• Energy Research

Wild foods are recognized to contribute to diet and food security through enhancing the availability of local, diverse, and nonmarket food sources. We investigated the contribution of wild foods to diet, food security, and cultural identity in a Native American[1] community in the context of climate change. Structured interviews were conducted with low-income residents of the Flathead Indian Reser­vation[2] in Northwestern Montana who participate in the federal Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, also known by participants as ‘Commodities.’ Responses to structured questions were analyzed for frequency, and open-ended responses were coded and analyzed to identify prevalent themes. Our analysis indicated that half of participants were food insecure. Approximately 28% of participants engaged in at least one wild food procurement activity, including hunting, fishing, and harvesting. On average, participants who engaged in one or more wild food procure­ment activities were more food secure than those who did not. Results highlight the multidimen­sional valuation of wild foods by participants including taste, freshness, nutritional quality, being a traditional community practice, and providing a sense of self-sufficiency. Climate change is per­ceived by participants to be adversely impacting wild food systems due to increased variability in seasonality and precipitation and increased inci­dences of wild fire. Findings point to the need for community-based strategies to strengthen wild food knowledge toward enhancing food sover­eignty in Native American communities, in the context of climate change. [1] The term ‘Native American’ was determined to be the preferred term for referencing the Native American community in this study, based on consultation from our community advisory board. [2] The term ‘Flathead Indian Reservation’ was determined to be the preferred term for referencing the location in which this study was held, based on consultation from our community advisory board.

Understanding consumer knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors towards food waste is critical for informing evidence-based programs to advance sustainable food systems. A lack of knowledge regarding consumer food waste at the local level limits the ability to inform place-based solutions that are locally relevant. We administered an online survey to examine consumer perceptions, behaviors, and knowledge of food waste at the household level in Montana, a rural state in the United States. The majority of surveyed participants (58%) reported that they waste 10% or less of procured food. Almost half the participants (48%) are willing to take additional action to reduce food waste. Social factors including guilt and setting a good example were found to be greater motivators for reducing food waste compared to economic and environmental factors. Most survey participants (80%) perceive it would not be difficult to notably reduce their household's food waste. Overall, participants' reporting of their household's food waste quantity is lower than national quantities while their willingness to reduce food waste was higher than findings from a national survey. This study highlights the need for place-based solutions that are locally relevant to reduce household food waste towards enhancing the sustainability of food systems for supporting planetary health.

Wild foods are primary components of traditional and Indigenous food systems that are valued for food security while being vulnerable to global change. This case study examines practices, experiences, and perceptions associated with wild food environments through a household survey in the rural American state of Montana. Findings highlight that wild food environments contribute to cultural identity, sense of place, food security, and dietary quality of surveyed households while being vulnerable to loss of traditional ecological knowledge as well as climate and land-use change. Of the 182 informants, 80% hunt, 83% fish, and 68% forage wild botanicals. More than half of the informants agreed that wild food procurement is part of their cultural identity (66%). Collectively, informants procure more than 172 wild food species with the most prevalent being deer, waterfowl, elk, trout, bass, a range of berries, mushrooms, and botanicals used medicinally. Participants have a multidimensional value system where wild food procurement is valued for diets, recreation, family time, spirituality, and connection to the environment. The majority of participants agreed that the consumption of wild foods contributes to the nutritional quality (87%) and diversity (82%) of their diets while lowering food costs (59%). At least half of the informants reported observing changes in climate patterns over the past decade including increased temperature (50%) and more extreme and variable weather patterns (38%) that they perceive are impacting wild food environments including shifts in wild game, fish, and edible plant populations. Based on findings, we support that wild food environments and associated bio-cultural resources are a critical place to understand, conserve, and promote for nutrition. We thus advance the concept of “conservation for nutrition”. Community engagement, education, and policy plans are called for to promote wild food environments toward supporting sustainable diets and planetary health.

Valorization of territories with diverse cultures and heritage has multiplied in recent years. This study analyzes the case of colored heirloom corn in Tlaxcala, Mexico, as a potential public good associated with the region’s biocultural heritage. The analysis conducted herein relies on a wide range of literature from relevant theory, including Geographical Indications, Global Value Chains, Community-Based Entrepreneurship, Public Goods, and Sustainable Development, in order to employ case study methodology. We leverage a novel approach to analyze the heirloom corn chain and its publicness. This chain reveals its status as a potential public good that clearly influences biocultural heritage, which has been preserved by several generations. To preserve colored heirloom corn in Tlaxcala, Mexico, a development strategy is needed that links actors and resources, involves the public sector, and furthers expansion of the private sector.

Food production and consumption are among the largest drivers of global change. The adoption of lentil in production systems and in plant-based diets is a food system solution that can support the environmental, socio-economic, and human health dimensions of sustainability. The purpose of this study is to evaluate producer and consumer perceptions of the sustainability profile of the lentil system in Montana (USA), and the surrounding region that includes Idaho (USA), North Dakota (USA), Washington (USA), and Canada, in the context of global change. Surveys were conducted with lentil producers (n = 63; conventional n = 42, organic n = 15, and mixed management n = 6) and consumers (n = 138) in the rural state of Montana (USA). The most prevalent agronomic reason for including lentil in production systems reported by producers is to diversify crop rotation (92%). The most prevalent economic reasons for including lentil in rotation reported by producers is to capitalize on dryland production (95%) and to serve as a cash crop (87%). With respect to lentil consumption, the most prevalent health-related perceptions were that eating lentils helps to improve nutrition (88%), feel satiated or full (85%), and support a plant-based diet (81%). Consumers and non-consumers of lentils alike reported they would increase lentil consumption based on environmental (78%), economic (75%), and health and nutrition (72%) information contrasting lentils and animal-based protein sources. Overall, findings highlight how the lentil system supports multiple dimensions of sustainability based on the perspectives of study informants. Additionally, findings elucidate barriers and opportunities for promoting lentil in agricultural systems and diets. Impacts of market, policy, and climate change on lentil production, and lack of consumer knowledge on benefits of lentils to help meet food security through a sustainable diet, challenge sustainability dimensions of lentil in the food system.

Background: This study explored community and individual factors that influence the health of reproductive age women in a settlement in northern Greenland. This is important because Greenland has a declining population, a high abortion rate and because of projected environmental shifts due to climate change. Methods: This study collected mixed methods data to explore diet, physical activity, sleep and waist circumference for reproductive age women in Kullorsuaq, Greenland. The daily steps and sleeping hours of 13 reproductive age women were measured using activity monitoring bracelets. Waist circumference measurements and in-depth interviews about daily eating and physical activity were conducted with 15 participants and ethnographic participant observations were recorded using field notes. Results: Waist circumference measurements were above recommended cutoffs established by the World Health Organization. Physical activity measured by daily steps was within the ‘active’ range using the cutoff points established by Tudor and Locke. Physical activity is social and is important for communal relationships. Sleeping hours were within normal ranges based on US guidelines; however, the quality of this sleep, its variability across seasons and cultural expectations of what healthy sleep means must be further explored. Diets of women included a mixture of locally harvested meats and imported packaged foods. Study participants experienced less satiety and reported getting hungrier faster when eating packaged foods. This research took place in Spring 2016 and women reported that their sleep, physical activity and diet fluctuate seasonally. Conclusion: The reported findings suggest further investigation of sleep, diet and physical activity combined with the measurement of reproductive hormones to determine linkages between lifestyle factors and reproductive health outcomes is needed.

AbstractObjective:To explore factors that minimize lunch waste in Tokyo elementary schools and to consider how such factors can be modified and applied in US schools.Design:Focused ethnographic study using interviews, observation, participant observation and document review. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.Setting:Tokyo, Japan.Participants:Five school dietitians participated in the study. Data collection methods included in-depth interviews, observation of nutrition education lessons, participant observation of school lunchtime and review of relevant school documents (e.g. lunch menus, food waste records).Results:Five themes emerged from the analysis: (i) reinforcement of social norms to eat without waste; (ii) menu planning to increase exposure to unfamiliar and/or disliked foods; (iii) integration of food and nutrition education into the school curriculum; (iv) teacher lunchtime practices related to portion sizes, distributing leftover food and time management; and (v) engagement of students in reducing school lunch waste. Practical and tangible applications to US schools include measuring and reporting lunch waste to influence social norms, teaching students about the importance of reducing food waste, offering flexible school lunch portion sizes and providing students with meaningful opportunities to contribute to solving the problem of school lunch waste.Conclusions:Japan offers a model for minimizing school lunch waste through a holistic approach that includes factors that operate at and interact across multiple levels of society. Modifying and applying such an approach in US schools is worth considering given the urgent need to address food waste in order to support healthy diets and sustainable food systems.