FOOD INSECURITY

ABHL 1000
 "A condition in which all
people, at all times, have
physical and economic
access to sufficient, safe and
nutritious food to meet their
dietary needs and food
preferences for an active and
healthy life".
FOOD SECURITY
- The Food and Agriculture
Organization (United
Nations)
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

• Proximal Determinant
• (Food Insecurity)

Intermediate Determinants:
Cultural Continuity, Community Infrastructure
and Resources, Environmental Stewardship

Distal Determinants:
Colonization and Self-Determination
 Marginal food insecurity: Worry about
running out of food and/or limited food
selection due to a lack of money for food.
Moderate food insecurity: Compromise in
quality and/or quantity of food due to a lack of
money for food.
Severe food insecurity: Miss meals, reduce
food intake, and at the most extreme go day(s)
without food.

2017-2018 Nunavut had the highest

prevalence of food insecurity (57%)
compared to 12.9% in Alberta

78.7% of Children live in food-insecure

households

28% of Indigenous peoples reported food

insecurity

https://proof.utoronto.ca/food-insecurity/
 • Adults who experienced severe food insecurity were much more likely
to have received mental health treatment than food secure adults over
the past year (40.4% compared to 15.6%). (Canadian Community
Health Survey 2012).
• Food insecurity is a highly stressful state, both emotionally and
physiologically (Seligman, Laraia, Kushel, 2011)
• The association between food insecurity and both self-reported and
clinical diabetes was highly significant. (Seligman, Laraia, Kushel,
HOW FOOD INSECURITY 2011)
IMPACTS HEALTH • The average lifespan is nine years shorter for severely food-insecure
adults than for food-secure ones (Men et al., 2020)
• Food insecurity leaves an indelible mark on children’s wellbeing.
Experiencing food insecurity at an early age is associated with
childhood mental health problems, such as hyperactivity and
inattention. (Proof, 2020)
• Experiences of hunger in childhood increase the risk of developing
asthma, depression, and suicidal ideation in adolescence and early
adulthood. (Proof, 2020)
 FIRST NATIONS FOOD, NUTRITION AND
ENVIRONMENT STUDY: ALBERTA RESULTS

• 65% of households harvested traditional food

• 35% fished
• 44% hunted
• 36% harvested wild plants
• Top 3 traditional foods consumed:
• Moose
• Saskatoon berries
• Raspberries
• How much traditional food were people eating?
• Worked out to only 29 grams (2 tbsp) daily

http://www.fnfnes.ca/
 FOOD SECURITY IN ALBERTA’S
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES (ON-RESERVE)

54.1% said that the statement

47.6% of adults couldn’t
afford to eat balanced meals.
“The food we bought just
didn’t last and we didn’t have
any money to get more” was
either often true (14.4%) or
sometimes true (40.7%).
24.8% of adults cut the size of
their meals or skipped meals
because there wasn’t enough
money for food.
 R E L I A N CE O N
L O W- CO S T F O O D
I N T H E PA S T 1 2
MO N T H S
 ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS

• Made mostly from refined substances, foods

and additives
• Goal is to reduce cost while making
convenient, long-lasting and hyper attractive
products
• Foods that have personalities!

???
 TRADITIONAL
DIETS

• “Traditional diets” involved so

much more than just what was
eaten. Diets arose from complex
and holistic food systems.
• Traditional foods are valued from
cultural, spiritual and health
perspectives.
• Activities involved in the
acquisition and distribution of
traditional foods allow for the
practice of cultural values such as
sharing and cooperation.
 W H AT A R E
TRADITIONAL
FOODS?

• Traditional foods are those

culturally accepted foods
available from local natural
resources that constitute the
food systems of Indigenous
peoples
• Diverse!

https://journal.cpha.ca/index.php/cjph/article/viewFile/1503/1692
 NUTRIENT PROFILES OF
TRADITIONAL DIETS

• More omega-3 fatty acids, less saturated fat

• Lower in overall carbohydrates, simple sugars
• Consuming traditional foods is related to higher
intakes of riboflavin, iron, zinc, copper, magnesium,
manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium and
vitamins A, D, E.
• Good sources of vitamin C have also been
documented in the largely animal-based diets of
Inuit peoples.
 TRADITIONAL ANIMAL
FOODS DATABASE

A new open-access encyclopedia of 500+ animal

species that are part of traditional food systems of
Indigenous Peoples in northern North America has just
been launched.
http://traditionalanimalfoods.org/
Centre for Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition and
Environment (CINE) McGill University, Montreal
http://traditionalanimalfoods.org/cultures.aspx?tags=Northwest%20Coast|Salishan#levels
 FNFNES: BARRIERS TO
TRADITIONAL DIETS

• 4 out of 5 people would like to eat more traditional food

• Top barriers:
• Lack of equipment/transportation
• Lack of a hunter
• Regulations
• Time
• Lack of knowledge
• Food insecurity
 Availability: Sufficient food

Accessibility: Physical and economic access

THE 5AS OF Acceptability: Culturally-acceptable and

FOOD nutritionally-acceptable
SECURITY
Adequacy/Appropriateness: Food is nutritious, safe,
and produced in environmentally sustainable ways

Agency: Policies and processes that enable action to

achieve the food security
THINK ABOUT THE 5 AS IN THE
CONTEXT OF FOOD SECURITY What factors
FOR CANADA’S INDIGENOUS (historical and
PEOPLES:
present) act as
barriers and enablers
to each of the 5As?
 Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3
Short Term Stage 2: Redesign
Relief Capacity
FOOD • Little Building
• “Upstream” -
initiatives that
SECURITY involvement for • Actively involves are broad in
those people who scope and have
CONTINUUM are experiencing
the people who
are experiencing
commitment
food insecurity from across the
food insecurity
entire food
system

https://www.northernhealth.ca
 FOOD SOVEREIGNTY

food as a commodity food as a public good

Seven principles of food sovereignty :

1) Focuses on Food for People
2) Values Food Providers
3) Localizes Food Systems
4) Puts Control Locally
5) Builds Knowledge and Skills
6) Works with Nature
7) Recognizes that Food is Sacred

Resetting the Table : A People ’s Food Policy for Canada. (2011). Retrieved from http://peoplesfoodpolicy.ca/policy/resetting-
table-peoples-food-policy-canada
 FINAL QUIZ QUESTION:
IDEAS FOR ADDRESSING THE
ROOTS OF FOOD INSECURITY:
HOW CAN WE MOVE UPSTREAM?
 REFERENCES

Resetting the Table : A People ’s Food Policy for Canada. (2011). Retrieved from
http://peoplesfoodpolicy.ca/policy/resetting-table-peoples-food-policy-canada
Men F, Gundersen C, Urquia M, Tarasuk V. (2020). Association between household food insecurity and
mortality in Canada: a population-based retrospective cohort study. Canadian Medical Association Journal.
192(3):E53-E60
https://journal.cpha.ca/index.php/cjph/article/viewFile/1503/1692
http://traditionalanimalfoods.org
http://www.fnfnes.ca
https://proof.utoronto.ca/food-insecurity/
First Nations Health Authority (2014). Healthy Food Guidelines: For First Nations Communities. Retrieved
from: https://www.fnha.ca/Documents/Healthy Food_Guidelines_for_First_Nations_Communities.pdf
Seligman, H., Laraia, B.A., Kushel, M.B. (2011). Food Insecurity is associated with chronic disease amount
low income NHANES participants. J Nutr, 140(2), 304-310. http://doi:10.3390/ijerph17218268
Time Harvest Calendar retrieved from
https://foodmattersmanitoba.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/TimeHarvest_letter.pdf