Food Sovereignty
Food sovereignty means people have the right and autonomy to ensure their food is healthy, culturally appropriate, and produced through ecologically, economically, and socially sound, sustainable methods. Culturally appropriate food itself can be understood a number of different ways, but generally refers to the acknowledgment that food must be considered within a cultural framework. Culturally appropriate food does not only refer to the food itself, but also holds space for the cultural practices around the preparation and consumption of the food, considering where, how, and with whom it is eaten. These factors all further contextualize what culturally appropriate food is, with the recognition, then, that different people have different appreciations for what is and is not culturally appropriate food.
Culturally appropriate food needs to be considered in food systems working towards food security for all. For example, this underscores the importance of bringing in culturally and diverse food into programs and spaces like food banks, nutrition education programs, school lunch programs, community gardens. This makes the procurement of culturally appropriate food potentially challenging and worthy of ample consideration, as it is dynamic, and what is “good” and culturally appropriate food for one person may not be good and culturally appropriate food for another. Working to understand and consider culturally appropriate food is necessary for food system initiatives geared towards ending food security and increasing food sovereignty.
Resources & Tools
Centering and Celebrating Culture in Public Health
Story
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Original
Brought to you by Community Commons
2023 Farm Bill: Advancing Public Health at the Intersection of Food, Environment, and Economic Policy
Story
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Original
Brought to you by Community Commons
Enhancing Data Access to Improve American Indian and Alaska Native Health: A Framework for State and Local Public Health Officials
Resource - Policy Brief
Brought to you by Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists
Native American Ethnobotany: A Database of Foods, Drugs, Dyes and Fibers of Native American Peoples, Derived from Plants
Resource - Data Bank/repository
Gather: Screening Toolkit - A Guide to Help Plan Your Film Event in Your Community
Tool - Toolkit/toolbox
Data & Metrics
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