College of Education, Health & Human Development
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/24
The College of Education, Health and Human Development (EHHD) is comprised of two departments: the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Development.
Browse
2 results
Search Results
Item Quelites—Agrobiodiversity beyond our crops(University of California Press, 2024-04) Ebel, Roland; Menalled, Fabián D.; Morales Payán, J. Pablo; Baldinelli, Giulia Maria; Berríos Ortiz, Laura; Castillo Cocom, Juan ArielThe monoculture of a handful of energy-dense crops that dominates contemporary agriculture has resulted in an erosion of agrobiodiversity, environmental issues, agroecosystem dependency on off-farm inputs, and diets with poor diversity in nutrients and flavors. However, diversified agriculture persists in communities characterized by subsistence farming, many of them Indigenous. Although movements across Latin America aim to rescue agrobiodiversity, they are widely limited to cropping system diversification, including practices such as crop rotations, intercropping, and cover crops. The agrobiodiversity of plants associated with crops, often labeled as weeds, is commonly not considered in this context. Yet edible weeds are the essential components of traditional food systems where they increase the functional diversity of agroecosystems and contribute to human nutrition. In Mexico, the term “quelite” describes noncultivated but edible plants growing on a crop field. Across the American continent, there are nutritious quelites that are commonly perceived as “weeds.” In this article, we discuss the concept of quelites, their origin in traditional Mexican agriculture, their significance for agroecosystem diversification, and their potential for the future. We demonstrate, with 12 examples, that quelites have always been part of agroecosystems across the Americas. We aim to spread the concept of quelites beyond traditional farming in Mexico to promote the use of these promising plants. We conclude the article with suggestions for strategies to achieve this goal.Item The Importance of the Food System For Rural Vitality and Livelihoods In the US Northern Great Plains(Brandon University, 2023-03) Ebel, Roland; Thornton, AlexandraThe geopolitical U.S. Northern Great Plains encompass the state areas of Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. While other parts of the United States have seen considerable outmigration from rural areas, this region has widely maintained its rural population due to favorable employment, education, food security, and relatively low poverty levels. Currently, the expansion of large-scale agriculture, often poor food environments, and demographic trends, as well as external factors such as climate change, may affect population densities, livelihoods, and the vitality of the rural U.S. Northern Great Plains. We suggest a strong role of the food system in shaping these developments. For our study, we processed socio-economic and food-system-related data from demographic databases in descriptive statistics to explore the impact of the food system on demographic and socio-economic parameters. Specifically, we present data on how selected parameters of demography, employment, education, poverty, agriculture, food security, food accessibility, and health have changed during the past four decades in the U.S. Northern Great Plains, specifically its rural parts. We later discuss how these changes may contribute to future demographic and livelihood developments. We aim to offer our readers an understanding of the complex and interacting developments affecting rural residents of the U.S. Northern Great Plains and the important role the food system plays in the present and future of the region.