The notion of food culture in the actions of food and nutrition education in Brazilian schools: a critical analysis

Abstract

The scope of this paper is to conduct a critical analysis on how perceptions of the notion of food culture have been presented in scientific papers on food and nutrition education in Brazilian Elementary schools. To achieve this, the use and application of this concept in the texts were recorded and the forms of the proposed relationship between the inclusion of food culture in the theoretical-methodological planning and the practice of the actions were critically read and analyzed. The paper is based on qualitative document research. The theoretical scope of the socio-anthropology of food is used as the focal point to support the reflections. Twenty scientific papers were selected on food and nutrition education published in various databases between 2010 and 2018. For data production and analysis, discourse analysis techniques were used. The conclusion drawn is that, despite being mentioned repeatedly in the texts, food culture is not consolidated as a legitimate dimension in the field of food and nutrition education. Although it is almost always claimed in the texts, it is not always explicitly and concretely mentioned. Therefore, it ends up losing the relevance and weight that, paradoxically, it already has.

Key words:
Food and nutrition education; Culture; School food