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https://repositorio-socioecologia.conahcyt.mx/jspui/handle/1000/297| Food beyond the farm: significance of non-crop plants and mushrooms for food security of highland farming communities in Veracruz, Mexico | |
| Simoneta Negrete-Yankelevich Alejandra Guzmán Luna Sofía Lail Lugo-Castilla Tlacaelel Rivera Núñez | |
| Acceso Abierto | |
| Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas | |
| ISBN: 978-0-443-16076-9 | |
| Forest and riverbeds are known to have positive effects on neighboring agricultural plots. Although ethnoscience studies have shown that these environments can contribute to food self-sufficiency, little agroecological research has been conducted on the role of forests and riverbeds as sources of non-crop food for farming communities. In this chapter, we present the findings of a case study in which we analyzed the contribution of edible non-crop plants and mushrooms to the food security of five farming communities in the highlands of Cofre de Perote in central Veracruz, Mexico. The locations of these five communities differed regarding their respective distances to urban areas. We evaluated: 1) variations in the richness of consumed non-crop plants and mushrooms across habitats and farming communities; 2) the effect of urban centers’ proximity on the consumption of these species, and c) the willingness of participants to engage in advocacy actions to promote sustainable consumption of edible non-crop species. Within each farming community, we conducted five focus groups, and field surveys of agricultural fields (milpas), riverbeds, and forest patches. We also surveyed fifty households to explore how edible non-crop species contribute to the food security of farming families. Participants in the workshops and field surveys reported consuming more than sixty edible non-crop plants and 25 edible mushroom species/morphotypes. Forest and milpa were equally important sources of edible plants, while forest patches were the only source of mushrooms. Distance between communities and urban centers was not correlated with the richness of edible non-crop species/morphotypes. Participants expressed interest in 1) advocating for the protection and consumption of these species through community recipes, 2) producing edible herbs in domestic greenhouses, and 3) restoring local ecosystems. Our research demonstrates that the use of edible non-crop plants can play a significant role in enhancing food security in these and similar farming communities and is rooted in the communities' traditional ecological knowledge, desires, and practices. Further, this study highlights the need to assess non-crop food sources from an agroecological perspective. | |
| Roland Ebel y Fabian Menalled | |
| 12-02-2024 | |
| Capítulo de libro | |
| Inglés | |
| Guzmán-Luna, A., Lugo-Castilla, S. L., Rivera-Nuñez, T., & Negrete-Yankelevich, S. (2025). Food beyond the farm: significance of noncrop plants and mushrooms for food security of highland farming communities in Veracruz, Mexico. In Ebel , Menalled. Agroecology of Edible Weeds and Noncrop Plants (pp. 241-258). Academic Press. | |
| CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA | |
| Versión publicada | |
| publishedVersion - Versión publicada | |
| Appears in Collections: | Documentos |
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