INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ AND FOOD DIVERSITY: LINKING CULTURE, NATURE AND HEALTH

1. INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ AND FOOD DIVERSITY: LINKING CULTURE, NATURE AND HEALTH Harriet Kuhnlein, PhD, RD, and Members of IUNS Task Force “Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems and Nutrition Centre for Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition and Environment (CINE), Montreal SCN, Rome, February 28, 2007

2. Picture removed CINE Governing Board Meeting

3. IUNS Task Force on Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems and Nutrition • SCN Working Group on Household Food Security • SCN Working Group on Nutrition, Ethics and Human Rights -Task Force on Indigenous Peoples' and the Right to Food

4. Context: International Decades of the World’s Indigenous Peoples United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples • Goal: to provide evidence • Access to traditional food diversity for rural Indigenous Peoples enhances dietary adequacy and nutrition Research Policy

5. Who Are Indigenous Peoples? • geographically distinct territory and natural resources • maintenance of cultural and social identity • descent from population groups present in a given area, perhaps before modern states/borders • self-identification as part of a distinct indigenous cultural group, and desire to preserve that identity There is no single internationally accepted definition that captures the diversity of definitions

6. Dene Inuit Nuxalk Ainu Dalit Karen Ingano Bhil Maasai Igbos Pohnpeian Awajún CINE Indigenous case study areas Figure 1. Location of Indigenous Peoples for Case Studies

7. The Journey so far…. 2000 Identify CINE team members 2001 5 Asian case study members meet in Thailand 2002 IUNS Task Force approved 2003 12 international case studies identified 2004 Meeting in Bellagio – finalize food system documentation procedure; draft proposals 2003-06 Funding quest 2005-07 Case study meeting and symposium in Durban, meetings in Montreal, Bellagio 2005-06 Publication of 4 posters of traditional food 2007 Publication of Phase 1 2006-08 Case study interventions ongoing

8. Picture removed Case study Community and Academic Partners Meeting, 2007

9. Why Focus with Rural Indigenous Peoples? • Strong cultural traditions and knowledge of the local environment, natural resources, and unique food species - threats to loss of knowledge of food diversity Food identifications and composition • Poorest, most disenfranchised parts of many societies - public health necessity Few data by ethnic groups or rural/urban • Trends in dietary change leading to chronic disease • To build capacity for food security in these rural areas for improving health in context of local cultures and ecosystems

10. Picture removed Gwich’in, Canada Bhil, India Maasai, Kenya Nuxalk, Canada Picture removed Picture removed Picture removed

11. Picture removed Picture removed Pohnpeian, FSM Karen, Thailand Picture removed Picture removed Igbo, Nigeria Ingano, Colombia

12. FINDING WAYS TO: • 1.Prevent undernutrition and micronutrient malnutrition • 2. Prevent/reduce obesity and increasing chronic disease GOOD HEALTH Undernutrition Overnutrition

13. Two Phases for Case Studies: • Documentation of the food system – 5 steps • Implement and evaluate a health promotion program emphasizing local cultural food • Team: country academic partner and indigenous community leader partner • 2 year program • Before and after evaluation method within the same culture

14. www.mcgill.ca/cine

15. % ENERGY FROM TRADITIONAL LOCAL FOOD AND NUMBER OF TRADITIONAL SPECIES

16. Some Environmental Concerns of Indigenous Peoples - Loss of wildlife animals and plants: numbers of species and within species; loss of agricultural varieties - Environmental insults and contaminants, habitat destruction - Encroachment of outsiders on land and resources, cash cropping and biopiracy - Climate change – global warming - Displacement of traditional food with poor quality purchased food - Increasing chronic disease

17. Common themes -Absolute need for participatory plan and delivery; trust -Community enthusiasm for the projects! -Small populations – grass roots hands-on activities -Wish to protect culture -Use traditional food for education -Improve quality of purchased food -Concern for environment conservation -Lighten women’s food work and raise self-esteem -Success of indigenous – indigenous communication -No bioprospecting -No blood sampling

18. Awajún Territory in the Peruvian Amazon

19. Picture removed Picture removed Awajún Picture removed Picture removed

20. Awajún Food Diversity Scores Correlated with Nutrient Intakes Total n of local food species = 221 Diversity Scores (2 recall days) Women Median: 9 Mean: 9.5 ± 3.5 Range: 2 - 20 Children Median: 8 Mean: 8.7 ± 3.6 Range: 2 -17 Spearman’s Rho * p<.05; ** p<0.001 Roche et al, 2007

21. Awajún Intervention Program Components • Promote traditional foods: fish, small animals-birds, suri, guinea pigs • Food preservation: drying, smoking • Promote forestry protection • Increase traditional food (agri)culture • Promote exclusive breast feeding and quality complementary feeding Picture removed Picture removed Picture removed

22. Participants Nutrition and Health Promoters, representatives of 17 communities Alto and Bajo Cenepa (approx. 5000 inhabitants) March 2006 Picture removed

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25. POLICY: To Protect Indigenous Peoples’ (IP) Food Security • Provide evidence that local food resources protect health • Move evidence to policy leaders – Local, National, International • Policies that will: • Respect IP local knowledge • Facilitate cultural food expression • Protect IP food environments • Empower IP to use their local food and medicine • Ensure IP food security

26. Thank You Collaborators: research institutions, community agencies and participants Funding Agencies: Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Institute of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health, Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes, IDRC, and FAO CINE staff and students WWW.MCGILL.CA/CINE