BENEFITS AND RISKS OF TRADITIONAL FOOD FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES - FOCUSON DIETARY INTAKES OF ARCTIC MEN

A variety of community and external pressures on Indigenous Peoples ar e leading to increased use of food that is available through industria lization and market economies; food in traditional food systems derive d from local, natural environments is declining in use. This report fo cusses on dietary intake of Arctic men. While nutrient density of Arct ic traditional food systems is superior to that of the composite of ma rket food consumed in the North, the percentage of men's daily energy derived from market food is more than double that from traditional foo d in some communities. Older members of communities consume more tradi tional food than younger members; men consume more traditional food th an do women. In addition to providing excellent nutrition and opportun ities for physical exercise, Indigenous Peoples identify many sociocul tural benefits to the harvest and use of traditional food. Evaluation of environmental accumulation of organochlorines in wildlife animal fo od Species shows that risk of organochlorine consumption is higher in food systems containing sea mammals, and that tolerance levels for som e organochlorines may be exceeded.