Food Security and Subsistence
Gillian took us through a twisting, if not torturous path concerning comfort food. Was it a lack of sleep? Alas, there is no macaroni and cheese to be found. It seems so unfair. If I followed the path presented correctly, the discussion leads from comfort food to possibly food safety or food security. I know it’s a bit of stretch, but I'll still take it.Many people live on the coast of Alaska because of food security or more accurately security borne of a reliable food supply. Compared to many regions, rural Alaskans depend on maintaining a subsistence lifestyle and a close relationship to the environment. In what seems like another life here in Southeast Alaska, I was a member of the Southeast Alaska Federal Subsistence Advisory Council. The Council serves as the interface between the subsistence community and the Federal government. Until the State of Alaska changes its position on rural preference for subsistence foods, people depend on the Federal government to preserve their access to food and a lifeway.
In the ten years that have followed since I was on the Council, I have grown more concerned with the growing divide that exists between urban and rural residents, and promoting clean boating practices. My move back to rural Southeast Alaska has only reinforced my concerns for preserving the health of our rural communities. Access to subsistence foods is an important part of that goal. The food sounds better to me than bogong moths. Herring eggs, dried salmon, kelp, halibut, and crab are a few of our food resources used by people living here.
So in Blogchain No. 9, the discussion has moved from avoiding the comfort zone to comfort food to food security. What will Kelly at Organized Chaos do with this thread?
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Labels: Absolute Write, Absolute Write Blogchain No.9, AW, Southeast Alaska
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posted by Harbormaster at 07:50
10 Comments:
In my own ignorance, it seems like living off the sea would be a hard life. Is kelp the only vegetable matter in the subsistence diet? It sounds like it could be lacking in vitamins (or at least fresh salads).
I said a lot about this in my own blog entry, but wow. It's a hard life, and it certainly makes me look at my grocery's seafood counter in a different light.
I think it is great that you are concerned for the environment. I think that many people have a misconception about fisherman - they think they just want to 'drag' the seas of all life. It couldn't be further from the truth.
Nice post.
It's always struck me as odd that the food we survive on needs to be subsidized at all. Why isn't farming, or in this case fishing, better paid in the first place anyway? It's not as though we can live without food.
Well thought out post. It is fascinating to me as someone interested in regional differences to learn more about Alaskan life. Subsistence there is so vastly different than what I, as a Southerner, am familiar with.
I'm sorry about my tortuous post. I reacted a bit to being told I had to blog about macaroni cheese when my medlars were bletting and I didn't want to cook anything so mundane. :)
I love it that you brought up the issue of food security. The dividing line between surfeit and starvation can fade in a twinkle in most societies, so it doesn't hurt to remember that some climates live on that line.
You, my new friend, are living a fascinating life, and an honorable one. There aren't as many of those out there as we might wish....
I lived in Anchorage for a few years (a lifetime ago). I worked for a PR firm that was hired to defend native subsistence rights in certain native boroughs.
It always astonished me when an outside group would come in and try to ban caribou hunting in an area where it was a primary food staple. As if the people there could just walk into a wal-mart and buy some meat.
Thank you for this post. I agree with Kelly M, it does make one look at their, much easier, access to food in a different light.
Huh, you know I'm spending my summer working in a camp kitchen and the whole thing about food safety and living from the environment takes on a new meaning when you are helping to cook for 800 people. This was a real eye opening post.
Thanks,
Eric
(www.thedrabbledude.com)
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