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Inuit cuisine

Inuit elders eating maktaaq

Historically, Inuit cuisine, which is taken here to include Greenlandic, Yupʼik and Aleut cuisine, consisted of a diet of animal source foods that were fished, hunted, and gathered locally.

In the 20th century the Inuit diet began to change and by the 21st century the diet was closer to a Western diet. After hunting, they often honour the animals' spirit by singing songs and performing rituals. Although traditional or country foods still play an important role in the identity of Inuit, much food is purchased from the store, which has led to health problems and food insecurity.[1][2] According to Edmund Searles in his article Food and the Making of Modern Inuit Identities, they consume this type of diet because a mostly meat diet is "effective in keeping the body warm, making the body strong, keeping the body fit, and even making that body healthy".[3]

  1. ^ Lougheed, T. (2010). "The Changing Landscape of Arctic Traditional Food". Environmental Health Perspectives. 118 (9): A386–A393. doi:10.1289/ehp.118-a386. PMC 2944111. PMID 20810341.
  2. ^ Nunavut Food Security Coalition
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Searles was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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