REFLECTIONS ON THE ETHNOGRAPHIC METHOD FOR APPREHENSION OF SOCIAL POLICIES IN THE FIELD OF FOOD AND NUTRITION: RESEARCH NOTES IN A COMMUNITY KITCHEN

Authors

  • Helisa Canfield de Castro Universidade Federal do Rio grande do Sul Programa de Pós-Graduação em Antropologia Social
  • Maria Eunice Maciel Universidade Federal do Rio grande do Sul Depto de Antropologia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12957/demetra.2015.15933

Keywords:

Food. Public Policies. Ethnography. Social Class. Food and Nutrition Security.

Abstract

This paper aims to reflect on the relevance of the ethnographicmethod to apprehend social policies in the field of Food andNutrition. It is based on data from a survey conducted in acommunity kitchen from a Waste Sorting and Composting Unit(UTC – Unidade de Triagem e Compostagem de Resíduos) – popularlyknown as “dump” – in a neighborhood on the outskirts of PortoAlegre, RS, Brazil. It is argued that the merit of this research isin its traditional method, ethnography, which involves a set ofconcepts and procedures that will lead us to the point of viewof the groups surveyed through an intensive in situ work. Firstlywe seek to bring some definitions and characterizations of socialpolicies that address Food and Nutrition Security (FNS; SAN– Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional) as well as the ethnographiccontext; then, based on some ethnographic notes, we will attemptto elucidate, although initially, possible appropriations thatactors do on the community kitchen and on other programsthere. Without intending to exhaust the debate, at the end thediscussion is in favor of the relevance of the method for a deepunderstanding of the directions given to social programs and tothe questioning of the different logics that inhabit the contextstudied, allowing to critically rethink the government’s actionsconcerning FNS.

DOI: 10.12957/demetra.2015.15933

Author Biographies

Helisa Canfield de Castro, Universidade Federal do Rio grande do Sul Programa de Pós-Graduação em Antropologia Social

Possui graduação em Nutrição pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (2011). Atualmente é membro colaborador do Núcleo de Estudos Interdisciplinares em Cultura e Alimentação (NEICA/UFRGS) e mestranda do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Antropologia Social (PPGAS/UFRGS). Tem experiência na área de Nutrição Social e interesse nos aspectos culturais da alimentação com pesquisa junto a classes populares.

 

Maria Eunice Maciel, Universidade Federal do Rio grande do Sul Depto de Antropologia

Possui graduação em Ciências Sociais (1977), Especialização em História do Rio Grande do Sul (1979) e Mestrado em Antropologia Social (1984) pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul e Doctorat en Anthropologie Sociale - Université de Paris V (René Descartes) (1994). Em 2006 realizou um estágio de pós - doutorado com Margarita Xanthakou (CNRS / LAS, Laboratoire de Anthropologie Sociale) . Atualmente é professora associada da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Atua, principalmente, nos seguintes temas: identidade, imaginário e representações sociais; Modo de vida; cultura(s) popular (es) ; diversidade e patrimônio na sociedade contemporânea. Atualmente, suas pesquisas estão voltadas para a antropologia da alimentação e a diversidade ciultural. Participante das Redes Alimentação e Cultura (nacional) e CORPUS International Group for the Cultural Studies of the Body e ICAF International Commission on the Anthropology of Food (Internacionais).

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Published

2015-07-28

How to Cite

de Castro, H. C., & Maciel, M. E. (2015). REFLECTIONS ON THE ETHNOGRAPHIC METHOD FOR APPREHENSION OF SOCIAL POLICIES IN THE FIELD OF FOOD AND NUTRITION: RESEARCH NOTES IN A COMMUNITY KITCHEN. DEMETRA: Food, Nutrition & Health, 10(3), 523–537. https://doi.org/10.12957/demetra.2015.15933

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 3 (2015): NÚMERO TEMÁTICO "DIÁLOGOS NO CAMPO DA ANTROPOLOGIA DA ALIMENTAÇÃO"

Section

THEMATIC ARTICLES

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