Mainstreaming Local Food Species for Nutritional and Livelihood Security: Insights From Traditional Food Systems of Community of Arunachal Pradesh, India.

This study brings out the critical role of lesser-known local plant species in the food, nutrition and livelihood security of community in Arunachal Pradesh, India. Considering women as a major custodian in knowledge and practices on foods, a total of 90 women and 60 key knowledgeable community members (thus a total of 150 participants) were selected from East Siang and Upper Siang districts of Arunachal Pradesh. Data were collected using combination of methods including recipe contest, focus group discussion, personal interviews and laboratory analyses. The results indicated that women were able to identify 39 bioculturally important species from a range of locally available plant species. Used alone or with other foods, these plants remain central to the people's cultural identity and livelihood security. In addition to improving food and nutritional security, these species accessed from different land use systems, are also sold on the local markets to generate decent incomes. Of the species identified by women, 28 were culturally shared and used frequently in food and ethnomedicine. Laboratory analyses of the selected 22 species revealed exceptionally high levels of minerals and other nutrients, such as proteins and anti-oxidants, supporting their traditional use for health benefits. Our study results provide valuable insights to the researchers to explore the vast hidden potential of these and other similar species for improving nutritional well-being of local communities in marginal areas. Adequate policy support is needed to enable and other such marginalized communities to cope with challenges being posed to traditional food systems.