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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Davis, California » Western Human Nutrition Research Center » Obesity and Metabolism Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #193181
Title: INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ FOOD SYSTEMS FOR HEALTH: FINDING INTERVENTIONS THAT WORK

Author
item KUHNLEIN, HARRIET - MCGILL UNIV.,CANADA NUTR.
item ERASMUS, BILL - ASSEMBLY OF 1ST NATIONS
item KANASHIRO-CREED, HILARY - INTL INST. NUTR.LIMA PERU
item ENGLBERGER, LOIS - ISLAND FOOD COMM. POHNPEI
item OKEKE, CHINWE - UNIV. OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA
item TURNER, NANCY - UNIV.OF VICTORIA, ENVIRO.
item Allen, Lindsay - A
item BHATTACHARJEE, LALITA - FAO, PACIFIC, BANGKOK

Submitted to: Public Health Nutrition
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/13/2006
Publication Date: 2/13/2006
Citation: Kuhnlein, H., Erasmus, B., Kanashiro-Creed, H., Englberger, L., Okeke, C., Turner, N., Allen, L.H., Bhattacharjee, L. 2006. INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ FOOD SYSTEMS FOR HEALTH: FINDING INTERVENTIONS THAT WORK. Public Health Nutrition. 9(8), 1013-1019, 2006.

Interpretive Summary: Our work deals with the holistic knowledge of and beliefs about food, well-being and health held by Indigenous Peoples. It recognizes that food touches on the physical, psychological, social and spiritual dimensions of all age gender groups in community life. Therefore, it is essential to build community support and action for sustainability and for self determination that "makes sense to us," and can build wellness and dignity to local ways of knowing what a valuable and healthy life is. The project strives to identify commonalities, differences, priorities and challenges in a diversity of communities wanting to increase knowledge of, access to and use of their local food. In this way it should be possible for individual communities to improve their well-being and health, and also make a contribution to the improved well-being and health not only of other indigenous communities, but also of industrialized populations.

Technical Abstract: This is a short report of a “safari” held in conjunction with the International Congress of Nutrition in September, 2005, in Futululu, St. Lucia, South Africa. Participants were several members of the International Union of Nutritional Sciences Task Force on Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems and Nutrition, other interested scientists and members of the Kwa Zulu indigenous community. The paper describes the rationale for and contributions towards understanding what might be successful interventions that would resonate among indigenous communities in many areas of the world. A summary of possible evaluation strategies of such interventions is also given.