Local Criollo people's perceptions of changes in wild food consumption in a deforestation frontier in the Argentine Dry Chaco

Abstract

Wild foods (WFs) are an important component of rural diets worldwide. We conducted research in the deforestation frontier of the Argentine Dry Chaco to assess local Criollo people´s (LCP) perceptions of changes in WFs consumption over the past decade, and the main drivers of these changes. We interviewed 116 people across multiple settlements. Our results show a marked decline in both the number of wildlife species consumed and the average biomass consumed per family. Currently, families consume 62 kg of wild meat and collect 119 kg of wild fruits and 19 kg of forest honey per year. Although WFs remain in the diet, they are increasingly replaced by livestock meat and purchased foods. Drivers include socioeconomic pressures, reduced WFs availability, restricted access to harvesting areas, and cultural shifts. The results contribute an increased understanding of the value of WFs and of the factors associated with their declining consumption by LCP.