Nurturing Sustainability: The Indigenous Factor in Food Origins
By Claudia Laricchia — July 1, 2025
5 MIN READ
This article is featured in the Magazine “Exploring Origin – The Importance of Knowing Where Food Comes From”, created in collaboration with Global Retail Brands. You can find more insights about the Magazine and additional articles here.
In a world where choices reverberate globally, understanding the intricate tapestry of food origins becomes paramount.
Guardians of biodiversity and climate, particularly Indigenous Peoples, play a pivotal role in safeguarding our planet’s delicate balance. At 5 years and less than 100 hundred days marked by the climate clock as deadline for the climate collapse, humanity needs to merge traditional Indigenous wisdom with innovative solutions, acknowledging the need for harmonious coexistence between nature and human endeavors. These ingredients must be aimed to invest in the next generations for a regenerative future.
Transition to 4th Dimension of Sustainability
As we transition from the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the Agenda 2030, the Indigenous Factor becomes integral to sustainability’s 4th dimension – the inner dimension, meaning the consciousness transformation process that allow humanity (including entrepreneurs) to reconnect with themselves at first, for changing mindset and afterwords rapidly design new sustainable and regenerative development models. This further dimension is now crucial for training a new class of ecopreneurs as the current tools, kpi and methodologies are simply not enough anymore for tackling such a severe anthropocentric climate emergency.
Why the Indigenous Factor is Needed for Food Systems
Indigenous Peoples, meaning 5% worldwide population, protect 85% of biodiversity at a global level, extending their crucial custodianship beyond ecological preservation to the heart of our food systems. Excluding these custodians undermines any sustainability effort, emphasizing the profound interconnection between food, climate, and Indigenous communities.
Their wisdom is invaluable in terms of humanity and nature balance and it must be rapidly integrated while being in charge of sustainability at all levels, including economic and industrial ones.
When Systemic Thinking Becomes a Spiritual Approach to Food Systems
Involving Indigenous communities also means elevating their voices, sharing wisdom, and fostering peer-to-peer knowledge exchange. Integrating Indigenous People’s spiritual and regenerative mindset into our food systems challenges existing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), urging a transformative shift towards sustainability rooted in Indigenous wisdom.
Systemic Thinking and Technology
A systemic thinking approach reveals the interconnectedness between consumers, farmers, and the sources of nutrition. Through an Indigenous lens, this connection is deepened, fostering an appreciation for the symbiotic relationship with the origins of sustenance. Prioritizing diverse voices, rooted in science, data, and facts, aims to inspire informed choices that resonate globally.
Tech Tools and Indigenous Factor
While the Western world brings technology and economic sustainability, Indigenous populations contribute biodiversity and nature. Co-creating innovative eco- businesses requires a holistic approach, incorporating systemic thinking, interconnectedness, indigenous factors, diversity, and science-driven principles. Technology tools, such as blockchain, RFID, QR Codes, AI, and more, become meaningful within this framework, designed to protect food origins transparently. This bridge between two different worlds must be solid for next generations to lead the future.
The Urgency of Indigenous Collaboration
Recognizing the urgency before the predicted climate collapse, these tools must integrate the Indigenous factor for effective design and customer utilization. The concrete example of the Smily Academy, a unique initiative founded in collaboration with The Forest Man of India and implemented by his NGO Indigenous People’s Climate Justice Forum symbolizes the synergy between tradition and innovation for a regenerative future.
“Integrating Indigenous People’s spiritual and regenerative mindset into our food systems challenges existing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), urging a transformative shift towards sustainability rooted in Indigenous wisdom.”
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