Conversations on a Changing Planet: Sistemas Alimentarios Indígenas

The second installment of the Abya Yala Student Organization's Conversations on a Changing Planet and Latin America will take place Monday, May 3 (1:30pm EST) with Dr. Armando Medinaceli presenting his talk called, "Sistemas alimentarios indígenas". This event will be presented in Spanish.

We are what we eat and we belong to the systems that place the food on our table. From the sources of water used for the crops, to the kind of man labor utilized in the different steps of production, or the varieties of agricultural species we choose to eat, the food we consume is often a strong political statement that we usually overlook or take for granted. In North America, the colonial structures that violently oppressed the native societies for centuries have changed very little in regards to the food systems. How many native plates can we say we know or have eaten once at least? What local condiments and plants existed before the European invasion? What does it mean to decolonize our kitchen and why should we all try it? Armando Medinaceli, Indigenous Education Director at NĀTIFS - North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems will reflect with us on these topics from his experience across South and North America working with indigenous food systems that keep resisting the colonial occupation.
 

Dr. Armando Medinaceli es un etnobiólogo boliviano con amplia experiencia colaborando con pueblos indígenas en Bolivia, México, Guatemala y Estados Unidos, y como profesor a nivel de pregrado y posgrado en los Estados Unidos y Bolivia. Cuenta con más de quince años de experiencia trabajando en etnobiología sistemas alimentarios indígenas y soberanía alimentaria, diversidad biocultural, sostenibilidad, cambio climático, conservación comunitaria, video colaborativo. A través de su enfoque de investigación colabortiva y su experiencia como profesor, ha liderado investigaciones y programas con un enfoque educativo siempre resaltando las perspectivas locales y apoyando la autodeterminación de las comunidades indígenas.