The Costs of Local Food Procurement in Two Northern Indigenous Communities in Canada

Nutrition biomarker assessment and exploration of the role of country foods to improve food security in the Sahtú Region, Canada

Country foods (i.e. wild traditional food) are associated with improved nutrition for northern populations. In response to community concerns, a project was implemented from 2019 to 2021 in the Sahtú region, Northwest Territories, Canada, to: 1) analyse nutrition biomarkers (vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B12, D, E, folate, P, Na) in blood samples, in order to assess nutritional status and identify nutrient deficiencies, and 2) use a survey to document how access to country foods may improve food security in the community of Tulı́t'a. Findings from the nutritional biomarker assessments (n = 128) indicated that 94% of participants experienced clinical vitamin D deficiency (<20 ng/L of plasma 25-hydroxy-vitamin D3) and 9% had folate deficiency (<8.7 nmol/L total folate). In the previous 12 months, 71% of participants did not always have money to get more food when needed, but 92% of participants said they were not left hungry. Country foods were used to increase the quality or quantity of the diet. Increasing country food consumption, such as fatty fish and large game meat and organs could mitigate the vitamin D and folate deficiencies. Policies should be implemented to improve food security in the North by facilitating access to country food.

Exploring Indigenous food sovereignty and food environments characteristics through food interventions in Canada: a scoping review

Indigenous food sovereignty (IFS) has the potential to reconnect Indigenous peoples in Canada to their food systems, reduce health problems and improve food security. Using PRISMA-ScR guidelines to search Medline, Web of Science, Embase and Cabi databases, this review sought to explore the characteristics of IFS promotion and the food environments involved through food and nutrition interventions in Indigenous communities in Canada. Data from 30 relevant studies published between 2004 and 2022 were included, analysed and synthesised using a thematic approach based on key IFS principles and a food environment typology. Most studies were conducted in urban contexts, mainly in provinces with the largest Indigenous populations. Local descriptions of IFS showed conceptual and operational similarities. Among the four key principles of IFS, the principle of participation was the most reported. Gardening, farming, hunting, fishing and gathering were the main food activities used to operationalise IFS in traditional and cultivated food environments. Several IFS facilitators and barriers were identified. The IFS movement that emerged from the literature in Canada advocates for a healthy and sustainable food system based on traditional beliefs and controlled by communities to ensure wellbeing and food security. This review provides evidence of converging visions for food autonomy despite the heterogeneity of Indigenous nations in Canada.

Food environment research in Canada: a rapid review of methodologies and measures deployed between 2010 and 2021

Numerous research methodologies have been used to examine food environments. Existing reviews synthesizing food environment measures have examined a limited number of domains or settings and none have specifically targeted Canada. This rapid review aimed to 1) map research methodologies and measures that have been used to assess food environments; 2) examine what food environment dimensions and equity related-factors have been assessed; and 3) identify research gaps and priorities to guide future research. A systematic search of primary articles evaluating the Canadian food environment in a real-world setting was conducted. Publications in English or French published in peer-reviewed journals between January 1 2010 and June 17 2021 and indexed in Web of Science, CAB Abstracts and Ovid MEDLINE were considered. The search strategy adapted an internationally-adopted food environment monitoring framework covering 7 domains (Food Marketing; Labelling; Prices; Provision; Composition; Retail; and Trade and Investment). The final sample included 220 articles. Overall, Trade and Investment (1%, n = 2), Labelling (7%, n = 15) and, to a lesser extent, Prices (14%, n = 30) were the least studied domains in Canada. Among Provision articles, healthcare (2%, n = 1) settings were underrepresented compared to school (67%, n = 28) and recreation and sport (24%, n = 10) settings, as was the food service industry (14%, n = 6) compared to grocery stores (86%, n = 36) in the Composition domain. The study identified a vast selection of measures employed in Canada overall and within single domains. Equity-related factors were only examined in half of articles (n = 108), mostly related to Retail (n = 81). A number of gaps remain that prevent a holistic and systems-level analysis of food environments in Canada. As Canada continues to implement policies to improve the quality of food environments in order to improve dietary patterns, targeted research to address identified gaps and harmonize methods across studies will help evaluate policy impact over time.

Fatty Acid Composition of Northern Pike from an Arctic River (Northeastern Siberia, Russia)

We assayed the fatty acid composition of muscles of the northern pike Esox lucius Linnaeus, 1758 inhabiting the Gyda River, Siberia, Russia using gas-liquid chromatography. Of 43 fatty acids identified in the pike samples, 23 fatty acids accounted for 99.3% of the total content. The most abundant saturated fatty acids (SFA, 31.6%) were palmitic (C16:0, 20.0%) and stearic (C18:0, 7.3%) acids. Among monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA, 15.1%), oleic acid (C18:1n9, 10.2%) and palmitoleic acid (C16:1, 4.1%) demonstrated the highest levels. The most represented polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA, 53.3%) were arachidonic acid (C20:4n-6, 7.6%), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, C20:5n-3, 7.3%), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6n-3, 26.3%). The fatty acid profile of specimens from the Gyda River was different in comparison to profiles found in other pike populations, most likely due to different diets. Pike flesh has good nutrition quality in terms of a low n-6/n-3 ratio (0.36), low atherogenic (0.39), and thrombogenic (0.22) indices, and a high ratio of hypocholesterolemic to hypercholesterolemic fatty acids (2.83), and this species can be recommended as a replacement or alternative to other fish sources in traditional diets.

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.

Dietary Intakes of Traditional Foods for Dene/Métis in the Dehcho and Sahtú Regions of the Northwest Territories

A dietary transition away from traditional foods and toward a diet of the predominantly unhealthy market is a public health and sociocultural concern throughout Indigenous communities in Canada, including those in the sub-Arctic and remote regions of Dehcho and Sahtú of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The main aim of the present study is to describe dietary intakes for macronutrients and micronutrients in traditional and market food from the Mackenzie Valley study. We also show the trends of contributions and differences of dietary intakes over time from 1994 data collected and reported by the Centre for Indigenous People’s Nutrition and Environment (CINE) in 1996. Based on 24-h dietary recall data, the study uses descriptive statistics to describe the observed dietary intake of the Dene First Nations communities in the Dehcho and Sahtú regions of the NWT. Indigenous people in Canada, like the sub-Arctic regions of Dehcho and Sahtú of the NWT, continue to consume traditional foods, although as a small percentage of their total dietary intake. The observed dietary intake calls for action to ensure that traditional food remains a staple as it is critical for the wellbeing of Dene in the Dehcho and Sahtú regions and across the territory.

Weighing the importance of animal body size in traditional food systems

Traditional food systems based on harvest from the local environment are fundamental to the well-being of many communities, but their security is challenged by rapid socio-ecological change. We synthesized literature and data describing how a fundamental form of biodiversity, animal body size, contributes to the security of traditional food systems through relationships with species availability, accessibility, adequacy, and use. We found larger vertebrate species were more available, accessible, and used on a per kilogram basis, particularly for mammals. Conversely, larger species were no more or less adequate from a combined nutritional, health, and cultural perspective. Larger species represented more biomass, and this biomass required less time to harvest, with greater but more variable mean caloric returns over time. Smaller species provided more consistent caloric returns and were harvested during documented shortages of prey. This reliance on species with a range of body sizes is consistent with optimal foraging theory and the evolutionary value of flexibility, and highlights the importance of a biodiverse pool of species for traditional food security in times of change. Our synthesis of published literature and data highlights the many socio-ecological correlates of species size and how these relate to the security of traditional food systems.

Development of an optimal grocery list based on actual intake from a cross-sectional study of First Nations adults in Ontario, Canada

A multi-stage sampling strategy selected 1387 on-reserve First Nations adults in Ontario. Foods from a 24-hour dietary recall were assigned to the 100 most common food groups for men and women. Nutrients from market foods (MF) and traditional foods (TF) harvested from the wild as well as MF costs were assigned based on the proportions of total grams consumed. Linear programming was performed imposing various constraints to determine whether it was possible to develop diets that included the most popular foods while meeting Institute of Medicine guidelines. Final models were obtained for both sexes with the top 100 food groups consumed while limiting the nutrient-poor foods to no more than the actual observed intake. These models met all nutrient constraints for men but those for dietary fibre, linoleic acid, phosphorus, and potassium were removed for women. MF costs were obtained from community retailers and online resources. A grocery list was then developed and MF were costed for a family of four. The grocery list underestimated the actual weekly food cost because TF was not included. Contemporary observed diets deviated from healthier historic First Nations diets. A culturally appropriate diet would include more traditional First Nations foods and fewer MF. Novelty ● Linear programming is a mathematical approach to evaluating the diets of First Nations ● The grocery list is representative of food patterns within Ontario First Nations and can be used as an alternative to the nutritious food basket used for public health food costing.

Assessing the Contribution of Traditional Foods to Food Security for the Wapekeka First Nation of Canada

The food security crisis and disproportionately high burden of dietary related disease amongst northern Indigenous populations in Canada continues to be a troubling reality with little sign of improvement. The Government of Canada is responding by developing programs to support local food initiatives for northern isolated communities. While such investments appear commendable, the impact of local food harvesting to improve food security has yet to be determined. While there are clear nutritional and cultural benefits to traditional food sources, communities face considerable barriers acquiring it in sufficient amounts because of historically imposed lifestyle changes that have increased food insecurity rates. This study responds by providing a novel multidisciplinary approach that draws from firsthand experiences working with First Nations community members in a remote subarctic region in northwestern, Ontario to estimate their community's total food requirement and the amount of wild animal food sources needed to sustain yearly food intake. This transferrable energy demand approach will be critical for policy makers to put into perspective the amount of wild food needed to have an impact on food security rates and ultimately improve dietary related diseases. Novelty: • It will provide government policy makers information about current harvest yields in a remote northern First Nation to understand the potential contribution of traditional food to improve local food security • Provides Indigenous communities a means to assess local food resources to measure the caloric contributions of traditional foods toward household food security.

First Nations households living on-reserve experience food insecurity: prevalence and predictors among ninety-two First Nations communities across Canada

OBJECTIVE

To describe the prevalence of food insecurity in First Nations households across Canada while identifying barriers and enablers to traditional food (TF) consumption.

METHODS

The First Nations Food, Nutrition and Environment Study is a cross-Canada participatory study of on-reserve First Nations from 2008 to 2018. The Household Food Security Survey Module was used to capture income-related challenges experienced by First Nations households. Households were classified as food secure, or marginally, moderately, or severely food insecure. Barriers and enablers to TF access and use were identified describing the Indigenous experience.

RESULTS

Almost half of on-reserve First Nations households were food insecure and the prevalence was higher than that for non-Indigenous households in Canada. On-reserve food insecurity prevalence was higher in western regions of Canada. First Nations households with children experienced greater food insecurity than those without children. More adults experienced severe food insecurity than children. Most adults would like to have more TF in their diet but state that factors such as financial and household constraints, industrial activities, government regulations, climate change, and fear of contamination impede greater access. Food costs were substantially higher in remote First Nations communities, but remoteness was not associated with food security in multivariable analysis.

CONCLUSION

Existing systems have been unsuccessful in curbing the food insecurity in First Nations households. Improving food security hinges on achieving Indigenous Food Sovereignty, the key to long-term conservation and stewardship of the land and the co-management of these by Indigenous Peoples. Studies investigating the feasibility of increasing TF from an Indigenous perspective are required.

Indigenous Community Perspectives of Food Security, Sustainable Food Systems and Strategies to Enhance Access to Local and Traditional Healthy Food for Partnering Williams Treaties First Nations (Ontario, Canada)

In partnership with communities of the Williams Treaties First Nations in southern Ontario (Canada), we describe an approach to work with communities, and highlight perspectives of food security and sustainability, including priorities and opportunities to revitalize local food systems as a pathway to food security and food sovereignty. The objectives of our project were: (1) to build a shared understanding of food security and sustainability; and (2) to document community priorities, challenges and opportunities to enhance local food access. Utilizing an Indigenous methodology, the conversational method, within the framework of community-based participatory research, formative work undertaken helped to conceptualize food security and sustainability from a community perspective and solidify interests within the four participating communities to inform community-led action planning. Knowledge generated from our project will inform development of initiatives, programs or projects that promote sustainable food systems. The community-based actions identified support a path towards holistic wellbeing and, ultimately, Indigenous peoples' right to food security and food sovereignty.

Health measures of Eeyouch (Cree) who are eligible to participate in the on-the-land Income Security Program in Eeyou Istchee (northern Quebec, Canada)

BACKGROUND

Participation in on-the-land programs that encourage traditional cultural activities may improve health and well-being. The Income Security Program (ISP) - a financial incentive-based on-the-land program - for Eeyouch (Cree) hunters and trappers in Eeyou Istchee was created as a result of the 1975 James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement to help mitigate the effects of hydroelectric development on the Cree people of northern Quebec, Canada. Beyond the ISP's financial incentives, little is known about the health measures of those who are eligible to participate in the ISP (i.e. spent ≥120 days on-the-land during the previous year). Therefore, this paper's objective was to assess the health measures of northern Quebec Cree, who were eligible for participation in the ISP.

METHODS

Using participant data (n = 545) compiled from the Nituuchischaayihtitaau Aschii Multi-Community Environment-and-Health Study, we assessed 13 different health measures in generalized linear models with the independent variable being the eligibility to participate in the ISP.

RESULTS

Participants in the present study who were eligible for the ISP had significantly higher levels of vigorous and moderate activity per week, and higher concentrations of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the blood compared to those ineligible for the ISP (i.e. spent ≤119 days on-the-land during the previous year). Encouragingly, following model adjustment for age and sex, participants eligible for the ISP did not have higher blood concentrations of mercury than those who were not eligible for the ISP.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that the participants eligible for participation in the ISP are likely to be healthier than those who are ineligible to participate - and are promising for on-the-land programs for Indigenous peoples beyond a financial incentive - with no apparent higher risk of increasing contaminant body burden through traditional on-the-land-activities (e.g. fish consumption).

Wood smoke black carbon from Indigenous traditional cultural activities in a subarctic Cree community

Indoor concentrations of black carbon (BC) were measured when wood was burned for traditional cultural activities in a study in a Cree community located in subarctic Canada. The study also included an intervention using a propane-fuelled heater to mitigate in situ BC. Mass concentrations of BC were measured in a game-smoking tent for 39 days and in hunting cabins on the west coast of James Bay, Canada, for 8 days. Five-minute averaged BC mass concentration (N = 12,319) data were recorded and assessed using optimised noise-reduction averaging. Mean BC mass concentrations were lower in hunting cabins (mean = 8.25 micrograms per cubic metre (µg m⁻³)) and higher in the game-smoking tent (mean = 15.46 µg m⁻³). However, excessive BC peaks were recorded in the game-smoking tent (maximum = 3076.71 µg m⁻³) when the fire was stoked or loaded. The intervention with the propane heater in a hunting cabin yielded a 90% reduction in measured BC mass concentrations. We do not presume that exposure to BC is of concern in hunting cabins with appropriate wood-burning appliances that are well-sealed and vent outside. In game-smoking tents, we advise that persons take intermittent breaks outside of the tent for fresh air.

Retail food environments research in Canada: A scoping review

OBJECTIVES

The field of retail food environments research is relatively new in Canada. The objective of this scoping review is to provide an overview of retail food environments research conducted before July 2015 in Canada. Specifically, this review describes research foci and key findings, identifies knowledge gaps and suggests future directions for research.

METHODS

A search of published literature concerning Canadian investigations of retail food environment settings (food stores, restaurants) was conducted in July 2015 using PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, PsychInfo and ERIC. Studies published in English that reported qualitative or quantitative data on any aspect of the retail food environment were included, as were conceptual papers and commentaries.

SYNTHESIS

Eighty-eight studies were included in this review and suggest that the field of retail food environments research is rapidly expanding in Canada. While only 1 paper was published before 2005, 66 papers were published between 2010 and 2015. Canadian food environments research typically assessed either the socio-economic patterning of food environments (n = 28) or associations between retail food environments and diet, anthropometric or health outcomes (n = 33). Other papers profiled methodological research, qualitative studies, intervention research and critical commentaries (n = 27). Key gaps in the current literature include measurement inconsistency among studies and a lack of longitudinal and intervention studies.

CONCLUSION

Retail food environments are a growing topic of research, policy and program development in Canada. Consistent methods (where appropriate), longitudinal and intervention research, and close partnerships between researchers and key stakeholders would greatly advance the field of retail food environments research in Canada.

Challenges in assessing food environments in northern and remote communities in Canada

Effective tools for retail food environments in northern and remote communities are lacking. This paper examines the challenges of conducting food environment assessments in northern and remote communities in Canada encountered during our experience with a food costing project. One of the goals of the Paying for Nutrition in the North project is to develop guidelines to improve current food costing tools for northern Canada. Paying for Nutrition illustrates the complex context of measuring food environments in northern and remote communities. Through the development of a food costing methodology guide to assess northern food environments, several contextual issues emerged, including retail store oligopolies in communities; the importance of assessing food quality; informal social food economies; and the challenge of costing the acquisition and consumption of land- and water-based foods. Food environment measures designed for northern and remote communities need to reflect the geographic context in which they are being employed and must include input from local residents.

Dietary practices in isolated First Nations communities of northern Canada: combined isotopic and lipid markers provide a good qualitative assessment of store-bought vs locally harvested foods consumption

OBJECTIVE:

In First Nations communities of northwestern Ontario, where rates of type 2 diabetes mellitus are some of the highest in the world, ascertaining wild food dietary practices is extremely challenging owing to seasonal availability, environmental factors, life circumstances and language/cultural barriers. The purpose of this study was to determine whether analysis of isotopic and fatty acid (FA) profiles could provide more comprehensive information to discriminate between three categories of wild food consumption (that is, plants and animals) in two isolated First Nations communities of northwestern Ontario. In addition, this analysis also highlights whether wild food consumption as practiced in these two communities can increase circulating levels of polyunsaturated FAs (PUFAs), which provide a number of important metabolic benefits that could impact the prevention/treatment of T2DM.

RESULTS:

¹³C enrichment (in expired CO₂, plasma and hair), ¹⁵N enrichment (in hair) and FA profiles in plasma phospholipids (phospholipid fatty acid (PL-FA)) were quantified in men and in women consuming various amounts of wild food. ¹³C/¹²C ratios were lower and ¹⁵N/¹⁴N ratios were higher in participants consuming wild food at least once a week. In addition, FA results indicated that the relative contributions of 20:4 Ω-6 and 22:6 Ω-3 to total PL-FAs were higher and 18:2 Ω-6 lower in wild food consumers.

CONCLUSION:

Together, these findings confirm that isotopic and lipid markers discriminate between the different wild food categories in these two First Nations communities. Knowing the close relationship between dietary intake and the potential role of PUFA in the prevention/treatment of obesity and obesity-related diseases, it is critical to accurately measure the composition of diet for individuals in their specific environments.