Research summary
In a global food system that is neither sustainable nor conducive to health, food insecurity coexists with obesity and other nutrition-related metabolic diseases, like diabetes. Yet there are local, sustainable solutions that deserve to be investigated to tackle this unsustainable situation.
Dr. Malek Batal, Canada Research Chair in Nutrition and Health Inequalities, is working with Indigenous peoples in Canada and overseas who have been affected by metabolic diseases after transitioning away from their traditional foods. In order to stop malnutrition and related diseases from escalating, he and his research team are investigating and promoting solutions based in environmentally and culturally sustainable local food systems.