Mihesuah and Hoover, and of course Winona LaDuke is a world-renowned advocate of Indigenous rights and environmental action. LaDuke's foreword is spot on, calling the chapters in the book a good balance of history and policy coupled with the hands-on approaches going on in Indigenous communities. These stories of resilience and approaches to food sovereignty are easy to read but as jam-packed with information as a textbook. Definitions of Indigenous food sovereignty and the encompassing mix of issues are addressed in the introduction, followed by personal narratives of advocates that have led to such incredible work as the Hualapai Ethnobotany Youth Project, Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance, Slow Food Turtle Island Associations, I-Collective, American Indian Health and Diet Project, Food Sovereignty is Tribal Sovereignty (FSiTS), Traditional Foods Protocols of the Muckleshoot Kitchen, Decolonizing Diet Project (DDP), Tribal Alliance for Pollinators (TAP), North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS), Climate Change Strategic Plan of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, and Yazzie the Chef. Food sovereignty is defined as a growing movement and a process with interconnected tribal projects as illustrated by Hoover's compilation of interviews from community-based farming and garden projects. For those interested in seed rights (as I am), groups protecting heritage seeds are highlighted as well as the importance of recognizing seeds as living relatives. White's chapter focuses on rematriculation of seeds and the work of the Indigenous SeedKeepers Network (ISKN) including a Seed Sovereignty Assessment toolkit, while Gwin's chapter focuses on the founding and operational issues of the Cherokee Nation SeedBank & Native Plant Site. The chapter on Hopi traditional agriculture, by Wall and Masayesva, illustrates the importance of corn, not just as seeds but as an integral part of the culture, the central bond. Additional agriculture chapters include one on the Indigenous wild plant management practices in California and another on Indigenous classifications of soils and insights into companion and cover crops. For those specifically interested in the Great Plains, Mihesuah has a chapter that covers the history of Oklahoma, and with the many tribal nations relocated there, the complex issues surrounding healthy and Indigenous foods. She also has a chapter on the Comanche's traditional hunter foodways in conjunction with the decline of health associated with colonization. No matter the location described, each chapter has profound insights in the fight for Indigenous food sovereignty and traditional food systems. Sustainability and community accountability is illustrated in traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) in Hawaii, nutritional colonialism in Alaska, using Indigenous ingredients against addiction in Arizona (White Mountain Apache), approaches to Indigenous climate justice in Turtle Island/North America, as well as effective examples of working through tribal challenges in wellness programs (Diné). I cannot recommend this book highly enough or give it justice in a short review. All the chapters are excellent reading for everyone interested in these topics. [End Page 223] Letitia M. McCune Consultant in Plant Sciences and Nutrition BotanyDoc LLC Copyright © 2021 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Indigenous Food Sovereignty in the United States: Restoring Cultural Knowledge, Protecting Environments, and Regaining Health ed. by Devon A. Mihesuah and Elizabeth Hoover

Reviewed by: Indigenous Food Sovereignty in the United States: Restoring Cultural Knowledge, Protecting Environments, and Regaining Health ed. by Devon A. Mihesuah and Elizabeth Hoover Kathie L. Beebe Devon A. Mihesuah and Elizabeth Hoover, eds. Indigenous Food Sovereignty in the United States: Restoring Cultural Knowledge, Protecting Environments, and Regaining Health. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2019. 390 pp. Paper, $29.95. Indigenous people today are dealing with numerous problems wrought on their lands and waters from capitalist practices, which frequently limited availability of traditional foods and led to Indigenous health issues. The critical role that foodstuffs play in the recovery of America's Indigenous peoples from severe health problems is the focus of an important new work, Indigenous Food Sovereignty in the United States, edited by Devon Mihesuah and Elizabeth Hoover. Mihesuah and Hoover examine the meaning and importance of food sovereignty, the possibility of achieving it, and the challenge of sustaining it. They and their contributors encourage Indigenous people to return to food sovereignty by providing examples of modern projects that resist colonial food practices. Passionate advocates of Indigenous communities regaining control over their food systems and thereby reversing the trend of poor health, Mihesuah and Hoover have gathered essays arguing that Indigenous peoples in the United States need to place as much emphasis on food sovereignty as political sovereignty. Contributors to this book include scholars and activists who are well known in the fields of federal Indian law, nutrition, history, ethnobotany, anthropology, marine environmentalism, biology, and insect ecology. Others who author chapters include Indigenous community activists, cooks, spearfishers, farmers, and seed savers and keepers. Indigenous food sovereignty, Mihesuah and Hoover assert, involves Indigenous communities reestablishing a connection with "land-based" foodstuffs and political entities, and the striving to sustain revered obligations of cultivating relations with their native land, culture, and own spirituality. This book covers centuries of the ever-changing relationship that Indigenous communities have had with their traditional food systems, from the pre-contact period in which they had total control over their healthy foodstuffs through the subsequent decades in which human-made environmental changes led to widespread disruptions in Indigenous food intake to their push today in declaring that food sovereignty [End Page 297] is a right. Those reading this book will begin to consider the interconnectivity that Indigenous peoples have with food and contemplate the role food plays in their own lives. In arguing compellingly that Indigenous communities must enact food sovereignty initiatives, Mihesuah and Hoover—highly respected scholars of Indigenous health and environment—utilize contributors' arguments in a manner that covers various themes as each chapter highlights an Indigenous community-based project striving to provide healthy food for its people. Such themes are the decline in Indigenous health to plans that seek its recovery; the manner of becoming an activist for political, economic and social justice; the discovery and sharing of knowledge concerning pre-contact foods, seed saving, crop cultivation, hunting. One major theme of this book is that health problems in Indigenous communities directly correlate with the lack of wholesome traditional foodstuffs or poor choices in lifestyle that are reversible with the appropriate changes made in diet. Hoover, writing on the Akwesasne Cultural Restoration Program (2013), demonstrates that poor health in this Mohawk community resulted from environmental contamination (1950s–1980s) and the goal is for the restoration of traditional foodways. Dena Livingston focuses on the creation of the Dine Community Advocacy Alliance (2012) to tackle the high incidences of diabetes and obesity, and other chronic health issues among the Navajos by promoting the idea that civic responsibility dictated the need to affect a health change. Mihesuah examines Comanche history and acknowledges that bad lifestyle decisions, the wholesale slaughter of bison, internment at Fort Still, and a lack of agricultural customs to revitalize food enterprises have led the Comanches to suffer from elevated levels of high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and substance abuse. Yet, Mihesuah believes that the Comanches can integrate into their diets foods that they historically traded for or gathered as well as foods that are geographically native. Another theme that receives extensive attention is the need for Indigenous people to become activists for economic, political, and social justice. Regarding Alaska Native...

An ethnobotanical study of wild medicinal plants among the mountain community of Western Himalayas: A case study of Govind wildlife sanctuary and national park

The biodiversity of Indian Himalayan Region has always provided the local mountain community with various goods and services, shaping their traditional food and healthcare system. For years, this forest-based resource subsistence has accumulated a great deal of traditional knowledge and practices, but is declining through younger generations. The present study aims to document the indigenous knowledge of the mountain community, regarding medicinal and aromatic plants, wild fruits and vegetables, in the villages around Govind Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park in the Western Himalayas. For the study, participatory rural appraisal tools (household survey, key informant interview, focus group discussion, field visit) were used to collect primary information from the local people. A total of 55 species were documented along with the uses for traditionally curing the diseases. The dependency of the community on medicinal plants was analyzed through Relative Frequency Citation (RFC), Relative Importance Index (RI), Cultural Importance Index (CI), Cultural Value Index (CV) and Fidelity Level (FL). The homogeneity of ethnomedicinal knowledge among the people was tested through Informant Consensus Factor (Fic). The respondents were divided into three age groups, old (> 50 years), adult (25–50 years) and young (<25 years) for the calculation of Knowledge Richness Index (KRI) across different generations. The study revealed that the traditional ethnomedicinal knowledge is declining among youth and it is important to identify, collect, organize and document it in some way, in order to maintain, use, disseminate and/or protect, so that the true holders of such knowledge can reap the future benefits of their culture. The study highlighted that the dependency of inaccessible and remote villages on traditional remedies was higher than the villages near roadhead. The study recommends agricultural diversification through medicinal and aromatic plant cultivation, to sustain the traditional healthcare system with a sustainable livelihood opportunity for the rural mountain community. The study suggests further research on biophysical and climatic conditions for medicinal plant cultivation, along with the demand-supply chain analysis of the same.

Understanding Dietary Diversity, Dietary Practices and Changes in Food Patterns in Marginalised Societies in Sri Lanka.

Micronutrient malnutrition is a serious public health problem in developing countries, including Sri Lanka. Most frequently, micronutrient malnutrition is experienced by the poorest households due to cereal-based, monotonous diets that lack dietary diversity. Sri Lankan traditional food system is changing day by day. In parallel, nutrition deficiencies, malnutrition, and noncommunicable diseases are the most significant problems today in Sri Lanka. Therefore, understanding dietary diversity and dietary changes in Sri Lanka must be studied to address related public health issues. This study investigates nutrition adequacy, dietary diversity, dietary practice, and traditional food pattern changes in different marginalised areas in Sri Lanka. A cross-sectional survey was done using 24 h food recall and an administrative questionnaire for 400 women of reproductive age (WRA) (18–49 years old) in marginalised areas in Sri Lanka. The random sampling method was used for data collection. The research confirmed that different areas had poor dietary practices, with macronutrient imbalance and alarmingly low intakes of micronutrients. Interestingly, the diversity of food was higher in rural areas than in urban areas. Approximately 83% of women in urban areas did not meet minimum dietary diversity (MDD-W). Overall, about 63% of reproductive age women did not meet MDD-W and food security. The mean MDD-W for both areas was low. Significant differences in MDD-W levels were found in the two areas (F = 90.483, p < 0.05). The sample showed a significant positive correlation between MDD-W and area, monthly income, educational level, food source, BMI level and health status (R2 = 360; p < 0.01). This sample did not find that the consumption of traditional varieties of foods and agrobiodiversity are decreasing. Additionally, the study confirmed that low dietary diversity impacts nutrition status and health. The results highlight that the leading causes for low diet diversity are decreased dependence on own production, increased purchasing food at markets, lack of suitable lands to cultivate, agro-commercialisation, less knowledge of food and nutrition, loss of traditional food culture, low income and high prices of food. Inappropriate food patterns, nutrition policies and governance in Sri Lanka are the main factors to the nutrition findings. The study finding will help the decision-making authorities or policymakers to design suitable nutrition programs for vulnerable people in marginalised areas and to use these to strengthen a sustainable food and nutrition system in Sri Lanka.

Agri-food system dynamics of small-holder hill farming communities of Uttarakhand in north-western India: socio-economic and policy considerations for sustainable development

ABSTRACT The small-scale ecological farming methods of Uttarakhand hills are key to ensuring resilience to climate change as these are based on enhancing diversity, thereby increasing options to respond to climate instability. Beside eco-nutrition, local community-level economic incentives are also considered important for sustainability of traditional hill farming and food systems. Feasibility of integrating four local marketing initiatives to traditional hill farming, i) promoting community-supported organic/biodynamic agriculture (CSA), ii) linking traditional farming with school meal (MDM) programs, iii) enhanced market access and value chain development for local plant food resources, and iv) creating off-farm employment opportunity at community level for rural youths, among others, are explored in the present study. The need of re-assessing existing food and nutrition-related health and agriculture policy, and developing cross-sectoral implementation strategies on food and livelihood security, nutrition, and health was also addressed. The outcomes are expected to set priorities for state policy for a more profitable local level agriculture and regenerative food system.

Dynamic Development of the Global Organic Food Market and Opportunities for Ukraine

Considering the insufficient usage of natural resources, ecological crisis, rising population and limitations of the traditional food system in the 21st century, it is extremely important to search for methods to achieve sustainable development. In this context, the search for alternative methods of farming and the transformation of typical food consumption is relevant; the organic market and its features are of particular interest. Based on the above, this article is dedicated to understanding what the development opportunities for the production and export of Ukrainian organic products within the global market are. To achieve this objective, it became necessary to study the specificities of the dynamic growth of the global organic food market, which includes identifying the dominant factors of its development, peculiarities of its regulation, evaluation of the current state, main trends and prospects. The study provides the characteristics of the top competitors in the global market, consumer segmentation and experience of the implementation of global and national organic sector development and support programs. As a result of the study, it was found that Ukraine has unrealized export potential that can be realized using a combination of practices used abroad (the active use of marketing tools, state support for the organic sector and increasing organic production by uniting producers into clusters and creating cooperatives).

Infectious Diseases and Meat Production.

Most infectious diseases in humans originate from animals. In this paper, we explore the role of animal farming and meat consumption in the emergence and amplification of infectious diseases. First, we discuss how meat production increases epidemic risks, either directly through increased contact with wild and farmed animals or indirectly through its impact on the environment (e.g., biodiversity loss, water use, climate change). Traditional food systems such as bushmeat and backyard farming increase the risks of disease transmission from wild animals, while intensive farming amplifies the impact of the disease due to the high density, genetic proximity, increased immunodeficiency, and live transport of farmed animals. Second, we describe the various direct and indirect costs of animal-based infectious diseases, and in particular, how these diseases can negatively impact the economy and the environment. Last, we discuss policies to reduce the social costs of infectious diseases. While existing regulatory frameworks such as the “One Health” approach focus on increasing farms’ biosecurity and emergency preparedness, we emphasize the need to better align stakeholders’ incentives and to reduce meat consumption. We discuss in particular the implementation of a “zoonotic” Pigouvian tax, and innovations such as insect-based food or cultured meat.

Changes in Dairy Products Value Chain in Georgia

The livestock sector, as a part of the traditional food system in Georgia, occupies a considerable portion of the national economy. Though smallholder farmers are the key suppliers at the primary stage in the food value chain, the empowerment of smallholder farmers in the dairy production system in Georgia is a questionable matter. This research study reports the results of changes in the dairy sector in Georgia (Caucasus) after becoming independent from the Soviet Union (literature survey) and how these changes are seen by experts in the dairy value chain. In addition, this study aimed to look in-depth at the dynamics of the value chain of dairy in Georgia and examine the current dairy production policies. Qualitative research was applied as the methodology for expert interviews in 2019. The findings showed the difficulties experienced by the local and national dairy market sectors in Georgia nowadays. Where these difficulties were analyzed by the parameters of the value chain, it states the impact of the current regulations and policies on the safety and the quality of dairy production in the country and the depth of social, economic, and ethical impacts on the marketing of dairy products for smallholders. Furthermore, the Sustainable Development Goals on the dairy value chain are described.

Healthy on our own terms

&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; Indigenous peoples’ health is often reported through physical health disparities and prevalence of chronic disease experiences. Western perspectives often quantify health by reducing it to a set of numbers using a bio-medical approach. Health for Indigenous peoples in Canada is experienced more holistically, through a broader concept of “being well”, which is achieved through relationships to other people, to the land and creation, and to our ancestors in the spiritual realm. Using this Indigenous lens, the notion of health is applied to the food systems and to healthy eating. Indigenous peoples maintain their health through accessing fresh, original and healthy foods on their traditional lands. In order do so, traditional food systems are composed of a network of complex relationships that include the physical, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual aspects of learning and teaching ways of the land as well as food skills. These relationships feed people holistically through the connection to the land and vice versa. Colonization has created numerous barriers for Indigenous peoples to be healthy on their own terms. There is a great deal of pain associated with food for Indigenous peoples as a result of starvation tactics during treaty negotiation processes, residential schools, nutrition experiments, and hunting and fishing laws which have impacted Indigenous peoples’ ability to eat original foods and maintain their health. The concepts of health and wellbeing, in the context of Indigenous food systems and cultures, should be adapted to serve the needs and represent the realities of Indigenous peoples.&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D;

The Future of Smallholder Farming in India: Some Sustainability Considerations

The biodiverse, predominantly crop-livestock mixed-farming in India is key to ensuring resilience to climate change and sustainability of smallholder farming agroecologies. Farmers traditionally grow diverse crops as polyculture, and agriculture is mainly organic/biodynamic with spirituality in food systems deeply ingrained. Job-driven out-migration of rural youths, the family labor force, and globalization of contemporary food choices under corporate industrial agriculture both adversely affect sustainability of traditional farming landscapes and compromise the nutrition and health of rural farming communities. Besides documenting information on general agri-food system policy inputs, our paper presents the results of an exploratory study of four crucial community-level initiatives conducted in four distinct agroecological landscapes of India, aimed at bringing sustainability to traditional farming and food systems. The driving force for fundamental change in agri-food system, and in society, is the question of sustainability. The organic and local food movements are but specific phases of the larger, more fundamental sustainable agri-food movement. While it is very critical to increase farmer livelihood, it is even more important to increase overall rural economy. It was found that four important interventions viz. linking organic agriculture to community-supported agriculture (CSA) initiatives; linking small-holder farming to school meal (MDM) programmes; enhanced market access and value chain development for local agricultural produce; and creation of employment opportunities at community level for rural youths and reducing over-dependence of rural population on agriculture as source of income can make traditional farming more profitable and sustainable. The transition to more sustainable methods of farming by selling the farm produce “locally” helps both consumers and farmers alike and is considered a future strength of smallholder Indian agriculture.

How to avoid the tragedy of alternative food networks (AFNs)? The impact of social capital and transparency on AFN performance

PurposeAlternative food networks (AFNs) have recently emerged in the food landscape as new ways of food production, distribution and consumption which are alternatives to the traditional food system. Drawing on the tragedy of the commons, this paper aims to test the role played by social capital and transparency in reducing customer's lethargy and thus enhancing AFN performance in terms of frequency and quantity of purchases made by customers.Design/methodology/approachAn ordered probit model was used to analyse data from a strong database of 2,115 Italian AFN customers. Given the novelty of the topic, the quantitative survey was anticipated by a preliminary qualitative study based on in-depth interviews, focus groups and participant observation.FindingsCustomers play an active role in AFN communities, co-creating value together with the other actors of the network. The two independent variables tested in this model, social capital and transparency, positively and significantly affect customers' quantity and frequency of purchases within AFNs, reducing the occurrence of the tragedy of commons.Originality/valueTo the authors' knowledge, this study represents one of the first attempts to measure, through a quantitative method, the effect of performance drivers (i.e. social capital and transparency) on AFN performance. Theoretical, managerial and policy implications will be thoroughly presented and discussed along the paper.

A Qualitative Evaluation of a Community Based, Culturally Relevant Intervention to Promote Healthy Food Access in American Indian Communities.

In response to a need for healthy, affordable food, Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health and three rural indigenous communities launched the "Feast for the Future," (FFF) to promote access to healthy foods and the transfer of traditional food-based knowledge from farmers/elders to youth. To assess program impact, 43 in-depth interviews were conducted with participating farmers, elders, and Community Advisory Board members. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed in Atlas.ti. Common themes from qualitative analyses included: FFF programs support farming/gardening revitalization and cultural connectedness/identity; FFF has supported positive behavior change among interviewees and their families; There is a need to revitalize traditional food systems; Farming/gardening is central to cultural identity; and Responsibility for food choices. The interviews revealed that the community-based program is perceived by key stakeholders as reaffirming cultural identity and promoting healthy eating. As a CAB member shared.

Ethnobiology of algarroba beer, the ancestral fermented beverage of the Wich\xed people of the Gran Chaco I: a detailed recipe and a thorough analysis of the process

Algarroba (Prosopis alba) beer, known as aloja de algarroba (abbreviated aloja) in local Spanish, is the ancestral alcoholic beverage par excellence of the Wichís and other indigenous peoples of South American Gran Chaco, but nowadays is in disuse. Mentions on the recipe exist, but they are relatively few, concise and/or partial, and most of them were not registered within ethnobiological studies. The aims of this study were to (a) describe in detail the preparation process of algarroba beer and (b) analyse the process from a holistic approach, integrating Wichí concepts and biological explanations. Any morphological type of Prosopis alba fruits is useful, except those with poor mesocarp. Aloja must be prepared from relative fresh fruits, ground into pieces and not from flour alone. Through the senses, mainly taste and smell, the procedure is followed until optimal fermentation time is reached, which occurs at 24–48 h. When aloja is ready, it tastes tapay (bitter-sour) or nusuy (sour-salty). From the Wichí perspective, fermentation is both a maturation and a cooking process, and it is the “strength” (qahay, qahnayaj) of the pods, an intrinsic property, which allows fermentation to occur, with alcohol production. All interviewees’ remarks about the recipe are also explained by microbiological concepts. Altogether, results expand the knowledge on Wichí ethnobiology and are also useful to other disciplines interested in traditional food systems. Besides, they constitute a contribution to the rescue of the know-how on this traditional beverage for future generations and ultimately to food sovereignty.

Cultural Connectedness as Obesity Prevention: Indigenous Youth Perspectives on Feast for the Future

ObjectiveTo describe a community-based obesity-prevention initiative that promoted cultural connectedness and traditional food revitalization and gained insight into youth participants’ perspectives on the program through a photovoice methodology. MethodsPhotovoice methods were used with fourth- and fifth-grade youths (aged 9–11 years) in the US Southwest who had participated in the Feast for the Future program. A total of 44 youths from 3 communities met for 8–9 sessions; they took photos of current food environments and traditional food systems, and discussed them as well as Feast for the Future and hopes for the future, and then prepared a final presentation. Photovoice sessions were recorded, transcribed verbatim, then open coded using Atlas.ti. ResultsFive common themes emerged: traditional food is farmed or gardened, traditional foods are healthy, Feast for the Future supported positive connections to culture, hope for more farming or gardening for future generations, and store or less nutrient-dense food is unhealthy. Conclusions and ImplicationsPhotovoice can be an effective way to engage Indigenous youths in conversations about their culture and food environments. The findings suggest that attention to revitalizing traditional food systems and supporting cultural connectedness may be an effective approach to obesity prevention in tribal communities, although future research would be needed to assess the impact of the intervention on obesity rates.

Plant-based traditional foods and beverages of Ramotswa Village, Botswana

Background and objectivesDifferent communities have various types of edible plants at their nearby ecology from which they process their traditional foods that make the basis of diversified diets for food and nutrition security. Exploration of various ethnic traditional foods knowledge will have an immense contribution for preservation and sustainability of the traditional food system and culture. The objectives of this research were to investigate and document the edible plant type used and description on the processing of plant-based traditional foods/dishes and beverages of the Ramotswa village, Botswana. Majority of the Ramotswa village residents belong to the Balete tribe.MethodologyQuestionnaire interviews and focus group discussions (FGD) were used in the documentations of edible plants type, methods involved in the processing, values, challenges, and the seasonal availability.Results and discussionThere are 50 wild edible plants used and most are available during rainy season. Maize, sorghum, beans, cooking melon, watermelon, and pumpkin are widely used domesticated crops. The edible part of wild plants is utilized in different ways. Some consumed after minor processing and some as cooked, boiled, recipe in traditional dishes, inoculum in fermentation, substrate in traditional beverages, and medicinal plants. Food safety concerns were indicated for few products. High temperature and shortage of rainfall are making some edible plants scarce. For some, preparation takes a long time; and when processing is not properly done, unpleasant odor, bitter taste, and mold growth can result, particularly for traditional beverages. Even though, most traditional foods/dishes and beverages are still consumed and enjoyed by the communities, there are worries that the young generation has limited knowledge and skills to process and utilize them.ConclusionsMost plant-based traditional foods/dishes consumed are low in sugar and fat, but are wholesome (whole grains, with dietary fibers) with high potential for diet diversification. The documentation provided will help to create awareness for preservation of the traditional foods/dishes and beverage culture, and as a baseline information for further studies for those nutrient and bioactive compound data are not available.

Jewish cuisine and the traditional local food system in Sicily: contacts, influences, and interactions

Jewish cuisine and the traditional local food system in Sicily: contacts, influences, and interactions

Специфические черты в традиционной системе питания татар деревни Большемурлы Большереченского района Омской области во второй половине XX — начале XXI в.

On the basis of field materials, local features were identified in the traditional food system of the residents of the village of Bolshemurly, depending on the natural and geographical environment, and the age composition of the population. As a result of comparing the food elements of the Tatars of this village and residents of other settlements of the Bolsherechensky district, the Tarsky and Sedelnikovsky districts of the Omsk region, common and distinctive features were revealed. It has been established that an important reason for differences in dishes and technologies is the specifics of the ethnic composition of the population of the village of Bolshemurly in the past.

Restorying Northern Arapaho food sovereignty.

Communities in Indian Country across the U.S. are reconnecting to traditional and healthier food systems, often working explicitly for food sovereignty. This paper contributes to these reconnection efforts by (re)telling the story of the Northern Arapaho food system and the path we are creating toward health and our reclamation of Northern Arapaho food sovereignty. With support from my co-author, I approached data gathering and analysis in a blend of traditional native and conventional western research ways. I use the phrase "foreign intrusion" to help re-name eras in our history when our food system was altered by colonialism, forms of physical and cultural genocide, and assimilation. This "restorying" of the food system history of the Northern Arapaho people provides an indigenized frame for understanding our food system history, impacts of intrusion, and paths for reclaiming Indigenous food sovereignty. My methods include interviews with tribal members (N=16), three talking circles (N=14, 11, and 6), autoethnography, seven years of participation and observation in food sovereignty work, and document analysis, in addition to extensive literature reviews.