This book is the final expression of an exchange of experiences and knowledge among members of the Asháninka, Aymara, Kayambi, Cree, Inuit, Náhuatl, Maya Q’eqchi’, Métis, Misak, and Wolastoqey peoples and nations, spanning the American continent from northern Canada to the Amazon. They gathered for the first time in May 2024 in the cloud forests of Yunguilla, Ecuador, at the meeting titled “Transformation of Food Systems: Perspectives from Peoples and Nations of the Americas.” It began as a conversation about the transformation of Indigenous food systems in the region, which continued to be enriched over time through individual or group interviews, the exchange of ideas via social networks, conversations about traditional dishes with various community members, and other forms of collective reflection.

With funding from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and coordination by Rimisp – Latin American Center for Rural Development, this book seeks to highlight the elements that characterize contemporary Indigenous food systems, their potentialities and the challenges they face, what they mean for each people, the spaces of adaptation and rediscovery that are emerging, the historical changes in the production and gathering of their foods, and the flavors that shape a great diversity of cultures.