Descoloniza tu comida:  Campaña de la Red de Pueblos Indígenas de Slow Food contra la Pérdida de la Biodiversidad

On the occasion of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People in 2023, celebrated on August 9, the Slow Food Indigenous Peoples Network launches a global campaign to support communities in preserving their food heritage for a common future.

 Indigenous People communities protect an extraordinary variety of plant and animal species, as well as knowledge, languages ​​and traditional foods that are at risk of extinction. If we look at the future of these communities, the Decolonize your ComidaIndigenous Youth as Agents of Change for Self-Determination. «Historically, the capacities, skills and knowledge that we contribute to global food systems as indigenous women and youth have been made invisible. Young people are often told that they don’t know, that they don’t have experience, that they have to wait until they are older to express their opinions; But those who say it forget that youth is a source of energy, dreams, new abilities and skills. If we, as young people, also listen with respect and dignity to our elders, together we can create thousands of wonderful projects that propose solutions for climate change and the loss of biodiversity, because we complement each other,” he comments. a>, Nahua woman and member of the International Board of Slow Food.Dali Nolasco Cruz

 The Colonization of Indigenous Foods

80% of biodiversity is guarded by indigenous peoples. These communities are also protectors of food and traditional knowledge. However, their livelihood is threatened by land grabs, violations of indigenous peoples’ rights, climate change and unsustainable agricultural practices. In addition to these visible causes, there is a less obvious colonization that occurs through food.  On the one hand, companies seek to extract indigenous knowledge and foods without consent, recognition or benefit to the communities that co-create them; and on the other hand, the growing predominance of industrial and globalized foods is replacing traditional and local foods. The media and public policies encourage the consumption and production of these foods, which leads to food insecurity, homogenization of diets, and loss of flavors, knowledge, gastronomic celebrations, local economies and food identities, especially affecting to indigenous youth.

Indigenous and traditional foods can play an important role in the fight against hunger and malnutrition: The biodiverse diets and production practices of which they are part contribute to healthy lives and preserve local ecosystems and environmental resources that can protect against micronutrient deficiencies.

Today, this model faces considerable competition due to the processed foods of the agri-food industry and the increasing use of GMOs.

The flooding of the market with these products caused a considerable change in eating habits, and soon after the harmful effects of this change on the health of the population could be seen.

«Our food connects us to our communities, to Mother Earth and to our ancestors», says Dali Nolasco Cruz, «it is our knowledge and our life: our identity. For these reasons, it is crucial to ensure that the foods of indigenous peoples continue to be respected, protected and celebrated as a fundamental part of the global culinary landscape. Through the Decolonize your Food Campaign, the Slow Food Indigenous Peoples Network seeks to raise awareness about the ongoing efforts to protect the food of indigenous peoples of the extinction, and invites everyone to discover the indigenous origins of everyday foods and to discover the lands and communities in which they continue to be produced.

A path of awareness across the continents

Slow Food presents a fantastic tour of the world around indigenous foods highlighted by the Slow Food Indigenous Peoples Network that spans 86 countries and more than 370 communities.

The Slow Food Indigenous Peoples Network in Mexico will actively participate as it has just launched a national campaign asking indigenous communities to stand out local foods they would like to decolonize. The same goes for Slow Food Uganda , which presented its campaign My Food My Identity  to raise awareness among local people about local foods that can be alternatives powerful to ensure food sovereignty and valuable support in the fight against climate change.

The Slow Food Cooks Alliance: Indigenous People of Taiwan has just launched in Taiwan . In addition to defending local products and biodiversity, the first 18 indigenous chefs who founded the Alliance have focused on indigenous traditions and ingredients. More information https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/en/nazioni-alleanza/taiwan-en/

In Europe, Slow Food Presidium producers Sapmi Reindeer Gurpi nominated the

Gurpi, a type of venison sausage that is special to the Sámi, an indigenous nomadic pastoral people who live in the mountains of northern Sweden, bordering Norway, Finland and Russia.

Everyone can get involved in the campaign to learn more about indigenous food and communities, as well as the importance of decolonizing food systems and mindsets. It is essential to advocate for changes in policies that protect biodiversity; On the other hand, recognizing the rights and contributions of Indigenous Peoples is another way to make a difference: To learn more: https://www.slowfood.com/our-network/indigenous /decolonize-your-food/

The International Day of the World’s Indigenous People of this 2023: On December 23, 1994, the General Assembly of the United Nations decided, in its resolution 49/214, that the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People would be celebrated on August 9 of each year. This date marks the first meeting, in 1982, of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Peoples https://social.desa.un.org/issues/indigenous-peoples/events/international -day-of-the-worlds-indigenous-peoples-2023

To learn more about the Slow Food Indigenous Peoples Network:https://www.slowfood.com/our-network/indigenous/

IFAD and Slow Food share a vision of small-scale agriculture as a crucial source of income and food for rural communities, and a driver of global economic growth. Since 2009, the alliance between IFAD and Slow Food has contributed to carrying out innovative projects that improve local value chains for traditional foods, as well as the development of a network of Indigenous Peoples that involves thousands of people in 86 countries. . This alliance is currently implementing a new project whose objective is to move towards food system transformation by promoting the centrality of agroecological food systems and the incalculable knowledge of Indigenous Peoples in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific regions.