Impacts of decline harvest of country food on nutrient intake among Inuit in Arctic Canada: impact of climate change and possible adaptation plan
Background: The pervasive food insecurity and the diet transition away from local, nutrient-rich country foods present a public health challenge among Inuit living in the Canadian Arctic. While environmental factors such as climate change decreased the accessibility and availability of many country...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:35c07a89bf3544eeb32301043ec7de1e 2023-05-15T14:52:59+02:00 Impacts of decline harvest of country food on nutrient intake among Inuit in Arctic Canada: impact of climate change and possible adaptation plan Renata Rosol Stephanie Powell-Hellyer Hing Man Chan 2016-07-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3402/ijch.v75.31127 https://doaj.org/article/35c07a89bf3544eeb32301043ec7de1e EN eng Taylor & Francis Group http://www.circumpolarhealthjournal.net/index.php/ijch/article/view/31127/pdf_70 https://doaj.org/toc/2242-3982 2242-3982 doi:10.3402/ijch.v75.31127 https://doaj.org/article/35c07a89bf3544eeb32301043ec7de1e International Journal of Circumpolar Health, Vol 75, Iss 0, Pp 1-8 (2016) Inuit Health Survey climate change country food food security diet composition nutrients Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 article 2016 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3402/ijch.v75.31127 2022-12-31T16:25:32Z Background: The pervasive food insecurity and the diet transition away from local, nutrient-rich country foods present a public health challenge among Inuit living in the Canadian Arctic. While environmental factors such as climate change decreased the accessibility and availability of many country food species, new species were introduced into regions where they were previously unavailable. An adaptation such as turning to alternate country food species can be a viable solution to substitute for the nutrients provided by the declined food species. The objective of this study was to estimate the impact on nutrient intake using hypothetical scenarios that current commonly harvested country foods were reduced by 50%, and were replaced with alternate or new species. Methods: Data collected during the 2007–2008 Inuit Health Survey from 36 Canadian Arctic communities spanning Nunavut, the Inuvialuit Settlement Region and Nunatsiavut were used. Results: A 50% decline in consumption of fish, whale, ringed seals and birds (the food that was reported to be in decline) resulted in a significant decrease in essential nutrient intake. Possible substitute foods were identified but some nutrients such as zinc and especially vitamin D were most often found lacking in the alternative diet. Conclusions: If the alternative species are not available or feasible, more expensive and less nutritionally dense store-bought foods may be sought. Given the superior quality of country foods and their association with food security, and Inuit cultural health and personal identity, developing skills and awareness for adaptation, promoting regional sharing networks, forming a co-management agency and continuing nutritional monitoring may potentially preserve the nutritional integrity of Inuit diet, and in turn their health and cultural survival. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Circumpolar Health Climate change International Journal of Circumpolar Health inuit Inuvialuit Nunavut Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Nunavut Canada International Journal of Circumpolar Health 75 1 31127 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Inuit Health Survey climate change country food food security diet composition nutrients Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 |
spellingShingle |
Inuit Health Survey climate change country food food security diet composition nutrients Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Renata Rosol Stephanie Powell-Hellyer Hing Man Chan Impacts of decline harvest of country food on nutrient intake among Inuit in Arctic Canada: impact of climate change and possible adaptation plan |
topic_facet |
Inuit Health Survey climate change country food food security diet composition nutrients Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 |
description |
Background: The pervasive food insecurity and the diet transition away from local, nutrient-rich country foods present a public health challenge among Inuit living in the Canadian Arctic. While environmental factors such as climate change decreased the accessibility and availability of many country food species, new species were introduced into regions where they were previously unavailable. An adaptation such as turning to alternate country food species can be a viable solution to substitute for the nutrients provided by the declined food species. The objective of this study was to estimate the impact on nutrient intake using hypothetical scenarios that current commonly harvested country foods were reduced by 50%, and were replaced with alternate or new species. Methods: Data collected during the 2007–2008 Inuit Health Survey from 36 Canadian Arctic communities spanning Nunavut, the Inuvialuit Settlement Region and Nunatsiavut were used. Results: A 50% decline in consumption of fish, whale, ringed seals and birds (the food that was reported to be in decline) resulted in a significant decrease in essential nutrient intake. Possible substitute foods were identified but some nutrients such as zinc and especially vitamin D were most often found lacking in the alternative diet. Conclusions: If the alternative species are not available or feasible, more expensive and less nutritionally dense store-bought foods may be sought. Given the superior quality of country foods and their association with food security, and Inuit cultural health and personal identity, developing skills and awareness for adaptation, promoting regional sharing networks, forming a co-management agency and continuing nutritional monitoring may potentially preserve the nutritional integrity of Inuit diet, and in turn their health and cultural survival. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Renata Rosol Stephanie Powell-Hellyer Hing Man Chan |
author_facet |
Renata Rosol Stephanie Powell-Hellyer Hing Man Chan |
author_sort |
Renata Rosol |
title |
Impacts of decline harvest of country food on nutrient intake among Inuit in Arctic Canada: impact of climate change and possible adaptation plan |
title_short |
Impacts of decline harvest of country food on nutrient intake among Inuit in Arctic Canada: impact of climate change and possible adaptation plan |
title_full |
Impacts of decline harvest of country food on nutrient intake among Inuit in Arctic Canada: impact of climate change and possible adaptation plan |
title_fullStr |
Impacts of decline harvest of country food on nutrient intake among Inuit in Arctic Canada: impact of climate change and possible adaptation plan |
title_full_unstemmed |
Impacts of decline harvest of country food on nutrient intake among Inuit in Arctic Canada: impact of climate change and possible adaptation plan |
title_sort |
impacts of decline harvest of country food on nutrient intake among inuit in arctic canada: impact of climate change and possible adaptation plan |
publisher |
Taylor & Francis Group |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3402/ijch.v75.31127 https://doaj.org/article/35c07a89bf3544eeb32301043ec7de1e |
geographic |
Arctic Nunavut Canada |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Nunavut Canada |
genre |
Arctic Circumpolar Health Climate change International Journal of Circumpolar Health inuit Inuvialuit Nunavut |
genre_facet |
Arctic Circumpolar Health Climate change International Journal of Circumpolar Health inuit Inuvialuit Nunavut |
op_source |
International Journal of Circumpolar Health, Vol 75, Iss 0, Pp 1-8 (2016) |
op_relation |
http://www.circumpolarhealthjournal.net/index.php/ijch/article/view/31127/pdf_70 https://doaj.org/toc/2242-3982 2242-3982 doi:10.3402/ijch.v75.31127 https://doaj.org/article/35c07a89bf3544eeb32301043ec7de1e |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3402/ijch.v75.31127 |
container_title |
International Journal of Circumpolar Health |
container_volume |
75 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
31127 |
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1766324396244336640 |