World food and climate crisis: Interview with agricultural economist Yon Fernández de Larrinoa about indigenous food systems and how they can help to overcome the climate crisis

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An indigenous man from the Uros tribe fishes in Peru

Photo: Janina Zasche / Universal Images Group / Getty Images

Not only heads of government and UN officials meet at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, but also numerous representatives of indigenous communities.

Their habitats continue to be destroyed, especially by commercial agriculture and livestock, which is responsible for 90 percent of deforestation.

The food industry is also responsible for a third of all greenhouse gas emissions.

Our global food system is destructive and not sustainable, says agricultural economist Yon Fernández de Larrinoa, who heads the department for indigenous peoples at the United Nations World Food Organization.

He is convinced that we have to learn from them.

SPIEGEL:

Mr. Fernández de Larrinoa, the food industry is a catalyst for climate change. How can that be changed, considering that a growing population has to be fed at the same time?

Fernández de Larrinoa

: The global food system in its current form is not sustainable. Scientists are increasingly agreeing on this; Meanwhile, politicians and governments are also becoming more aware of this. Everyone is looking for alternatives. And this is where the food systems of indigenous people come into play: They are among the oldest in the world. And they are sustainable, that is, they work without destroying natural resources and overburdening the ecosystem so that it can no longer regenerate. The Aborigines in Australia arguably have the oldest food system in the world that is still in existence today. For thousands of years they have been producing food while at the same time - like other indigenous peoples - preserving biodiversity in their territories.

SPIEGEL:

What makes the indigenous food systems so special?

Fernández de Larrinoa:

We did research with them, from the Arctic to the Amazon and from the Himalayas to Sub-Saharan Africa. The results have shown that their diets are not only sustainable, but also more resilient to the changes caused by climate change. The indigenous peoples see themselves not only as farmers, that is the first thing they told us, but as hunters, fishermen and gatherers. They have valuable ancestral knowledge, passed on from generation to generation, about how to feed people and not overwhelm nature at the same time. All of their food systems are based on their cosmogony and a spiritual belief that there is life everywhere that deserves respect. When an animal is killed, there is usually a ceremony. You are aware that you have taken a life.But trees and plants are also perceived as living beings. So we see a completely different approach to the ecosystem in which they live.

SPIEGEL:

What exactly are you doing differently?

Fernández de Larrinoa:

They too eat fish, meat and plants. However, their systems often do not allow food to accumulate, for example. The food must not be stored in large quantities, but is distributed in the group so that everyone has enough and at the same time the capacities of nature are not exceeded. Indigenous people understand the difference between food production and production. The latter system requires human intervention, such as agriculture or animal husbandry. This production suffered during the lockdown phase in the pandemic. Food production, on the other hand, in the form of hunting or fishing, flourished during the pandemic and stocks recovered. Our commercial system works in the same way that we produce food as we do with production, which is why there is, for example, overfishing.Lots of fish are being fetched from the sea, and anything that has no commercial value is simply being thrown back. That would never happen in an indigenous community.

SPIEGEL:

So there is no food waste?

Fernández de Larrinoa:

Exactly.

Indigenous communities have only recently known the concept of garbage, since it comes from outside in the form of plastic or batteries.

They traditionally use organic by-products as packaging, tools and compost.

Some companies are now copying such approaches.

Bags are not made from plastic, but from potato starch or corn.

SPIEGEL:

You describe systems in which relatively small groups feed themselves, mainly with what they find in nature.

City dwellers cannot hunt, collect or fish.

To what extent do the indigenous approaches relate to the reality of life

transferred to larger, urban populations?

Fernández de Larrinoa:

Urban life is changing the way we eat. In fact, how city dwellers eat is what worries me - it affects the entire planet. Of course, indigenous systems cannot be transferred directly to urban areas. Still, there is a lot we can learn from them. Indigenous people know the importance of seasonality. They live by nature's calendar, which is good for their health and good for ecosystems. City dwellers could also learn to eat local foods and only buy as much as they need. Food could be shared before being thrown away. The diet of indigenous people is also very diverse. The Khasi in the Himalayas, for example, produce more than 200 different foods through alternating cultivation in the forest.Today, the majority of our commercial food is based on three or four major crops, often grown in intensive, polluting monocultures. Much of what was previously grown has gradually disappeared from our menu. I see great potential in reversing this narrowing.

SPIEGEL:

Insects are an integral part of indigenous diet.

Start-ups in Paris and the USA are already producing them.

In contrast to beef, they produce around 200 times less greenhouse gas.

Will that be part of the solution?

Fernández de Larrinoa:

Insects have many advantages. People have always eaten them. They grow and reproduce quickly, contain a lot of protein and are climate-friendly. Not only do indigenous peoples eat them, they are sometimes considered a delicacy. Snails, ants and crickets are part of the diet in Mexico, Colombia and France. The big challenge is to break down the cultural barriers. Think of seafood, for example, many fishing communities don't eat it because shrimp and crayfish are considered insects of the seas. In large cities, on the other hand, they can be found in the gourmet section. When I was in the Andes, quinoa was considered poor people's food. Until the urban restaurants picked them up and developed delicious recipes. Here I see the cooks as the keythey have much more influence than a government strategy or a recommendation by the United Nations.

SPIEGEL:

So we shouldn't eat meat anymore, but rather insect burgers?

Fernández de Larrinoa:

It's not that meat in and of itself is the problem. With a world population of nine billion, which we will probably soon reach, we need healthy proteins that can be produced cheaply and in a climate-friendly manner. I am convinced that insects could play a decisive role in feeding the world for future generations. However, I would not say that meat or fish should no longer be eaten, both of which are important in order to ensure the nutrition of millions of people. There is no one solution for everything. There are communities that have been vegetarian for thousands of years; others do not eat dairy products. But then there are also environments that require people to eat large amounts of meat there, think of the indigenous peoples in the Arctic, for example. It is importantthat the nutritional system does not overwhelm nature's ability to regenerate.

SPIEGEL:

Does the indigenous diet already have an impact on the food of city dwellers?

Fernández de Larrinoa:

In the supermarket you can find the so-called superfoods, such as quinoa, stevia or acai.

From a nutritional point of view, they are very valuable and all of them are of indigenous origin.

It is important that the indigenous peoples decide for themselves whether and to what extent cultivation can be expanded, and that their knowledge and their right to this knowledge are respected.

That already happens, indigenous people label and certify their products and sell them, for example on the Internet.

As long as the capacity of the ecosystem is not overwhelmed, there is nothing wrong with it.

With superfoods, however, in many cases it is unfortunately the case that outsiders have acquired the knowledge and are now benefiting, while the communities get nothing.

SPIEGEL:

How can that be prevented?

Fernández de Larrinoa:

We see good examples in the medical field.

Many medicines are based on indigenous people's knowledge of medicinal plants.

Some pharmaceutical companies have made agreements with the indigenous communities that will share in the planning and profits.

These models need to be extended to the food sector.

SPIEGEL:

Indigenous leaders, land and environmentalists are threatened around the world.

Hundreds of them have been murdered in Latin America, Africa and Asia in recent years.

Fernández de Larrinoa:

They stand in the way of commercial interests. The front line of the destructive agriculture, timber industry and mining is eating its way further and further into the indigenous protected areas. Every year large areas are cleared for agricultural use, for example in the Amazon in Brazil. Indigenous people there now have problems feeding themselves because fish and animal stocks are dwindling. It is paradoxical: we know that our commercial food system is not sustainable. At the same time, it is still being expanded worldwide, although there is enough food to end hunger worldwide. The speed with which indigenous habitats are being destroyed is staggering. We destroy something that works - without having an alternative. We will not be able to create sustainable food systemsas long as we do not respect, protect and learn from the indigenous territories.

SPIEGEL:

Representatives of the indigenous communities are strongly represented at COP26. Their protests are attracting more attention today than they were a few years ago. Is that a good sign?

Fernández de Larrinoa:

Yes, but we're

late.

The world is slowly realizing that the indigenous peoples are the protectors of the remaining biodiversity and intact ecosystems.

During this year's UN Food Summit it also became clear that indigenous diets can be a game changer;

that they have downright revolutionary potential to change the sick system, this dystopia that we live in, in which millions of people go hungry and millions of tons of food end up in the garbage at the same time.

Indigenous people are increasingly seen differently, no longer mainly as victims of genocide and displacement, but as sages who have many valuable answers on how to change the world and help humanity, especially in times of a climate crisis.

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