Boreal Agriculture Cannot Be Sustainable Without Food Sovereignty

Abstract

Food sovereignty encompasses the right of humans to have access to, and to produce, healthy and culturally appropriate food. Food sovereignty exists within the “social” pillar of sustainability and sustainable food production. Over time, and as a result of colonialism and neo-liberal food regimes, Indigenous food system patterns in boreal regions have been disrupted. Imports make local food production economically infeasible. The intersection of food sovereignty and international trade is understudied. Food insecurity cycles are likely to perpetuate without deliberate action and government intervention. Policies that facilitate local access, and ownership, of agriculture and food processing facilities may foster food sovereignty. Indigenous community governance, and agricultural practices, are critical to restoring environmental and social sustainability.

Joint environmental and social benefits from diversified agriculture

“…Also, a recent synthesis from Ghana shows that incentivizing noncrop diversification has cascading positive effects on adoption patterns (43). Regulatory mechanisms can be used for soil or water conservation through policies requiring farmers to use diversification practices to reduce pollutants on their farms (e.g., for water quality) (44). Finally, the benefits of combining incentives with regulatory mechanisms can be seen in California, where increasing adoption of diversification practices on larger farms may require supplementing the "pull" of incentives with the "push" of regulatory mandates (44).…”

“…43 The Nature Conservancy, Latin America North Andes and Central America Region, Bogota, Columbia. 44 Applied Ecology Graduate Program, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil. 45 Department of Geography & the Environment, University of Denver, Denver, CO USA.…”

Climate opportunism and values of change on the Arctic agricultural frontier

“…Alaskan agriculture has been characterized as “outpost agriculture” (Francis 1967; Loring and Gerlach 2010), valued not for its role as an exclusive means of subsistence but as one of many important components in a flexible and diversified subsistence strategy, with agriculture being increasingly recognized as inextricable from food sovereignty for remote, rural communities (Keske 2021). Foods received via foraging and hunting—including wild‐caught meat and fish—make up 10% of diets in urban areas yet more than 80% in rural villages (Meter and Goldenberg 2014, 9).…”

“…"Climate Change Is Making It Possible to Farm the Alaskan Tundra: For Alaskan Farmers, There's an Upside to Melting Permafrost" (Peters 2015) "Climate Change Is Making Farming Irresistible in Alaska" (Langlois 2017) "Climate Change Is Fueling a Farming Boom in Alaska" (Rosen 2019) The stories evoke an emerging frontier of agricultural plenty already with momentum and geared toward serving the greater good. Expansion of agriculture across boreal regions could help extend food security and Indigenous food sovereignty for rural communities (Altdorff et al 2021;Keske 2021), these articles highlight, as well as increase demand for Alaskan farmers' products and help diversify Alaska's economy.…”

“…The stories evoke an emerging frontier of agricultural plenty already with momentum and geared toward serving the greater good. Expansion of agriculture across boreal regions could help extend food security and Indigenous food sovereignty for rural communities (Altdorff et al 2021; Keske 2021), these articles highlight, as well as increase demand for Alaskan farmers' products and help diversify Alaska's economy.…”