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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@gilanet.com>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Hundreds of traditional foods at risk
  • Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 06:08:31 -0700


Hundreds of traditional foods at risk :
First-ever ‘redlist’ of endangered foods released for the
harvest/holiday season
http://www.onlinepressroom.net/nau/


FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.—A coalition of experts on sustainable agriculture and
food aficionados has compiled a “redlist” of more than 700 uniquely
North American plant and animal foods that are at risk of extinction.
In an unprecedented effort to rescue endangered foods, seven prominent
organizations have formed the coalition Renewing America’s Food
Traditions.

The group is launching its national campaign with the release of the book
Renewing America ’s Food Traditions . In addition to the first redlist of
America’s endangered foods, the book highlights the stories of 20
authentic American foods.

“As we bring in our harvests and prepare for the winter holidays, it is
fitting to recognize the diversity of foods lost from our holiday tables
which could be returned if consumers, chefs, conservationists, and
producers begin to more effectively collaborate with one another,” said
Gary Nabhan, director of the Center for Sustainable Environments at
Northern Arizona University. Nabhan facilitates the coalition, which
includes the CSE at NAU, American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, Chefs
Collaborative, Cultural Conservancy, Native Seed/SEARCH, Slow Food USA and
Seed Savers Exchange.

The redlist is available online at www.environment.nau.edu/raft —a
working list of traditional foods that includes 81 fish and shellfish, 26
native wild food plants, 51 rare livestock and poultry breeds, 234 heirloom
vegetables, 248 fruits and berries and 55 grains and nuts. The redlist was
compiled as a result of research and recommendations from dozens of food
historians, farmers, plant explorers, genetic conservationists and
agricultural activists.

“These foods have declined as their wild habitats or agricultural
landscapes have been degraded and destroyed,” Nabhan said. “Hybrids and
GMOs (genetically modified organisms) have usurped their markets, while
ethnic communities have lost traditional ecological and culinary knowledge
about their harvesting and preparation.”

In addition to the redlist of endangered traditional foods, the RAFT book
highlights some interesting hidden stories such as the hot Datil pepper of
Minorcan immigrants to Florida and the oily Eulachon smelt that provided
the foundation of Northwest trade routes. The book details 10 success
stories of efforts to recover such traditional foods throughout every
region of the continent, from Alaska to Florida. The book also includes 10
profiles of America’s most endangered foods, documenting the cultural and
culinary traditions put at risk when these foods are over-harvested or
neglected.

Ultimately, RAFT strives to put these foods back on dining tables as it
assists family farmers, fisherman, foragers and ranchers of both Native
American and immigrant cultures in reviving the production and use of these
foods to benefit their own communities. RAFT also assists with marketing
and distribution strategies for ethnic communities that wish to sell their
surplus to the wider American public.

“The peoples of the Americas were diverse in their use of locally
available ingredients,” notes Fernando Divina, award-winning chef, RAFT
advisor, and co-author of Foods of the Americas . “A resurgence of demand
for heirloom varieties of produce may engender new, more effective means of
distribution.”

Note : Anyone interested in receiving the Renewing America’s Food
Traditions book, should contact Gary Nabhan or Ashley Rood.

-NAU-

Renewing America’s Food Traditions
Fact sheet

The Stories of RAFT: an overview


Top Ten Endangered Stories
Chapalote corn
Chiltepin pepper
Eulachon smelt
Gulf Coast sheep
Java chicken
Marshall strawberry
Native American sunflower
Pineywoods cattle
Seminole pumpkin
White abalone

Top Ten Success Stories
American alligator
American chestnut
Creole cream cheese
Datil pepper
Iroquois corn
Moon & Stars watermelon
Navajo Churro sheep
Tepary beans
American Heritage turkeys
Wild rice

Geographical Range of Top Tens
Southwest: Chapalote corn, Chiltepin pepper, Tepary beans, Navajo Churro
sheep
Northwest: Eulachon smelt, Marshall strawberry
Southeast: Datil pepper, Creole cream cheese, American alligator, White
abalone, Seminole pumpkin, Gulf Coast sheep, Pineywoods cattle
Northeast: American Heritage turkeys, Iroquois corn, American chestnut,
Java chicken
Midwest: Wild rice, Moon & Stars watermelon,
Broad Range: Native American sunflower
Redlist Overview


Total Foods at Risk: 702
Vegetables 234
Grains 43
Wild Foods 20
Nuts 12
Berries 47
Fruits 201
Livestock 25
Poultry 26
Wild Game 13
Fish and Shellfish 81

Status:
Endangered 274
Threatened 216
Recovering 179
Extinct 9

Native & Immigrant cultures represented: 66

For more information about the RAFT campaign
Please Contact :
American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
PO Box 477
Pittsboro, North Carolina 27312
919.542.5704
www.albc-usa.org
Contact:
Donald E. Bixby, DVM, Technical Programs Director
2710 Green Meadow Drive
Blacksburg, Virginia 24060
540.951.2386
Email: dbixby@albc-usa.org

Center for Sustainable Environments
Northern Arizona University
PO Box 5765
Flagstaff, AZ 86011
928.523.0637
www.environment.nau.edu


Contact:
Gary Nabhan, Director
928.523.0637
Email: Gary.Nabhan@nau.edu

Ashley Rood, Research Associate
928.523.3047
Email: Ashley.Rood@nau.ed

Chefs Collaborative
262 Beacon Street
Boston, MA 02116
617.236.5200
www.chefscollaborative.com

Cultural Conservancy
PO Box 29044
San Francisco, CA 91429
415.561.6594
www.nativeland.org
Contact:
Melissa Nelson, Ph.D., (Turtle Mountain Chippewa), Director
Email: mknelson@igc.org

Native Seeds/SEARCH
526 North Fourth Avenue
Tucson, Arizona 857065
520.622.5561
www.nativeseeds.org


Contact:
Kevin Dahl, Director
520.622.5561
Email: kdaul@nativeseeds.org

Suzanne Nelson, Director of Conservation
520.622.4804
Email: snelson@nativeseeds.org

Seed Savers Exchange
3094 North Winn Road
Decorah, IA 52101
563.382.5900
www.seedsavers.org
Kent Whealy, Director

Slow Food USA
20 Jay Street, Suite 313
Brooklyn, New York 11201
716.260.8000
www.slowfoodusa.org
Contact:

Erika Lesser, Executive Director
718.260.8000
Email: Erika@slowfoodusa.org


Robert LaValva

Email: rlavalva@earthlink.net

Ark/Presidia Committee, Slow Food USA
Contact:

Marsha Weiner, Chair Ark/Presidia Committee

703.370.2118

Email: contentmaven@ironicdelights.com


Gerry Warren
Slow Food Puget Sound

206.818.5366
Email: cgw@speakeasy.net

Barbara Bowman
Slow Food Sonoma County
P. O. Box 1494
Healdsburg, CA 95448
707.433.8484
MsBrix@aol.com








  • [Livingontheland] Hundreds of traditional foods at risk, Tradingpost, 11/13/2004

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