Iqaluit, Nunavut – March 6, 2019 – Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) released a food sovereignty and harvesting report today outlining a forward looking, solution oriented approach to Nunavut’s food problems.

In the Arctic, much of the conversation about food is centered on food insecurity, the release of the new Canada Food Guide provides an opening for innovative approaches to healthy food and eating in Canada. QIA welcomes this change, which includes an acknowledgement of country food as a healthy culturally appropriate choice.

“Nunavut needs a shift from thinking about food security to food sovereignty,” says QIA President P.J. Akeeagok, “This means empowering Inuit to feed our communities.”

For Inuit, who live in the Arctic, a healthy traditional diet means heavy emphasis on animals and fish harvested from surrounding lands and waters. Colonization has disconnected many Inuit from the traditional practices of harvesting. As a result, Nunavut suffers from chronic food insecurity with over 70 per cent of Nunavummiut as food insecure.

Achieving food sovereignty in Nunavut means supporting harvesters, re-establishing connections to harvesting culture, and building the infrastructure needed to allow Inuit to control the local food supply.

QIA’s food sovereignty and harvesting report envisions a Nunavut where country food is a readily available choice for families and harvesting is a viable livelihood. QIA’s goal is for every Inuk in the Qikiqtani Region to have stable and long-term access to locally harvested country food.

For more information, please contact:

Sima Sahar Zerehi,

Director of Communications,

Qikiqtani Inuit Association

szerehi@qia.ca

867.975.8413

1.800.667.2742

Food Sovereignty and Harvesting