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Food Safety and Security Food insecurity is an urgent public health issue in Canada (Tarasuk et al., 2014), particularly for Indigenous Peoples in geographically remote regions with high rates of poverty (Loring & Gerlach, 2015; Bhawra et al., 2017; Human Rights Watch, 2020). Many Northern, remote communities rely on traditional or country foods to meet their nutritional needs (Earle, 2011). For example, Statistics Canada data indicate that 65% of Inuit, 35% of Métis, and 33% of First Nations living off reserve hunted, fished, or trapped in 2017, while 30% of off-reserve First Nations and 47% of Inuit gathered wild plants or berries16 (Kumar et al., 2019). Traditional or country foods are high in nutritional value and offer a number of physical and mental health benefits (Bunce, 2015; Bunce et al., 2016; Cyre & Slater, 2019).
Harvesting traditional or country foods promotes physical activity, contributes to social cohesion through food sharing, facilitates spiritual renewal and cultural expression, and plays a role in the development of personal and community self-sufficiency and food sovereignty (Receveur & Kuhnlein, 1998; Earle, 2011; Cidro et al., 2015; Hirsch et al., 2016). Climate change is affecting the size, distribution, health, and behaviours of wildlife, fish, fowl, and other traditional sources of foods which, in turn, affect the ability to harvest and share them with family, Elders, and other community members (Organ et al., 2014; Statham et al., 2015; Archer, 2016; Spring et al., 2018). These impacts can be both positive and negative for enhancing food security. Warming temperatures have introduced new wildlife and plant species, allowed certain species
to flourish, and lengthened growing seasons, making it easier for Northern communities to grow their own foods (Sheedy, 2018). However, a warming climate has altered the timing of harvesting periods and changed ecosystems and habitats in ways that negatively affect species reproduction, leading to declines or disappearances of specific species that constitute traditional livelihoods. Considerable research has already been undertaken on various climate-related aspects of food security for Indigenous populations, especially studies assessing the availability of traditionally important food sources. For example, many First Nations have been worried about declining numbers of some fish, shellfish, and goose species; the availability and quality of specific berries; and changes to caribou population size, health,
The authors provide no data on the proportion of Métis who gathered wild plants or berries beyond stating that this proportion remained relatively unchanged from the previous Aboriginal Peoples’ Survey.
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