0400/2020 - Normativazing the eating act: a critical analysis of Brazilian and Spanish food guides in the COVID-19 pandemic
Normativizando o comer: análise crítica de guias alimentares brasileiros e espanhóis no contexto da pandemia de COVID-19
Publicado
Author:
• Ursula Peres Verthein - Verthein, U.P - <ursulaverthein@gmail.com>ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1304-9642
Co-author(s):
• Maria Clara de Moraes Prata Gaspar - Gaspar, M.C.M.P - <ma.prata@gmail.com>ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1517-4981
Abstract:
In response to the health, social, economic and political impacts caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, several countries have taken physical isolation as a preventive measure. The concern with “healthy eating” was accentuated in this context and food guides were developed as an orientation strategy related to eating practices. This article aims to carry out a critical and comparative analysis of four food guides published in Brazil and Spain in this period, based on three axes: the conceptions of healthy eating, the place attributed to the multidimensionality of the eating act and the relevance of intersectionality. The documents were compared using a qualitative approach based on the discourse analysis. The documents present differences in terms of the format and content of the recommendations, but the discursive construction of all guides is normative and reproduces a fundamentally biomedical perspective centered on nutrients and individual responsibility, without taking into consideration the multidimensionality of the eating act and the specificities of the micro and macrosocial contexts. The analysis also reveals the need to include the intersectionaldimensions of gender, race, ethnicity and class into the recommendations.
