Sustainable Food Systems and Security

Indigenous Knowledge—An Essential Ingredient in the Sustainable Food Movement

Nat Quathamer
SFSS 6110 - Environment and Food Systems (Instructor: Michael Bomford)
December 2024

Abstract

Creating a sustainable food system is one of the most pressing requirements for a livable future. The current model values production over the well-being of people and the planet, which has countless negative impacts. Leading with Indigenous food systems knowledge that protects nature rather than exploiting it is crucial for returning to a sustainable food system; however, this way of being is often devalued in policy, practice, and literature. This paper explores three recommendations—Indigenous Self Determination, Documenting, Sharing, and Preserving Indigenous Food Systems Knowledge, and Adopting a Two-Eyed Seeing Approach—to return Indigenous solutions to the driver’s seat in the race to an ecologically sound food system that benefits all.

Author Positionality Statement

I would like to recognize that I am writing this paper as a White, middle-class, Canadian-born settler of Irish and Ukrainian descent living uninvited on Inuit territory in Nunavut. As a dietitian from a settler background, I understand that the disciplines in which I have trained have significant histories and current practices that uphold colonialism. All the knowledge herein has been gratefully shared with me but comes to me through unearned privilege. While I am committed to equity and inclusion, I have much to learn, unlearn, and relearn.

Introduction

The modern food system is at a critical point. Currently, productivity is favoured over people and the planet, a vestige of the Green Revolution which sought to meet the demands of a growing population through intensive agriculture (Pingali, 2012). Monocropping, high-yielding varietals, and extreme pesticide and fertilizer use helped increase food production but simultaneously pushed the planet beyond the breaking point (Campbell et al., 2017). Lands that once stored carbon became the croplands that released it; local biodiversity was destroyed in the name of corn, wheat, soy, and animal products; and biogeochemical pathways were disrupted as industrial nitrogen and phosphorous flood the ecosystem through fertilizer overuse (Rockström et al., 2020).

Modern agriculture also creates a potentially dangerous environment for its workers. Food producers and labourers risk health issues associated with chemical exposure, a high rate of injuries, poor mental health, and, in the case of foreign farm workers, a denial of basic human rights (Frank et al., 2004; Jones-Bitton et al., 2019; United Nations General Assembly, 2024). Animals involved in factory farming practices that focus on getting the most product possible for the lowest price have an abysmal standard of living in overcrowded pens, increasing the threat of zoonotic epidemics and antibiotic resistance (Anomaly, 2014). Not only does the current food system fail those directly involved, but it also fails those it claims to serve. Diet-related disease is at an all-time high, profits for food corporations remain elevated, and even in wealthy countries like Canada at least one in four citizens cannot fully meet their basic need for food (GBD 2017 Diet Collaborators, 2019; Stanford, 2024; PROOF, 2024). This hardship does not come cheap–the food system is associated with trillions of dollars in hidden costs each year to the environment, health, and society (Lord, 2023).

With the global food system in crisis, it is no wonder the movement to return to sustainable methods of feeding the planet has emerged. As was made clear by the Green Revolution, there is no silver bullet to transforming the food system and many approaches are needed to meet food needs while returning to a safe operating zone for the planet. One promising approach, that moves away from centuries of so-called modernization that promote production and profit over all else, is “re-Indigenizing” the food system. This approach reaffirms that Indigenous peoples across the globe have been feeding their people in sustainable and regenerative ways since time immemorial, or as the FAO (2021) puts it, “from reindeer herding to gathering wild plants and berries, Indigenous Peoples generate and collect food in complex, holistic and resilient ways whilst always respecting the need to preserve the biological diversity that generates and maintains harmony in nature.”

Traditional Indigenous diets tend to be highly varied and rich in essential nutrients, focusing on whole foods for which each edible part is utilized, ultimately reducing waste and supporting local biodiversity (Ghosh et al., 2023). In an Indigenous worldview, humans are not held in a dominant role of nature but rather part of it, meaning the food system must serve all equally (Berkes, 2010). Unlike other local food movements which often grow out of season and contribute significantly to climate change through land use change and on-farm emissions (Ritchie & Roser, 2024), Indigenous food production and gathering is deeply seasonal and works with nature to disturb the land as little as possible (FAO, 2021a). An Indigenous approach to food doesn’t just nourish the physical body and get it moving; it has mental, emotional, and spiritual health deeply woven in, making it a comprehensive approach to well-being for all living and non-living things. This holistic approach to food systems is crucial to a sustainable and just collective food future; below are concrete entry points to return Indigenous ways of knowing and being to the forefront of the fight.

Recommendations

Indigenous Self-Determination

The process of colonization has and continues to forcibly disconnect Indigenous people from culture, land, knowledge, and self-governance (Figueroa-Helland et al., 2018). For the true strength of Indigenous food systems as a force for environmental good to be realized, Indigenous people must be returned autonomy to decide what happens to their lands, air and water, their people, and their food systems. Solutions towards a sustainable food movement must be specific to place and community-driven—just because a Dene approach works in Somba K'e (Yellowknife), Canada does not mean it will work for the Zapotec in Oaxaca, Mexico and vice-versa.

One prominent example of Indigenous self-determination in their food system is the creation of Nunavut through the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. This agreement with Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. and the Federal Government of Canada ensures the legal rights of Inuit to harvest how they see fit. The agreement further states that wildlife must also be managed effectively but in a way that “complements Inuit harvesting rights and priorities, and recognizes Inuit systems of wildlife management that contribute to the conservation of wildlife and protection of wildlife habitat” (Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, 2018). This not only recognizes but puts into law that Inuit have the knowledge and skills to conserve their wildlife populations, decide how that wildlife is harvested and distributed, and ultimately maintain a sustainable traditional food system.

Documenting, Sharing, and Preserving Indigenous Food Systems Knowledge

Indigenous knowledge is essential to shifting towards a more sustainable food system, which is needed more urgently than ever. Unfortunately, many barriers exist in bringing said knowledge to the forefront of policy and practice. These include the tradition of sharing knowledge orally, the erasure of Indigenous languages, and the historical and often current practice of researchers collecting knowledge and data with no plan to return the benefits to the people they are studying (Vijayan et al., 2022).

Indigenous food knowledge must therefore be documented for, and ideally by, Indigenous peoples through a prior informed consent process, where all participants share willingly, can revoke consent at any time, and understand how any knowledge shared will be used (FAO, 2016). All knowledge and data collected must be returned to the community in accessible formats with the resources needed to preserve it, and in all the languages of that community. This way, knowledge is returned to the people remembering, recreating, and reinventing traditional sustainable food systems. It is also available to settlers interested in developing more sustainable food practices and policies that align with the local natural systems. Documenting this knowledge will be especially important as local environments shift under climate change; for example, Haudenosaunee plant-rearing knowledge from Kahnawake may become more applicable in Northern communities like Somba K'e as it warms and more land becomes amenable to farming (GROW Yellowknife, 2019).

This type of decolonized documentation is happening across the globe through initiatives like Niqivut Silalu Asijjipalliajuq (Our Food in Climate Change). This project collects and shares Inuit knowledge about food systems to support climate change adaptation in the North in a way that values all forms of knowledge, has Inuit-defined research questions and methodologies, and shares the knowledge through trusted local Inuit community health workers (Caughey et al., 2022). Communities are already benefiting from resources from this program that share knowledge of country food preparation in accessible formats like video (IFSNu Inuit Foods, 2023).

Adopting a Two-Eyed Seeing Approach

Many Indigenous and settler scholars and knowledge holders agree that the best way forward to building sustainable food systems is together, through bridging Traditional and Western paradigms. This approach, coined by Mi’kmaw Elder Albert Marshall as Two-Eyed Seeing, embraces the synergism between different ways of knowing and being to get the best from both worlds (Institute for Integrative Science and Health, n.d.). For example, seed engineering for drought or flood resistance may be used on native seeds, with consent from local Indigenous communities, in areas experiencing significant climate change so the traditional food culture can continue. Various technologies could also support knowledge sharing and translation. Youths interested in local foodways could learn through traditional land-based learning and virtual recreations when the land or leadership is inaccessible or participants are outside their traditional territory (Bujold et al., 2021).

Two-Eyed Seeing is as useful in knowledge sharing as it is for policy work. A recent example is the Northwest Territories’ country food policy, which encompasses plants and animals harvested in the wild. By bringing traditional knowledge about country food—that it supports environmental and human health, food security, and culture—into a Western policy framework, the territory supports harvesters, makes country food more available, and reimagines a sustainable food system in the modern-day (MacRitchie, 2018 and NWT, 2019).

Conclusion

As the global demand for food continues to rise (van Dijk et al., 2021), approaches focusing on production over the planet like the Green Revolution can seem like the only option. However, creating more cropland and pasture to grow more food is unnecessary—enough food is produced today to feed over 10 billion people yet much is wasted due to inefficiencies in the system (Holt-Giménez et al., 2012).

The alternative is creating a sustainable, regenerative food system that works with the natural world, rather than against it. To see this alternative come to light, Indigenous food system knowledge must be reaffirmed as an essential component. By applying the recommendations in this paper, growers, governments, and researchers can bring forth a food system that protects the environment and advances reconciliation. This approach does not just benefit settlers; the more the food system is re-Indigenized, the stronger Indigenous foodways will become, supporting Indigenous ways of knowing and being, culture, language, health, and beyond. As the FAO (2021) says, “the world cannot feed itself sustainably without listening to Indigenous Peoples.” It’s about time we started.

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