The 2^nd North at Trent 2013 Lecture Series was delivered by Michael Robidoux on January 29th who discussed his research on Chronic Disease Prevention Through Local Food Procurement Initiatives. Currently a professor of Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa, he is part of the Indigenous Health Research Group, a multidisciplinary team whose current work focuses on community based food initiatives aimed at addressing chronic health issues among Indigenous populations. The three communities in this study are located in northern Ontario, regions accessible only by plane or winter ice roads. Health and diet are a growing concern particularly among youth, due to increasing rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

The transition from semi-nomadic lifestyles to permanent settlements began in the 1930s, a shift which began a transition away from a traditional diet of caribou, moose, beaver and fish. By the 1950s processed foods were increasingly available. Today a standard diet includes food from the land and store bought foods, the latter priced at rates that would shock most Ontarians. Robidoux described the significant effort required to procure enough wild meat and fish for the community. Drawing on his own personal experiences as part of a community hunting expedition, he described 12 hour days travelling first by snowmobiles, then snowshoes and finally on foot through waist deep snow to try to secure a moose. Unsuccessful, the hunting party would return to the community empty handed.

Unexpectedly, the team's research determined that there was no significant difference in health outcomes between people who consumed wild foods over store bought food. In fact those who eat more traditional food were found to have higher than average amounts of mercury and PCBs in their systems. Regardless both scientific and local knowledge affirm that locally harvested and prepared foods are of tremendous cultural, social and nutritional value. Community members described how eating wild meat made them feel stronger. Robidoux emphasized that  these "culturally confirming foods" are not only good for health reasons but are less costly and help to promote traditional cultural practices.

As a community based initiative, this research is being translated into effective community generated programs encouraging healthy eating and maintaining traditional knowledge systems. The program now includes nine other Indigenous communities across Canada. Community initiated hunter-support programs, school breakfast programs and community gardens have been created in partnership with Robidoux and his team. Robidoux describes these programs as a testimony to the value of community based research that moves beyond scientific reporting and aligns itself to local cultural practices.