Health, indigenous food security and social politics in the Arctic region (with the special focus on Murmansk oblast )

Abstract

Social policy is directly concerned with food security issues, and the task to improve nutrition and related population health assumes increased importance given the context of Arctic globalization. It is obvious that Arctic social policies in term of food security should be distinguished from the "non-Arctic" one, and focused on identifying, assessing, monitoring and easing, if not completely eliminating the harmful impact of the risks involved. However, most studies on the subject, have focused mainly on the problem of small indigenous minorities (“indigenous food security”), meanwhile the food security issues of newcomers and, later, rooted population were not studied in such detail. Geographically, the survey covers the area of the Murmansk region, since it is fully integrated into the Arcticzone of the Russian Federation and has a number of features that distinguish it from other regions. The study was designed to identify the various risks and threats to the health of the population of the Murmansk region. The various factors that are directly related to the manner, style and quality of nutrition (as well as the “weight” of these groups of factors in human life quality in the North) have been identified. It is evident the food security is important factor tightly connected with the human life quality in the Arctic.