Sarti, F. M., C. Adams, C. Morsello, N. Van Vliet, T. Schor, B. Yagüe, L. Tellez, M. Quiceno-Mesa, and D. Cruz. 2015. Beyond protein intake: bushmeat as source of micronutrients in the Amazon. Ecology and Society 20(4):22.http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-07934-200422

Morsello, C., B. Yagüe, L. Beltreschi, N. van Vliet, C. Adams, T. Schor, M. P. Quiceno-Mesa, and D. Cruz. 2015. Cultural attitudes are stronger predictors of bushmeat consumption and preference than economic factors among urban Amazonians from Brazil and Colombia. Ecology and Society 20(4):21.http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-07771-200421

The current contribution of wild animal proteins has been poorly quantified, particularly in the rapidly growing urban centers of tropical forests. Lack of such evidence impairs food security strategies to include the diversity of food supply inherent to traditional food systems. In this study we focus on wild sources of animal protein: wild fish and bushmeat, which have traditionally been important in people’s diets in the Amazon. We analyze their consumption frequencies as compared to domestic and processed meat in a rural to urban gradient in Amazonas, Colombia. Our results show that, despite its geographical position, the region is increasingly dependent on domestic and industrialized sources of animal protein. The frequency of wild fish and bushmeat consumption decreases from rural to urban areas to the advantage of domestic and processed meat/fish. Patterns of animal protein consumption for indigenous children indicate that indigenous families adopt non-indigenous consumption patterns when they move to town. Bushmeat consumption in urban areas is more frequent in wealthier families and could be considered as a luxury product. In urban areas, chicken is the protein of the poor and beef replaces chicken for the families that can afford it. In rural settings, chicken replaces wild sources of animal protein as people increase their income and move away from forest/agriculture dependent livelihoods. The increased consumption of industrial chicken in rural communities poses important food security and ecologic concerns. Despite, the low importance of bushmeat and wild fish in urban areas measured in terms of consumption, we show that these foods continue to play an important role in terms of dietary diversity, which is fundamental to eradicate energy and micronutrient deficiencies. In conclusion our results call for a better attention to the changes observed in diets in the Amazon, given their potential health and nutrition consequences.

Van Vliet, N., M. P. Quiceno, D. Cruz, L. J. Neves de Aquino, B. Yagüe, T. Schor, S. Hernandez, and R. Nasi. 2015. Bushmeat networks link the forest to urban areas in the trifrontier region between Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. Ecology and Society 20(3): 21. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-07782-200321

Through community-engaged research, we investi­gate how political and economic practices have cre­ated food apartheid and the ways in which this legacy complicates efforts toward equitable urban agriculture in Salt Lake City (SLC). The study takes place in SLC’s Westside, where an ample number of farms and gardens exist, yet food insecurity is a persistent issue. We partner with a small urban CSA farm operating in a USDA-designated food desert in SLC’s Westside to explore the farmers’ own questions about whom their farm is serving and the farms’ potential to contribute to food jus­tice in their community. Specifically, we examine (1) the member distribution of this urban CSA farm and (2) the underlying socio-political, eco­nomic, and geographic factors, such as inequitable access to land, housing, urban agriculture, food, and transportation, that contribute to this distribu­tion. GIS analyses, developed with community partners, reveal spatial patterns between contempo­rary food insecurity and ongoing socioeconomic disparities matching 1930s residential redlining maps. These data resonate with a critical geo­graphic approach to food apartheid and inform a need for deeper and more holistic strategies for food sovereignty through urban agriculture in SLC. While resource constraints may prevent some small farmers from attending to these issues, partner­ships in praxis can build capacity and engender opportunities to investigate and disrupt the racial hierarchies enmeshed in federal agricultural policy, municipal zoning, and residential homeownership programs that perpetuate food apartheid.