The contemporary food supply of three northern Manitoba Cree communities

"We Need to Live off the Land": An Exploration and Conceptualization of Community-Based Indigenous Food Sovereignty Experiences and Practices

Although Indigenous food systems are sustainable in nature, many of these systems have been forcibly altered among Indigenous communities within Canada, as a consequence of colonization. Indigenous Food Sovereignty (IFS) movements work to counteract the dismantling of Indigenous food systems as well as the negative health impacts of environmental dispossession experienced by Indigenous communities. Through community-based participatory research methodologies and the utilization of Etuaptmumk, or two-eyed seeing, this research project explored community perspectives of IFS in Western Canada. Reflexive thematic analysis of qualitative data collected during a sharing circle held with community members identified the influence of Indigenous Knowledge and community support on three main aspects of Indigenous food sovereignty, including (1) environmental concerns, (2) sustainable practices and (3) a strong relationship with the land and waters. Through the sharing of stories and memories related to traditional foods and current sovereignty projects, community members identified concerns for their local ecosystem as well as a desire to preserve its natural state for generations to come. The strengthening of IFS movements is critical to the overall wellbeing of Indigenous communities within Canada. Support is needed for movements that honour relationships with traditional foods and recognize traditional lands and waters as necessary for healing and sustaining the health of Indigenous communities.

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

Food insecurity is a significant public health problem for Indigenous peoples in Canada. A comprehensive literature review is needed to organize the evidence according to the 4 pillars of food security (i.e., availability, access, utilization, and stability) and identify gaps in the published literature on this topic. Therefore, in this scoping review we aimed to summarize the published research discussing any of the 4 pillars of food security among Indigenous peoples in Canada. We conducted a literature search of the following databases: Ovid Medline, EMBASE, Web of Science (Web of Knowledge), and CINAHL, as well as the Indigenous Studies Portal (up to June 19, 2021). Population-based studies of any design were included, except for review-style articles. Articles published in languages other than English were also excluded. Of the 4687 studies identified by the database searches, 91 met our inclusion criteria. Evidence from these studies indicates that all dimensions of food security among Indigenous peoples in Canada have been impacted. Lack of availability of both traditional and market foods is highlighted among Inuit and First Nation communities. Economic disadvantages, high food prices, and lack of access to transportation are major factors affecting the accessibility pillar of food security. Major factors affecting the utilization pillar of food security are the loss of traditional knowledge and skills, lack of knowledge on market foods, low quality of market foods, and food safety issues. Climate change has affected all 4 pillars of food security among Indigenous peoples. These findings suggest that resolving food insecurity issues among Indigenous peoples in Canada, especially those living in remote communities, requires a culturally specific integrated approach targeting food availability, food cost, food knowledge, food safety, and food quality.

The Retail Food Sector and Indigenous Peoples in High-Income Countries: A Systematic Scoping Review

Indigenous Peoples in high-income countries experience higher burdens of food insecurity, obesity, and diet-related health conditions compared to national averages. The objective of this systematic scoping review is to synthesize information from the published literature on the methods/approaches, findings, and scope for research and interventions on the retail food sector servicing Indigenous Peoples in high-income countries. A structured literature search in two major international databases yielded 139 relevant peer-reviewed articles from nine countries. Most research was conducted in Oceania and North America, and in rural and remote regions. Several convergent issues were identified across global regions including limited grocery store availability/access, heightened exposure to unhealthy food environments, inadequate market food supplies (i.e., high prices, limited availability, and poor quality), and common underlying structural factors including socio-economic inequality and colonialism. A list of actions that can modify the nature and structure of retailing systems to enhance the availability, accessibility, and quality of healthful foods is identified. While continuing to (re)align research with community priorities, international collaboration may foster enhanced opportunities to strengthen the evidence base for policy and practice and contribute to the amelioration of diet quality and health at the population level.

The Retail Food Environment, Store Foods, and Diet and Health among Indigenous Populations: a Scoping Review

PURPOSE OF THE REVIEW

Describe the state of knowledge on how the retail food environment contributes to diet-related health and obesity among Indigenous populations, and assess how the literature incorporates Indigenous perspectives, methodologies and engagement throughout the research process. Outcomes included dietary behaviour (purchasing, intakes and diet quality) and diet-related health outcomes (weight-related outcomes, non-communicable diseases and holistic health or definitions of health as defined by Indigenous populations involved in the study).

RECENT FINDINGS

Of fifty included articles (1996-2019), the largest proportions described Indigenous communities in Canada (20 studies, 40%), the USA (16, 32%) and Australia (9, 18%). Among articles that specified the Indigenous population of focus (42 studies, 84%), the largest proportion (11 studies, 26%) took place in Inuit communities, followed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities (8 studies, 19%). The included literature encompassed four main study designs: type A, dietary intakes of store foods (14 studies, 28%), and type B, store food environments (16, 32%), comprised the greatest proportion of articles; the remainder were type C, store food environments and diet (7, 14%), and type D, store food environment interventions (13, 26%). Of the studies that assessed diet or health outcomes (36, 72%), 22 (61%) assessed dietary intakes; 16 (44%) sales/purchasing; and 8 (22%) weight-related outcomes. Store foods tended to contribute the greatest amount of dietary energy to the diets of Indigenous peoples and increased non-communicable disease risk as compared to traditional foods. Multi-pronged interventions appeared to have positive impacts on dietary behaviours, food purchasing and nutrition knowledge; promotion and nutrition education alone had more mixed effects. Of the nine studies which were found to have strong engagement with Indigenous populations, eight had moderate or high methodological quality. Eighteen studies (36%) did not mention any engagement with Indigenous populations. The literature confirmed the importance of store foods to the total energy intake of the contemporary diets of Indigenous people, the gaps in accessing both retail food environments and traditional foods and the potential for both new dietary assessment research and retail food environment intervention strategies to better align with and privilege Indigenous Ways of Knowing.

Household food insecurity and Canadian Aboriginal women's self-efficacy in food preparation

PURPOSE

Determinants of self-efficacy related to food preparation using store-bought food were examined in women belonging to the Atikamekw Nation. Also examined was whether self-efficacy was associated with household food insecurity.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 107 women responsible for household food supplies. Two self-efficacy scores were calculated, one for healthy food preparation and one for food preparation in general. Household food insecurity was measured with an adapted version of the United States Food Security Core Module. The other variables were household composition, income sources, food supplies, tobacco use, participants' health status, and lifestyle and sociodemographic characteristics. Multiple linear regression was used to analyze associations between self-efficacy and household food insecurity in 99 participants.

RESULTS

Severe household food insecurity was associated with significantly lower healthy food preparation scores in Atikamekw women. Other associated variables were food supplies, marital status, alcohol consumption, weight status, and understanding of the native language.

CONCLUSIONS

Application of the concept of self-efficacy contributes to a better understanding of the factors influencing food preparation in Atikamekw women. In this study, self-efficacy in healthy food preparation was linked to food insecurity and obesity, particularly in the most serious cases. Efforts to improve diet will require not only behavioural interventions, but public policies.

Conceptual environmental justice model for evaluating chemical pathways of exposure in low-income, minority, native American, and other unique exposure populations

Risk assessment determines pathways, and exposures that lead to poor health. For exposures that fall disproportionately on urban low-income communities, minorities, and Native Americans, these pathways are often more common than in the general population. Although risk assessors often evaluate these pathways on an ad hoc basis, a more formal way of addressing these nonstandard pathways is needed to adequately inform public health policy. A conceptual model is presented for evaluating nonstandard, unique, or excessive exposures, particularly for environmental justice communities that have an exposure matrix of inhalation, dermal, ingestion, and injection. Risk assessment can be improved by including nonstandard and unique exposure pathways as described in this conceptual model.

Obesity and type 2 diabetes in Northern Canada's remote First Nations communities: the dietary dilemma

First Nations populations in Northwestern Ontario have undergone profound dietary and lifestyle transformations in less than 50 years, which have contributed to the alarming rise in obesity and obesity-related diseases, in particular type 2 diabetes mellitus. Even though the genetic background of First Nations peoples differs from that of the Caucasians, genetics alone cannot explain such a high prevalence in obesity and type 2 diabetes. Modifications in lifestyle and diet are major contributors for the high prevalence of chronic diseases. What remains constant in the literature is the persistent view that locally harvested and prepared foods are of tremendous value to First Nations peoples providing important health and cultural benefits that are increasingly being undermined by western-based food habits. However, the complexities of maintaining a traditional diet require a multifaceted approach, which acknowledges the relationship between benefits, risks and viability that cannot be achieved using purely conventional medical and biological approaches. This brief review explores the biological predispositions and potential environmental factors that contribute to the development of the high incidence of obesity and obesity-related diseases in First Nations communities in Northern Canada. It also highlights some of the complexities of establishing exact physiological causes and providing effective solutions.

Dietary intake in a population undergoing a rapid transition in diet and lifestyle: the Inuvialuit in the Northwest Territories of Arctic Canada

OBJECTIVES

To: 1) characterize diet in Inuvialuit; 2) determine the foods and nutrients to be targeted for a nutritional intervention program; and 3) develop a Quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire (QFFQ) to evaluate the program and monitor nutrition transition for Inuvialuit in the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada.

METHODS

Twenty-four-hour dietary recalls were collected among 101 Inuvialuit aged 19 years and over in two communities in the NWT. All foods reported in the recall were tabulated for inclusion in the QFFQ.

RESULTS

Forty-eight men and 53 women (mean age 49 and 45 yrs, respectively) completed the recalls. Mean energy intake was 2,352 kcal and 1,739 kcal for men and women, respectively. Mean daily intakes of many nutrients including dietary fibre, calcium, and vitamins A, C and E, and total folate were much lower than recommended. The most frequently reported foods were non-nutrient-dense store-bought foods. Most traditional foods (TF) were reported one time by one person. The top two contributors to energy intake, 'sugar added to tea and coffee' and 'sweetened juices and drinks', were targeted by the intervention program. A 145-item QFFQ was developed including 41 TF and 8 categories of consumption frequency.

CONCLUSIONS

This study has provided dietary intake data previously unavailable for Inuvialuit and highlighted nutrients and foods to be targeted for the intervention program. The QFFQ is up-to-date, culturally appropriate, and currently being used to evaluate the intervention program, Healthy Foods North, which aims to reduce dietary- and lifestyle-related risk factors for chronic disease in Inuvialuit.

Assessing dietary intake in a population undergoing a rapid transition in diet and lifestyle: the Arctic Inuit in Nunavut, Canada

The aims of the present study were to (1) characterise the diets of adult Inuit; (2) highlight foods for a nutritional and lifestyle intervention programme; (3) develop a quantitative FFQ (QFFQ) to evaluate the programme and monitor changes in dietary intake in this population over time. A dietary survey using single 24-h dietary recalls was conducted among Inuit aged between 19 and 87 years in two communities in Nunavut, Canada. Eighty-seven subjects completed the recalls (response rate was approximately 73 %). The mean energy intake for men and women was 9530 and 6939 kJ, respectively. The intakes of dietary fibre and the majority of vitamins and minerals (especially vitamins A, D, and E, total folate and Ca) were far below the recommendations. Traditional foods contributed 40 and 42 %, respectively, to protein and Fe intakes. Non-nutrient-dense store-bought foods were consumed much more frequently than the nutrient-dense traditional foods. Foods high in fat and sugar were highlighted, and will be replaced by healthier, more nutrient-dense alternatives to address the dietary inadequacies for the nutritional intervention programme. A 154-item QFFQ was developed and pilot tested in the Arctic Inuit. The present study highlighted foods to be targeted for a nutritional and lifestyle intervention programme not previously undertaken in this population. This QFFQ is culturally appropriate and specific for evaluating the effectiveness of the programme, as well as monitoring nutritional transition in this population.