Country foods development initiative in the Arctic: a resource sustainability and value-added processing strategy for Aboriginal people

• Main Authors: Renecker, Lyle A., author, International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, publisher
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Colorado State University. Libraries 2017
• Subjects: Arctic; inuit
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10217/180936; https://doi.org/10.25675/10217/180936

Presented at the 9th international wildlife ranching symposium: wildlife - the key to prosperity for rural communities, held on 12-16 September 2016 at Hotel Safari & the Safari Court, Windhoek, Namibia. Food insecurity in northern aboriginal communities has been identified. The WHO defines food security when all people have access to good food to maintain life. An Inuit Health survey in 2007-08 has shown that about 68-69% of preschool children lived in food insecure homes. In order to achieve a level of food security where people have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food is a problem circumpolar. Most often, food insecurity results from a lack of access to food rather than one of availability. Quality, acceptability (in terms of traditions and culture), and long-term stability are also considered important aspects of food security. Natural food resources are an important cultural aspect of life for circumpolar aboriginal communities. An abundance of fish, sea mammals, birds, and berries exist for sustainable harvest, however, residents often lack the tools and training to turn these resources into hygienic, nutritious food products for community nutrition and markets. However, through value-added processing an even wider product spectrum can be manufactured in regional communities. At the same time, residents do not have the skills - both hard and soft - to operate such facilities in northern settings to meet the taste requirements of their palates. Initiatives have been implemented in the Arctic north to assist Inuit to become more food secure using country foods. Resource development in the north generally involves harvest of raw material for individual households or village use. There is minimal amount of extra value applied to material through further processing and packaging because such facilities and trained personnel are lacking. In order to maintain healthy and sustainable fish and wildlife stocks, there is a need to harvest sufficient numbers of a species ...