The Contribution of Forests and Trees to Sustainable Diets

Design and validation of a photographic atlas of Peruvian foods to evaluate the food consumption of children from 6 to 12 months of age

OBJECTIVE

Design and validation a photographic atlas of Peruvian foods to evaluate the food consumption of children from 6 to 12 months of age.

METHODS

Quantitative, descriptive, and cross-sectional study. 12 food groups were established according to their nutrient content. The atlas is designed to be applied to mothers, fathers, or caregivers of children from 6 to 12 months of age. The methodology was divided into four stages: i) selection of the food list, regional recipe books from Peru were reviewed, then interviews with mothers of children in the age range were verified for the final selection of the food list; ii) preparation and weighing of food, utensils were used to establish home measurements and with the established weight the macro and micronutrients were calculated with tables of composition of Peruvian foods; iii) development of the photographic session, a professional photographer with previous experience in similar works was used; and iv) expert validation, with the participation of 5 nutritionists with experience in infant feeding.

RESULTS

The proposed atlas includes 57 foods with a total of 91 photographs. The content validity coefficient according to food category and in total obtained an assessment of 0.75 (Cohen's kappa coefficient), which gives it acceptable validity and agreement.

CONCLUSIONS

The photographic atlas of food portions for infant feeding in Peru is a practical, reliable, and culturally appropriate visual tool to help estimate the amount of food consumed by this population, which will facilitate the estimation of food intake.

Wild foods contribute to women's higher dietary diversity in India

Wild foods, from forests and common lands, can contribute to food and nutrition security. Most previous studies have established correlations between wild food consumption and children's dietary diversity in Africa, but other groups and geographic contexts remain understudied. Here a rigorous quasi-experimental method was combined with monthly interval data to assess the contribution of wild foods to women's diets. We collected 24 h diet recall data monthly, from November 2016 to November 2017, from 570 households in East India. We found that wild foods contributed positively to diets, especially in June and July (when consumption of wild foods was highest). Women who consumed wild foods had higher average dietary diversity scores (13% and 9% higher in June and July, respectively) and were more likely to consume nutrient-dense, dark-green leafy vegetables than those who did not. Our results underscore the importance of policies that increase knowledge of wild foods and protect people's rights to access forests and other common lands for improved nutrition.

Contribution of Fruits and Vegetables to the Household Food Security Situation of Rural Households in Limpopo

Food insecurity continues to be a burden for many South Africans. The production and consumption of fruits and vegetables have a potential role in improving household food security and are considered one of the critical pathways for reducing food insecurity and malnutrition levels in the country. This paper set out to determine the effect of fruits and vegetables on the food security status of rural households in the Limpopo province. Data (secondary) for this study were collected from 2043 respondents who were selected through stratified random selection based on the population size of the district municipalities in Limpopo. This study used a quantitative research approach, and data were analyzed using a descriptive analysis, the household food insecurity access scale (HFIAS), and a Poisson regression model with an endogenous treatment model. The findings revealed that gender and involvement in agricultural production had a positive significant relationship with the consumption of fruits and vegetables, while disability grants had a negative impact. Age, household size, and receiving a disability grant had a positive significant impact on determining the household food insecurity status; however, gender had a negative significant relationship. This study concluded that the consumption of fruits and vegetables considerably influenced the food security status of the household. There is a need for government officials and local leaders to provide food security interventions that prioritize women and elders. These may include promoting household production and consumption of diversified fruits and vegetables.

The Effect of Edible Mushroom on Health and Their Biochemistry

Edible mushrooms are fungi that can be seen with the naked eye and are relatively easy to gather by hand. This review article highlights the health benefit and the biochemistry of several mushroom species. Agaricus bisporus, Pleurotus species. Lentinus edodes, and Volvariella species are the most acceptable varieties among the cultivated mushroom. Various biochemical methods such as methanol, ethanol, and water extract of different parts of the edible mushroom in the laboratory have been applied to determine and/or quantify the presence and effectiveness of their chemical compounds, food value, and medicinal properties. They contain varying amounts of carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, minerals, terpenoids, phenolic compounds, steroids, and lectins and vitamins, as well as lowering cholesterol levels in the body. Due to the presence of those vital nutrients, mushrooms are the best food item with high nutritional value. These compounds have a wide range of therapeutic effects and can act as immunomodulatory, anticarcinogenic, antiviral, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory agents. Routine consumption of edible mushrooms would give adequate protection due to the presence of all the necessary nutrients from them. Therefore, edible mushrooms are herbal antibiotics to many diseases as well as various cancers of humans.

Deforestation reduces fruit and vegetable consumption in rural Tanzania

Two billion people across the planet suffer from nutrient deficiencies. Dietary diversification is key to solving this problem, yet many food and nutrition security policies, especially in low- and middle-income countries, still focus on increasing agricultural production and access to sufficient calories as the main solution. But calories are not all equal. Here, we show how deforestation in Tanzania caused a reduction in fruit and vegetable consumption (of 14 g per person per day) and thus vitamin A adequacy of diets. Using a combination of regression and weighting analyses to generate quasi-experimental quantitative estimates of the impacts of deforestation on people’s food intake, our study establishes a causal link between deforestation and people’s dietary quality.

Strategies to improve food and nutrition security continue to promote increasing food via agricultural intensification. Little (if any) consideration is given to the role of natural landscapes such as forests in meeting nutrition goals, despite a growing body of literature that shows that having access to these landscapes can improve people’s diets, particularly in rural areas of low- and middle-income countries. In this study, we tested whether deforestation over a 5-y period (2008–2013) affected people’s dietary quality in rural Tanzania using a modeling approach that combined two-way fixed-effects regression analysis with covariate balancing generalized propensity score (CBGPS) weighting which allowed for causal inferences to be made. We found that, over the 5 y, deforestation caused a reduction in household fruit and vegetable consumption and thus vitamin A adequacy of diets. The average household member experienced a reduction in fruit and vegetable consumption of 14 g⋅d⁻¹, which represented a substantial proportion (11%) of average daily intake. Conversely, we found that forest fragmentation over the survey period led to an increase in consumption of these foods and dietary vitamin A adequacy. This study finds a causal link between deforestation and people’s dietary quality, and the results have important implications for policy makers given that forests are largely overlooked in strategies to improve nutrition, but offer potential “win–wins” in terms of meeting nutrition goals as well as conservation and environmental goals.

Gender and Generational Differences in Local Knowledge and Preference for Food Trees in Central Uganda and Eastern Kenya

Food trees contribute substantially to the food and nutrition security of millions of rural households in Africa. Farming communities prioritize tree and shrub species on farms based on a combination of factors, including their knowledge of potential uses the species' economic potential and a range of constraints and opportunities that each farmer faces depending on their position within the community and the household, in cultivating, harvesting and processing tree products. Gender and age are strong determinants of such constraints and opportunities as well as ecological knowledge and use of tree resources. This study contributes to the understanding of gender and generational preferences for food tree species that determine their use, and which contribute to food and nutrition security in Central Uganda and Eastern Kenya. Sixteen gender and age segregated focus group discussions were conducted to assess food tree species preferences. A total of 61 food tree species were listed −46 in Uganda (including 16 indigenous species) and 44 in Kenya (21 indigenous species). Results showed knowledge on food tree species differed by gender and age, with differences across gender lines found more prevalently in Uganda, and across generational lines in Kenya. Age-related differences in knowledge and preferences were clear with regard to indigenous species, whereby older women and men were found to have the most knowledge in both countries. Among key challenges for food tree cultivation, farming households mentioned knowledge of tree management, the lack of planting materials, especially for improved varieties, prolonged droughts and scarcity of land. Some of these constraints were gendered and generational, with women mostly mentioning lack of knowledge about planting and management as well as cultural restrictions, such as only having access to land when married; whereas younger men indicated management challenges such as pests, limited markets, as well as scarcity and limited ownership of land. Overall findings suggest that consulting user preferences for food tree species and constraints experienced by gender and age group could be important in the design of interventions which involve a diversity of food trees.

Study Progress of Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (IAHS): A Literature Analysis

Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (IAHS), as a new type of heritage, has received extensive attention from the international scientific communities. With the increase of IAHS research, reviews on it have been conducted by many scholars. However, visualized research to show future research trends of IAHS are lacking. Therefore, using metrology analysis methods, this study aims at presenting the progress of research and the general development trends of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) in the world from 2006 to 2020 to provide ideas for the development of countries or regions in the future. This study mapped 292 literatures from Web of Science core collections from 2006 to 2020 by CiteSpace software. The results show that research on IAHS from 2006 to 2020 experienced two stages: the fluctuating increase stage, and the steady growth stage. Author groups from China, Italy, the USA, Japan, etc., contributed many papers on IAHS. Institutions including the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the University of Florence and the University of Padua in Italy, etc., have a relatively high influence on international IAHS research. Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment is the most cited journal. Agricultural Heritage Systems, regeneration, agriculture, agroforestry, dry-stone wall, social capital, instability, and agricultural biodiversity have been hotspots in the past 15 years. The research themes mainly focus on GIAHS, tourism, livelihood assets, and direct georeferencing. Authors in different regions concern different research themes. In the future, the fields of applications and microscopic views, social sciences, applications of standardized quantitative research methods, and broadened international cooperation should be paid more attention.

Sustainable Agri-Food Systems: Environment, Economy, Society, and Policy

Agri-food systems (AFS) have been central in the debate on sustainable development. Despite this growing interest in AFS, comprehensive analyses of the scholarly literature are hard to find. Therefore, the present systematic review delineated the contours of this growing research strand and analyzed how it relates to sustainability. A search performed on the Web of Science in January 2020 yielded 1389 documents, and 1289 were selected and underwent bibliometric and topical analyses. The topical analysis was informed by the SAFA (Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture systems) approach of FAO and structured along four dimensions viz. environment, economy, society and culture, and policy and governance. The review shows an increasing interest in AFS with an exponential increase in publications number. However, the study field is north-biased and dominated by researchers and organizations from developed countries. Moreover, the analysis suggests that while environmental aspects are sufficiently addressed, social, economic, and political ones are generally overlooked. The paper ends by providing directions for future research and listing some topics to be integrated into a comprehensive, multidisciplinary agenda addressing the multifaceted (un)sustainability of AFS. It makes the case for adopting a holistic, 4-P (planet, people, profit, policy) approach in agri-food system studies.

Collection of Non-Timber Forest Products in Chinese Giant Panda Reserves: The Effect of Religious Beliefs

Religious belief play an irreplaceable role in the protection of natural resources. This paper explores the influence of religious beliefs on the Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) collection behaviors of farmers, in order to provide new ideas on how to rationally use natural resources for nature reserves. Based on survey data of giant panda reserves in Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces in China, we analyze the differences of NTFPs collection between farmers with or without religious beliefs and those with different religious beliefs. Our results show that: (i) The SUR-Probit method can be used to overcome the endogeneity problem of the model and test the causal effect between religious belief and NTFPs collection; (ii) farmers with religious beliefs collect NTFPs to a lesser extent; and (iii) the collection of NTFPs by farmers with different religious beliefs can be distinguished. The important role of religious belief in the use of natural resources has often been neglected in previous studies. In our research, we find that religious belief can indeed guide the individual choice of resource utilization behavior, to a certain extent, ultimately achieving the mutual co-ordination of ecological protection and economic development, which can also be used as a reference for policy-making.

Evaluation of Factors Influencing the Inclusion of Indigenous Plants for Food Security among Rural Households in the North West Province of South Africa

Underutilised indigenous plants can support and strengthen the existing food system, as they are considered as socio-economically and environmentally appropriate. These plants generally adapt to marginal conditions, which is essential for a resilient agriculture and sustainable food systems. The current study relied on food security and indigenous plants data collected from some selected rural households from the North West Province of South Africa. The utilised data were collected through a multi-stage sampling technique with the aid of a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire, while descriptive methods Foster–Greer–Thorbecke (FGT) and binary logistic regression were used for data analysis. The models produced a good fit for the data, and the computed F-value was statistically significant (p < 0.01). The study examined socio-economic and food security status based on the knowledge and the perception of indigenous plants by the households. The incidence of food insecurity (θ0) was 0.4060, indicating that 40.6% of the participants were food insecure while 59.4% were food secured. Binary logistic regression results indicate that factors such as age, gender, educational attainment, inclusion of indigenous plants in diet, food expenditure, and access in the study area impacted results. It was also evident that the participants had considerable knowledge of indigenous plants. However, these indigenous plants were not cultivated or included in the diet by the majority of the participants. The formulation of appropriate holistic policies that support the incorporation of the indigenous plants into the food system is recommended.

Food Profiles of Indigenous Households in Brazil: Results of the First National Survey of Indigenous Peoples' Health and Nutrition

The objective of the present study was to characterize the food profiles in Indigenous households participating in the First National Survey of Indigenous People's Health and Nutrition in Brazil. Multiple correspondence analysis was used to estimate distances between regions and foods from three sources (local Indigenous production, purchased, and external donation), in addition to "not consumed." The combined distribution of the first two dimensions revealed three distinct profiles of food acquisition. Observed proximities between geopolitical regions and distinct modes of food acquisition speak to regional contrasts in food sovereignty among the Indigenous population that are closely linked to historical occupation and economic expansion in the country. Considering the concept of food sovereignty as involving rights to dietary autonomy, healthy diets, and resource management, our data suggest Brazil's North region is the closest of the four regions analyzed to these goals. Food sovereignty in the Northeast and South/Southeast regions is reduced due to greater monetarization and proximity to market economy resources. The advance of agribusiness in the Amazon has been a hallmark of the Brazilian government's current environmental policy, directly threatening the survival of Indigenous peoples living in that region.

Changes in food access by mestizo communities associated with deforestation and agrobiodiversity loss in Ucayali, Peruvian Amazon

Few longitudinal studies link agricultural biodiversity, land use and food access in rural landscapes. In this paper, we test the hypothesis that, in a context of economic change, cash crop expansion is associated with deforestation, reduced agrobiodiversity and changes in food access. For this purpose, we analysed data collected from the same 53 upland and floodplain mestizo households in Ucayali, Peru, in 2000 and 2015. We found an emerging transition towards less diversified food access coupled with loss of forest cover and reduced agricultural biodiversity. In 2015, diets appeared to rely on fewer food groups, fewer food items, and on products increasingly purchased in the market compared to 2000. Wild fruits and plants were mentioned, but rarely consumed. Agricultural production systems became more specialised with a shift towards commercial crops. Peak deforestation years in the 15-year period appeared linked with incentives for agricultural expansion. Our results suggest an overall trend from diversified productive and “extractive” systems and more diverse food access, towards specialized productive systems, with less diverse food access and stronger market orientation (both in production and consumption). The assumption in the food and agricultural sciences that increased income and market-orientation is linked to improved food security, is challenged by our integrated analyses of food access, agrobiodiversity, land use and forest cover. Our results highlight the importance of longitudinal, multidimensional, systemic analyses, with major implications for land use, food and health policies. The potential risks of parallel homogenisation of diets and agricultural production systems require interdisciplinary research and policies that promote integrated landscape approaches for sustainable and inclusive food systems.

Drivers and Frequency of Forest Visits: Results of a National Survey in the Czech Republic

The general objective of the study was to assess the main drivers for visiting the forest and the frequency of the visits in the Czech Republic. A nationwide collection of data of the sociological research as part of The Market & Media & Lifestyle Research Project was carried out every year in the Czech Republic under the licensed cooperation with Kantar Media. The project is unique by the large scope of the questions in the questionnaires and by the high number of respondents. A total of 8794 Czech inhabitants aged 12 years and above from all the regions were involved in the survey in 2018. Information about the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of all the respondents were obtained. In the closed questions, the respondents reported the frequency of the forest visits and its drivers. The main driver for visiting the forest was just to go for a walk or just to enjoy the outdoors, especially during their holidays or weekends, amounting to 79% of the inhabitants. Meditation and relaxation as well as sport in the forest, were also considered as important motives for forest recreation. On the contrary, 95% of the visitors did not practice game hunting, although game has a long tradition in the Czech Republic. Improvement on managing the forest for recreation should focus on participatory forest management to find a consensus between the public and forest stakeholders. Common decisions may help set up forest recreational goals with positive impacts on forest ecosystem services.

Deforestation and Household- and Individual-Level Double Burden of Malnutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa

Introduction

Although forests and forest-based ecosystems have been shown to influence health and sustainable diets, there is limited evidence on how deforestation affects the current nutrition transition and the double burden of malnutrition. We examined the relationship between deforestation and the individual- and household-level double burden of malnutrition in 15 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Materials and methods

We combined data from geolocated Demographic and Health Surveys and the Global Forest Change dataset. We defined household-level double burden of malnutrition as the co-occurrence of an overweight woman of childbearing age (WCBA) and a stunted pre-school child (PSC) within the same household. We defined individual-level double burden in two ways: 1) as the co-occurrence of overweight and anemia within an individual WCBA, and 2) as the co-occurrence of overweight and stunting within a PSC. We used logistic regression analysis to examine the association between forest cover loss and these three measures after adjusting for potential confounders. We also assessed the mechanisms linking forest cover loss and nutritional status, such as livestock ownership and access to clean water.

Results

In our sample, the prevalence rates of the three measures of the double burden were: overweight and anemic WCBA: 8.4%, overweight WCBA and stunted PSC: 6.9%, overweight and stunted PSC: 2.7%. After adjusting for the confounders as well as country fixed effects and the month of the survey, forest cover loss was marginally associated with a higher odds of an overweight WCBA and stunted PSC (odds ratio (95% CI): 4.80 (0.82, 28.25)). We found no association between forest cover loss and odds of an overweight and stunted PSC (odds ratio (95% CI): 2.47 (0.80, 7.60)) or the odds of an anemic and overweight WCBA (odds ratio (95% CI): 0.71 (0.15, 3.32)).

Discussion

Deforestation does not seem to be an important driver of the double burden of malnutrition in SSA. However, deforestation influences several intermediate factors which, in turn, may influence the double burden. The overall weak association between forest cover loss and double burden measures mask significant heterogeneity across regions within SSA. Future research should unpack the mechanisms behind these regional differences.

Local traditional foods contribute to diversity and species richness of rural women's diet in Ecuador

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the dietary diversity and the nutrient contribution of traditional foods (locally cultivated and wild) by conducting a food intake study in rural Ecuador.

DESIGN

Repeated 24 h recalls over a 14 d interval and frequency of consumption served to simulate the usual diet by the Multiple Source Method. Data on missing visits (n 11) were imputed using multivariate imputation by chained equations. The intakes of three macro- and six micronutrients were reported. Nutrient Adequacy Ratios, Mean Adequacy Ratio (MAR), Dietary Species Richness (DSR) and Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women were used as measures of dietary quality. A linear quantile mixed model was used to investigate the association between DSR, local species, MAR, age, education and occupation.

SETTING

Guasaganda, Cotopaxi (Ecuador).

PARTICIPANTS

Rural, indigenous adult women, non-pregnant and not breast-feeding.

RESULTS

The studied diet had MAR of 0·78. Consumption of traditional foods contributed 38·6 % of total energy intake. Daily requirements for protein, carbohydrates, Fe and vitamin C were reached. An extra level of consumption of local species was associated with an increase in median MAR for macronutrients of 0·033 (P < 0·001). On the other hand, an extra level of consumption of local species was associated with an increase in median MAR for micronutrients of 0·052 (P < 0·001).

CONCLUSIONS

We found statistical evidence that traditional foods contribute to adequate intakes of macro- and micronutrients and dietary diversification in the studied population. Future public health interventions should promote the cultivation and consumption of traditional foods to increase the quality of the local diet.

Changing gender roles and relations in food provisioning among matrilineal Khasi and patrilineal Chakhesang Indigenous rural People of North-East India

Women's position in society, gender roles, and gender division of labour affect household food security, dietary diversity, nutritional status, and well-being of all household members, especially children. Building on both primary and secondary data, this study explores gender roles and relations in food provisioning among the North-East India Indigenous matrilineal Khasi and patrilineal Chakhesang Peoples, amid societal transition. With the use of a combination of ethnographic and ethnobotanical research tools, a total number of 200 informants participated in 20 focus group discussions and 28 key informant interviews. The feminist political ecology framework was used to analyse the structural power relations influencing gender food-provisioning labour. Results show that both matrilineal and patrilineal women play equally crucial roles in agrobiodiversity management, subsistence agricultural production, and household food provisioning. However, customary laws shape different gender relations, women's status, and appreciation of women's work in the two societies. Gender roles appeared more flexible in the matrilineal society and more clearly defined in the patrilineal society, and gender relations more egalitarian among the Khasis while more hierarchical among the Chakhesangs. Household food-provisioning work and engagement in agricultural production did not seem to positively contribute to the social status of Chakhesang women, because these were expected as structural elements of the patriarchy. Current socio-cultural and economic changes in both Indigenous societies have altered the traditional food system, traditional livelihoods, and resource management practices, affecting women's role in household food provisioning and leading to the deterioration of women's status, influencing household dietary diversity, food, and nutritional security.

Impacts of forests on children's diet in rural areas across 27 developing countries

Micronutrient deficiency affects about a third of the world's population. Children in developing countries are particularly vulnerable. Consequences include impaired cognitive and physical development and increased childhood morbidity and mortality. Recent studies suggest that forests help alleviate micronutrient deficiency by increasing dietary diversity. However, evidence is mostly based on weakly designed local case studies of limited relevance to global policies. Furthermore, impacts of forests on diet vary among communities, and understanding this variation can help target actions to enhance impact. We compile data on children's diets in over 43,000 households across 27 developing countries to examine the impacts of forests on dietary diversity. We use empirical designs that are attentive to assumptions necessary for causal interpretations and that adequately account for confounding factors that could mask or mimic the impact. We find that high exposure to forests causes children to have at least 25% greater dietary diversity compared to lack of exposure, a result comparable to the impacts of some nutrition-sensitive agricultural programs. A closer look at a subset of African countries indicates that impacts are generally higher for less developed communities, but highest with certain access to markets, roads, and education. Our results also indicate that forests could help reduce vitamin A and iron deficiencies. Our study establishes the causal relationship between forests and diet and thus strengthens the evidence for integrating forest conservation and management into nutrition interventions. Our results also suggest that providing households some access to capital can increase the impact of forest-related interventions on nutrition.

Deforestation and child diet diversity: A geospatial analysis of 15 Sub-Saharan African countries

Deforestation worldwide could have important consequences for diet quality and human nutrition given the numerous ecosystem services that are provided by forests and biodiverse landscapes. Yet, empirical research assessing the links between deforestation and diets is lacking. In this study, we examined the association between deforestation and diet diversity among children using geolocated Demographic and Health Survey data for 33,777 children across 15 countries of sub-Saharan Africa coupled with remotely-sensed data on forest cover loss. Deforestation was negatively associated with diet diversity (regression coefficient (95% CI): - 0.47 (- 0.76, - 0.18)), as well as recent consumption of legumes and nuts, flesh foods, and fruits and vegetables among children aged 6 months to 24 months. Regionally, these trends were statistically significant only in the West Africa region. This hypothesis-generating research adds to the growing body of evidence that forests and forest-based ecosystems are associated with diet quality and nutrition and provides support for future studies that examine mechanisms linking forest loss and human nutrition.

Spatially explicit multi-threat assessment of food tree species in Burkina Faso: A fine-scale approach

Over the last decades agroforestry parklands in Burkina Faso have come under increasing demographic as well as climatic pressures, which are threatening indigenous tree species that contribute substantially to income generation and nutrition in rural households. Analyzing the threats as well as the species vulnerability to them is fundamental for priority setting in conservation planning. Guided by literature and local experts we selected 16 important food tree species (Acacia macrostachya, Acacia senegal, Adansonia digitata, Annona senegalensis, Balanites aegyptiaca, Bombax costatum, Boscia senegalensis, Detarium microcarpum, Lannea microcarpa, Parkia biglobosa, Sclerocarya birrea, Strychnos spinosa, Tamarindus indica, Vitellaria paradoxa, Ximenia americana, Ziziphus mauritiana) and six key threats to them (overexploitation, overgrazing, fire, cotton production, mining and climate change). We developed a species-specific and spatially explicit approach combining freely accessible datasets, species distribution models (SDMs), climate models and expert survey results to predict, at fine scale, where these threats are likely to have the greatest impact. We find that all species face serious threats throughout much of their distribution in Burkina Faso and that climate change is predicted to be the most prevalent threat in the long term, whereas overexploitation and cotton production are the most important short-term threats. Tree populations growing in areas designated as 'highly threatened' due to climate change should be used as seed sources for ex situ conservation and planting in areas where future climate is predicting suitable habitats. Assisted regeneration is suggested for populations in areas where suitable habitat under future climate conditions coincides with high threat levels due to short-term threats. In the case of Vitellaria paradoxa, we suggest collecting seed along the northern margins of its distribution and considering assisted regeneration in the central part where the current threat level is high due to overexploitation. In the same way, population-specific recommendations can be derived from the individual and combined threat maps of the other 15 food tree species. The approach can be easily transferred to other countries and can be used to analyze general and species specific threats at finer and more local as well as at broader (continental) scales in order to plan more selective and efficient conservation actions in time. The concept can be applied anywhere as long as appropriate spatial data are available as well as knowledgeable experts.

Trends in wild food plants uses in Gorbeialdea (Basque Country)

Despite wild food plants' potential nutritional and economic value, their knowledge and consumption is quickly decreasing throughout the world. We examine how the consideration that a wild plant use is within the cultural tradition of a given area relates to its consumption by analysing 1) current perception and 2) past and present use of six wild plants' food-uses, of which only three are locally perceived as being part of the local tradition. Research was conducted in Gorbeialdea, an area in the Basque Country with a clearly marked Basque identity opposed to the Spanish identity. Overall, there is a clear decrease in the knowledge and consumption of the selected uses and especially of the three uses acquired from local sources (i.e., the consumption of the raw leaves of Fagus sylvatica and Rumex acetosa and of the fruits of Pyrus cordata). The trend is likely driven by the disappearance of the traditional agrarian lifestyle. Among the uses not acquired from local sources, the use recently adopted from another Basque-speaking area (i.e., macerating the fruits of Prunus spinosa to elaborate a liqueur) is now considered part of the local tradition by young generations, whereas the use acquired from southern Spanish migrants (i.e., using Laurus nobilis leaves as condiments) is not. While lifestyle changes largely explain overall trends in wild edibles consumption, other cultural aspects -in our case study the stigmatization of a given source of information associated to cultural identity- might help shape which new uses of wild plants become embedded in local traditions.

A New Age for Quercus spp. Fruits: Review on Nutritional and Phytochemical Composition and Related Biological Activities of Acorns

The current global food system must adapt to the expected growth of world population (about 9 billion individuals by 2050). This adaptation will probably include an increased consumption of edible wild foods, due to their richness in micronutrients and bioactive compounds, besides providing a cost-effective and sustainable way of improving caloric food security. A striking example of such natural matrices is the Quercus genus, which has the additional advantage of being widespread throughout the Northern Hemisphere. In a traditional sense, Quercus fruits (acorns) were mainly used in animal feeding, despite their potentially important role on the rural economy. But this preconception is changing. In fact, their nutritional value, high contents in phytochemical compounds, biological activity (such as antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, and cardioprotective properties) and use in the treatment of specific diseases (such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, or Alzheimer's disease) have raised the interest in integrating acorns into the human diet. Accordingly, this comprehensive overview was designed to provide an evidence-based review of the literature, with the objective to achieve useful conclusions regarding the nutritional properties, methodologies of extraction, identification, and characterization of a wide variety of bioactive compounds and scientifically validated bioactivities in Quercus species worldwide. The industrial by-products from acorn oil extraction or flour production are also included. Data regarding the analytical techniques, individual compounds, and their bioactivities, are organized in tables. The reported data are discussed and directions for further investigations are suggested, highlighting the use of acorns in food, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical applications.

Forests, Trees, and Micronutrient-Rich Food Consumption in Indonesia

Micronutrient deficiency remains a serious problem in Indonesia with approximately 100 million people, or 40% of the population, suffering from one or more micronutrient deficiencies. In rural areas with poor market access, forests and trees may provide an essential source of nutritious food. This is especially important to understand at a time when forests and other tree-based systems in Indonesia are being lost at unprecedented rates. We use food consumption data from the 2003 Indonesia Demographic Health Survey for children between the ages of one and five years and data on vegetation cover from the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry to examine whether there is a relationship between different tree-dominated land classes and consumption of micronutrient-rich foods across the archipelago. We run our models on the aggregate sample which includes over 3000 observations from 25 provinces across Indonesia as well as on sub-samples from different provinces chosen to represent the different land classes. The results show that different tree-dominated land classes were associated with the dietary quality of people living within them in the provinces where they were dominant. Areas of swidden/agroforestry, natural forest, timber and agricultural tree crop plantations were all associated with more frequent consumption of food groups rich in micronutrients in the areas where these were important land classes. The swidden/agroforestry land class was the landscape associated with more frequent consumption of the largest number of micronutrient rich food groups. Further research needs to be done to establish what the mechanisms are that underlie these associations. Swidden cultivation in is often viewed as a backward practice that is an impediment to food security in Indonesia and destructive of the environment. If further research corroborates that swidden farming actually results in better nutrition than the practices that replace it, Indonesian policy makers may need to reconsider their views on this land use.

Barriers to Eating Traditional Foods Vary by Age Group in Ecuador With Biodiversity Loss as a Key Issue

OBJECTIVE

To document the perceptions of indigenous peoples for the sustainable management of natural resources against malnutrition.

DESIGN

Initially 4 and then 12 interviews were conducted with 4 different age groups.

SETTING

Eight rural villages in Guasaganda, central Ecuador, were studied in 2011-2012.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 75 people (22 children, 18 adolescents, 20 adults, and 15 elders).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Benefits, severity, susceptibility, barriers, cues to action, and self-efficacy of eating traditional foods.

ANALYSIS

Qualitative content analysis was completed using NVivo software. Initial analysis was inductive, followed by a content analysis directed by the Health Belief Model. Coding was completed independently by 2 researchers and kappa statistics (κ ≥ 0.65) were used to evaluate agreement.

RESULTS

Healthy perceptions toward traditional foods existed and differed by age. Local young people ate traditional foods for their health benefits and good taste; adults cultivated traditional foods that had an economic benefit. Traditional knowledge used for consumption and cultivation of traditional foods was present but needs to be disseminated.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Nutrition education in schools is needed that supports traditional knowledge in younger groups and prevents dietary changes toward unhealthy eating. Increased production of traditional food is needed to address current economic realities.