1. Food Security
James Ford & Sara Statham
ArcticNet Eastern Arctic Regional Science Meeting
Iqaluit, Nunavut
November 6, 2012

2. Outline
• Chapter team
• Draft chapter overview
• Why is this issue a concern?
• Who/what does this issue affect?
• What do we know/need to know?
• Examples of “research to action”
• Next steps

3. Chapter team
James Ford Sara Statham Laurie Chan
• Lead author • Lead author • Contributing author
• McGill University • McGill University • University of Ottawa
• Professor • Researcher • Professor
• Department of • Department of • Department of Biology
Geography Geography
• Food security and • Environmental and • Environmental toxicology
climate change socioeconomic and contaminants
determinants of food
security
• Also invited:
Brian Laird, Marlene Evans, Gary Stern, Michael Power, Lisa Loseto

4. Draft chapter overview
1. Defining food security
2. Importance of food security to health
3. Food security in Canada
4. Food insecurity in the Eastern Arctic
5. Research to date
6. The Inuit food system
7. The “nutrition transition”
8. Determinants of food security
9. What is being done to address food insecurity
10. Future research needs

5. 1. Defining food security
• “Food security exists when all people at all times, have
physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and
nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food
preferences for an active and healthy life.”
Food and Agriculture Organization,
United Nations (2003)
Endorsed by the Government of Canada

6. 1. Defining food security
Availability
Sufficient quantities
available consistently
Accessibility
Use Food Sufficient resources
Sufficient knowledge
to prepare food Security to obtain food
Quality
Sufficient nutritional
and cultural value
Food Security
World Health Organization (2007)

7. 2. Importance of food security
• Food security and health are closely linked
– Food insecure = compromised health status
• There are many health impacts of food insecurity
– Physical
– Psychological
– Social

8. 3. Food security in Canada
• UN Special Rapporteur visited Canada in May 2012
• Wanted to examine the way in which the Right to Food
is being realized in Canada
• “Canada has long been seen as a land of plenty,” yet
“rates of food insecurity are unacceptable”
Olivier De Shutter
• Particularly concerned for the severe food insecurity
faced by aboriginal peoples

9. 4. Food security in the Eastern Arctic
• 70% of preschoolers live in food
insecure homes
• 69% of adults have a very high
prevalence of food insecurity
– 6x higher than Canadian average
– Highest rate for any Aboriginal
population in a developed country
• Women, children, and the elderly
are most vulnerable

10. 5. Research to date
Food Security
Contaminants
•Anthropology •Dietetics Prevalence •Various
•Ethnography •Toxicology •Surveys •Various •Case studies
•Country foods •Laboratory studies •Country foods & •Questionnaires •Country foods (&
market foods market foods)
•Country foods •Country foods (&
market foods)
Nutrition Food Security
Food Sharing
Transition Determinants

11. 6. The Inuit food system
Country food Store food
Production Locally obtained from natural sources Distally obtained from industrial sources
(i.e. small-scale hunting, harvesting, (i.e. large-scale factories, facilities,
fishing, foraging) cultivating, irrigating)
Labour-intensive Capital-intensive
Processing Locally by hand Distally by machine
(i.e. skinning, cleaning, preparing) (i.e. slaughtering, grinding, packaging)
Distribution Small sharing networks (traditionally) Large transportation networks
Cash transactions between individual and Cash transactions between individual and
hunter/harvester (increasingly common) store
Preparation Often communally Often individually
Consumption Often communally Often individually
Times of reliance Economic stress Environmental stress

12. 7. The “nutrition transition”
• Nutrient-rich country foods • Nutrient-poor store foods

13. 8. Determinants of food insecurity
• Availability
Country Food Store Food
Environmental • Altered migration patterns of • Inclement weather causing flight
wildlife delays
• Varied distribution of wildlife • Changing sea ice dynamics
• Seasonal disparity in wildlife causing sea-lift delays
Socioeconomic • Growing populations putting • Stores ordering enough supply to
localized pressure on wildlife meet demand
• Lack of hunter in the • Lack of worker in the household
household • Presence of community food
programs (i.e. food bank, soup
kitchen)
• Presence of government food
programs (i.e. Breakfast Programs)

14. 8. Determinants of food insecurity
• Accessibility
Country Food Store Food
Environmental • Shorter sea ice season preventing • Isolation of communities
hunters from using the sea ice • Heavy reliance on external
• Longer open water season transportation networks
allowing hunters to boat • Extreme weather events
• Unpredictable weather patterns preventing people from
• More frequent storms leaving their homes
• Stronger and more variable winds
causing white-out conditions
Socioeconomic • Level of traditional knowledge • High cost of food
required to hunt/harvest wildlife • Insufficient financial resources
• Time needed to hunt/harvest required to purchase food
• High cost of hunting (i.e. • Inappropriate and insensitive
equipment, gas) policies/regulations
• Weakening of sharing networks • Weak social networks
• Gambling/substance • Gambling/substance
abuse/addiction abuse/addiction

15. 8. Determinants of food insecurity
• Quality
Country Food Store Food
Environmental • Contaminants affecting health of • Flight delays causing spoilage
wildlife
• Freeze-thaw cycles preventing
animals from adequately
foraging
Socioeconomic • Traditional knowledge required • Nutritional knowledge required
to harvest the healthiest animals to make healthy food choices
• Language barriers (i.e. English
food labels hinder unilingual
Inuit)

16. 8. Determinants of food insecurity
• Use
Country Food Store Food
Environmental • Changing environmental • N/A
conditions leading to spoilage
(i.e. caching)
Socioeconomic • Traditional knowledge required • Cooking skills required to prepare
to prepare wildlife groceries
• Language barriers (i.e. English
recipes hinder unilingual Inuit)

17. 9. What is being done
• Massive public mobilization
• “Feeding My Family” Facebook group
• Food price protests
• Grassroots initiatives

18. 9. What is being done
• Nunavut Food Security Coalition
– Seven Government of Nunavut departments
– Four Inuit organizations
– Broader group of partners, academics, experts, and the public
2012 2013
Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
NFSC monthly meetings as per interim ToR New NFSC ToR
Thematic discussions Symposium
Public engagement
Academic and expert advising
Process evaluation
Strategy Implementation Plan
Evaluation Framework

19. 10. Future research needs
• Intervention studies
• Holistic research
• Improved geographic distribution of case studies
• Future forecasts
• Adaptation research
• Focus on vulnerable sub-groups

20. Why is this issue a concern?
• Multi-faced problem with multiple ramifications
Traditional Diet
and Values
Environmental Cultural
Contaminants Transition
Climate Factors Demographics
Change Affecting
Food Security
in Nunavut
Geographic Social
Isolation Challenges
Financial
Poverty
Illiteracy
Achieving Sustainable Food Security in Nunavut
GN DHSS (2012)

21. Who/what does this issue affect?
• Those who are food insecure (some more than others)
• But also those who are not

22. What do we know/need to know?
What We Know What We Need to Know
• Determinants affecting • Determinants affecting “quality”
“availability” and “accessibility” and “use”
• Aspects of country food • Aspects of market food
• Country food networks are • What are the implications of
changing these changes?
• Climate change is impacting • What are the ramifications of
wildlife these impacts?
• Programs and initiatives are • What are the outcomes of
being undertaken these programs and initiatives?
• Etc. • Etc.

23. Examples of “research to action”

24. Next Steps
• Further exploring the questions asked by IRIS-2
organizers
• Identifying more examples of “research to action”
• Incorporating feedback from today

25. Thank You
sara.statham@mail.mcgill.ca