Document Type

Article

Publication Version

Post-print accepted manuscript

Publication Date

2023

Abstract

Wild foods, from forests and common lands, can contribute to food and nutrition 32 security. Most previous studies have established correlations between wild food 33 consumption and children’s dietary diversity in Africa, but other groups and geographic 34 contexts remain understudied. Here, a rigorous quasi-experimental method was 35 combined with monthly-interval data to assess the contribution of wild foods to women’s 36 diets. We collected 24-hour diet recall data monthly, from November 2016 to November 37 2017, from 570 households in East India. We found that wild foods contributed 38 positively to diets, especially in June and July (when consumption of wild foods was 39 highest). Women who consumed wild foods had higher average dietary diversity scores 40 (13% and 9% higher in June and July, respectively) and were more likely to consume 41 nutrient-dense, dark green leafy vegetables than those who did not. Our results underscore the importance of policies that increase knowledge of wild foods and protect 42 people's rights to access forests and other common lands for improved nutrition.

DOI of Published Version

s43016-023-00766-1

Comments

The dataset supporting this manuscript can be in this repository:

https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/nrm_datasets/6/

Download

Share

COinS