Food, Nutrition and Food Security in First Nations Communities

摘要

In the general Canadian population, household food insecurity is estimated at 9% and often cited as too high for a high-income country. In parallel, the First Nations Food, Nutrition and Environment Study (FNFNES), a 10-year study, investigated food security levels in 6487 households on 93 reserves across Canada south of the 60th parallel using the same tool in national Canadian surveys, the Household Food Security Survey Module (HFSSM) and found very high rates of food insecurity, ranging from a low of 29% in reserves in Ontario and a high of 47% in reserves in Alberta. These unacceptably high levels are associated with high levels of obesity (BMI ≥30) among adults (42%-52%) and equally high rates of self-reported diabetes (17-26%). Moreover, diets in all surveyed regions did not meet, on average, Health Canada's recommendations. In many First Nations communities, traditional food (TF), that is food harvested from the local environment, continues to hold a special cultural and spiritual importance, even if its consumption is low, relatively to food items purchased from the store. This low consumption can be explained by the many barriers reported by the survey participants (climate change, cost of equipment, lack of time, economic activities such as mining and agriculture, etc.). In addition, most participants reported desiring more TF in their diet, indicating another form of food insecurity associated with lack of access to TF. On the other hand, and despite the nutrition transition away from a traditional food system towards a diet dominated by store-bought foods, TF continues to contribute significantly to intakes of macronutrients and several micronutrients of concern in this population, highlighting its great nutritional importance. Preserving the quality of TF and ensuring access are of paramount importance if solutions to the worrying rates in food insecurity and chronic disease are to be found.