Turner, NJ; Parrish, CC; Solberg, SM
Food security-access to sufficient, safe, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food-for all peoples of the world is a goal of the World Food Summit and other international bodies, but it is an elusive target, even in developed countries. Rural communities, including those on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Canada, are struggling to retain access to healthy foods. Many of the local food resources on which people relied in the past-for example, cod on the East Coast and salmon on the West Coast-are far less plentiful today than in the past, largely due to over-exploitation and environmental deterioration. In this chapter we discuss the complex linkages among environmental change, economic restructuring, ecosystem health, and human health relating to food production and availability in coastal communities. We first outline the basic nutritional requirements for humans and then use some key examples, from the antiscorbutic properties of spruce beer to the production and nutritional importance of omega-3 fatty acids, to demonstrate how diet and lifestyle affect health in these communities. Our book title, "Resetting the Kitchen Table," alludes to the widespread shifts in food production, processing, storage, and marketing that have occurred within Canadian coastal communities, and the effects of these changes on peoples' lifestyles, nutrition, and health. Concerns with environmental contaminants in food, maintaining access to healthy food at reasonable cost, and retaining the knowledge associated with local food production are all factors affecting food security in these communities. This chapter also provides a framework for the rest of the sections and chapters in the book. © 2008 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.