Alaska has a long way to go toward food security, UAF anthropologists stressed at a lecture Dec. 11.
Doctoral student Philip Loring and anthropology assistant professor David Fazzino based their talk on an article they wrote for the National Association for the Practice of Anthropology Bulletin, entitled From Crisis to Cumulative Effects: Food Security Challenges in Alaska. “What leads up to disaster is ongoing effects,” Fazzino said. Their work was spurred by the recent global food crisis and the spike in oil and transportation costs. During that time an elder of Emmonak wrote a letter to the editor about the shortage of food and fuel in his community, sending it to politicians, a food bank, a Native corporation, and rural newspapers. Alaska Newspapers, Inc., published his letter and the story was picked up by bloggers and the national media. “Alaska has no food security mechanisms,” Loring said. “We don’t know what to do if the planes stop flying. You’ve all seen Fred Meyer’s empty shelves when the trucks break down.”
Fazzino defined food security as access at all times to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food, including preferred and culturally-appropriate foods. He estimated that agricultural industry in Alaska provides less than 5 percent of the state’s food needs. “The most interesting thing is that we don’t know,” Loring said. “Subsistence foods and country foods are another thing to quantify.” Salmon, the state’s most important subsistence food, is heavily regulated due to international treaties with Canada. This year, king and chum salmon runs were smaller than expected. When subsistence foods aren’t available, people in the Bush become more dependent on store-bought food, then become more vulnerable to hunger and malnutrition because they decrease their self-reliance and increase health risks associated with processed and culturally unfamiliar foods.
Also there are economic factors, as food in the Bush costs two to three times that in cities. Even in urban areas food costs 25 percent higher than the national average. While Loring said rural areas are dependent on Fairbanks and Anchorage, those two hubs are heavily dependent on the Lower 48 for food supplies.
Fazzino wondered what happens to people who move to Fairbanks from the village, and surveyed the local food bank and rescue mission to find out. “Most people were relatively happy with the food assistance given, but some commented there was not enough Native or country foods available.” He noted that no one knows how much food is bought at fast food restaurants in Fairbanks.
Effects of unhealthy foods include cancer and heart disease, the top two causes of death in Alaska. Obesity and diabetes are other concerns. With health and food concerns the state should move from crisis response to a more preventive approach, Fazzino said. “We need durable solutions that are long-term and place based.”
Loring said he is not arguing for solely local food sources, but for ways people can be self-reliant, control their health, and still be a part of what is inevitably a globalized world.
“We need a thorough analysis of how food is produced, distributed, and consumed,” Loring concluded. “We need to come to the conclusion that we want healthy communities and design the system.”
Further reading:
Letter tells personal side of Emmonak fuel crisis, Anchorage Daily News, Jan. 15, 2009, by Kyle Hopkins
Rural energy crisis isn't a surprise, Alaska Dispatch, Jan. 20, 2009, by Les Gara
Community sustainability forum: food security, SNRAS Science & News, Nov. 12, 2009
Food Security for Alaska: A Letter to Governor Palin, Organic Consumers Association website, by Kim Sollien, co-founder of Alaska Trust Foods Network
Food security in Alaska a big issue in recent local foods news stories, Sitka Local Foods Network website, Nov. 23, 2009
Recent broadcasts on food, farming, and food security and sustainability, Alaska Community Agriculture, Nov. 4, 2009, by Deirdre Helfferich
Fish and Frustration on the Yukon – A Native Leader’s Perspective, by Myron Naneng, President of the Association of Village Council Presidents, June 5, 2009
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