On April 26th 2023 I set off kayaking from southern to northern Greenland. From Qaqortoq and kayaking solo for around 3000km along the coast and aiming for Qaannaq.
As well as trying to raise awareness of climate change in the Arctic I thought it would be an interesting project to eat solely an ancestral Inuit diet – what the Inuit would’ve lived on for thousands of years of successful existence in Greenland. I ate a purely traditional Greenlandic diet for 90 days. The team of microbiologists in this study all had differing backgrounds and interests but they are analysing samples of my gut (through the medium of poo) to see what effect the diet had on my gut microbiome, physiology and mental well being. As part of the same study had extensive Before and After tests at St Thomas’ Hospital in London working with the Twins Research project with tests on my blood, urine and stool, a dexascan to measure bone density, muscle/fat ratios and percentages and I’m also being tested for any increase in heavy metals, microplastics and any other pollutants.
I rough camped a lot of the time, used hunters cabins and stayed in settlements whenever I could. Greenlanders are really big on social media and, using the live locator on this website, they always had an amazing reception ready for me when I paddled into a town. Very welcome after a long cold & wet day paddling – especially as they always brought gifts of food and a place to sleep. The experiences I had of the people of Greenland were easily the best aspect of the trip.
I’m really trying to bring awareness of how illogical and damaging the current global food system is as well as highlighting the benefits of eating local using localised food systems – as humans have been doing for the last million years. It’s only within the last two gnerations really that we’ve totally flipped our entire food culture on it’s head. Instead of eating resources that are within a 10 mile radius of where we are, we now rely on food being flown around the world, grown in staggering quantities that have detrimental effects on huge swathes of land & wildlife. To add insult to injury they’re often pumped full of fertilizer, antibiotics and other chemicals to maximise yields. With the added scientific analysis of micro-plastic pollution levels, I sincerely hope the results of this expedition will add weight to climate change awareness and bring further focus on the beautiful country of Greenland and its progressive attitude.
