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

CINE Governing Board Meeting

Picture removed

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

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

Who Are Indigenous Peoples?

o geographically distinct territory and natural resources

o maintenance of cultural and social identity

o descent from population groups present in a given area, perhaps before modern states/borders

o 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

Inuit

Ingano

Awajún

Dene

Nuxalk

Pohnpeian

Ainu

Karen

Maasai

Bhil

Dalit

Igbos

Figure 1. Location of Indigenous Peoples for Case StudiesCINE Indigenous case study areas

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

The Journey so far….

Case study Community and Academic Partners Meeting, 2007

Picture removed

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

Gwich’in, Canada

Bhil, India

Maasai, Kenya

Nuxalk, Canada

Picture removed

Picture removed

Picture removed

Picture removed

Karen, Thailand Pohnpeian, FSM

Igbo, Nigeria Ingano, Colombia

Picture removed Picture removed

Picture removedPicture removed

1. Prevent undernutrition and micronutrient malnutrition

2. Prevent/reduce obesity and increasing chronic disease

FINDING WAYS TO:

GOOD HEALTH

Undernutrition Overnutrition

Two Phases for Case Studies:

1. Documentation of the food system – 5 steps

2. 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

www.mcgill.ca/cine

% ENERGY FROM TRADITIONAL LOCAL FOOD AND NUMBER OF TRADITIONAL SPECIES

% Energy

N of species

Awajún 93 221

Bhil 98 97

Dalit 43 227

Gwich’in Dene 21 101

Igbo 95 220

Ingano 47 160

Inuit 29 194

Karen 85 317

Maasai 10 35

Pohnpei 27 250 (372 varieties)

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

-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

Common themes

Awajún Territory in the Peruvian Amazon

Awajún

Picture removedPicture removed

Picture removedPicture removed

Awajún Food Diversity Scores Correlated with Nutrient Intakes

Nutrient Women (n=49)

Children (n=35)

Protein 0.49 ** 0.39*

Fat 0.49 ** 0.33 ns

Fiber 0.60 ** 0.55**

Ca 0.53 ** 0.47**

P 0.52 ** 0.29 ns

Fe 0.45 ** 0.35*

Zn 0.29 * 0.24 ns

Thiamin 0.55 ** 0.46**

Riboflav 0.49 ** 0.40*

Niacin 0.38 ** 0.26 ns

Ascorb 0.43 ** 0.33 ns

Folate 0.30 * 0.07 ns

RE 0.40** 0.50**

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

Roche et al, 2007Spearman’s Rho * p<.05; ** p<0.001

Total n of local food species = 221

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

Awajún Intervention Program Components

Picture removed Picture removed Picture removed

Participants

Nutrition and Health Promoters, representatives of 17 communities

Alto and Bajo Cenepa(approx. 5000 inhabitants)

March 2006

Picture removed

Picture removed

Picture removed

Picture removed

Picture removed

Picture removed

Picture removed

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

Thank You

WWW.MCGILL.CA/CINE

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