Traditional food, the right to food, and sustainable food systems

Using the traditional erva-mate food production systems in southern Brazil and indigenous traditional food harvesting systems in the Northwest Territories of Canada as case studies, this chapter explores shared community responses to global pressures as the basis for building knowledge sharing networks grounded in UN frameworks including the Right to Adequate Food (RtAF), the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, and the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Commonalities include pressure from the industrial food system that pushes communities towards unhealthy food consumption, climate change that threatens ecosystem health, while development interests undermine traditional food systems. Shared responses include the protection of land and biodiversity as well as cultural heritage and the creation of formal and informal economic pluriactivity. Robust rights-based laws, policies, and programs are needed at all scales from local through regional and national to ensure these rights are consistently realized. Knowledge sharing networks grounded in the right to food and indigenous rights offer points of resistance protecting traditional food systems.