Leveraging the potential of wild food for healthy, sustainable, and equitable local food systems: learning from a transformation lab in the Western Cape region

Abstract

Food insecurity and diet-related diseases do not only have detrimental effects to human health, but are also underpinned by food systems that are environmentally unsustainable and culturally disconnected. Ensuring access to a healthy, affordable, and sustainable diet is one of the greatest challenges facing many low- and middle-income countries such as South Africa. These challenges in accessing a diverse diet often persist despite biocultural richness. For example, South Africa is globally recognised for its rich biodiversity, an ecologically unrivalled coastline, and a rich body of traditional knowledge amongst wild-food users. In this paper, we explore the potential that coastal wild foods as neglected and underutilised species (NUS) can play in local food systems in South Africa’s Western Cape Province. Following a previously established transformation lab (T-Lab) method, here we report the observations and outcomes emerging from a two-day workshop held in May 2019 with a group of 40 actors involved in the local food system in diverse ways. Farmers, small-scale fishers, indigenous knowledge holders, representatives from non-profit organisations, chefs, bartenders, academics, activists, conservationists, and government officials were brought together with the aim of strengthening an emerging coalition of coastal wild food actors. Findings highlighted the existence of a fledgling economy for coastal wild foods, driven by high-end chefs. The T-Lab was essentially a tool of knowledge co-production around food system transformation and helped to surface deeply embedded issues on land, race, history, and culture that warrant engagement if a better food system is to emerge. In a country that is drought prone and vulnerable to climate change, a more resilient and sustainable food system is a necessity. But defining alternative governance systems to shift towards a healthier, more sustainable, and more equitable food system will require concerted effort across all stakeholders.

The Contribution of Trees and Green Spaces to Household Food Security in eThekwini Metro, KwaZulu-Natal

“…Food insecurity is an issue that many low-and middle-income nations, including South Africa, face [2]. In this study, more than half of the respondents were food insecure as shown in Figure 2.…”

“…The South African food system faces wicked challenges; the country has the highest rates of wealth inequality in the world, and there are growing concerns about poverty [1,2]. It is difficult to transition to a healthier, more sustainable, and equitable food system in these circumstances.…”

“…It is possible to eradicate hunger by paying greater attention to what trees and green spaces can contribute towards a food-secure South Africa. Trees and green spaces can contribute towards ensuring the attainment of the four pillars of food security (access, availability, utilisation, and stability) while facilitating the consumption of nutritionally adequate diets in quantity, variety, diversity, and nutrient content [2]. More interventions are needed in acknowledging the role trees and green spaces can play in achieving food security, reducing poverty, and improving livelihoods.…”

“…The importance of trees and green spaces and their contribution to food security is increasingly recognised worldwide [2]. This is due to the fact that trees and green spaces, although often undervalued, play a key role in supporting food and nutrition security in all.…”

The future of African wild fruits – a drive towards responsible production and consumption of the marula fruit

“…As with fruits supplied to Distell for liqueur production, these fruits are sustainably sourced by community groups of trained harvesters in local villages (Mabaya et al, 2014). This is in line with growing awareness around ethical harvesting, given consumer concerns about the socioeconomic impact of wild fruit use, especially compensation to local communities, and equitable trade practices (Ghanbari et al, 2022;Pereira et al, 2022). Presently, consumers actively look for certification labels on food products to verify that harvesting is environmentally sustainable (Grunert et al, 2014).…”