Abstract

SOLANA, María del Carmen Suárez. The outside meaning of “eating right” in Mexico. Salud colect. [online]. 2016, vol.12, n.4, pp.575-588. ISSN 1669-2381.  http://dx.doi.org/10.18294/sc.2016.1103.

This paper uses Mintz’s category of outside meaning to present the social, economic and politic context in Mexico in which the concept of “eating right” [alimentación correcta] has been constructed, from the first food-related interventions to the current social food policies. The text is divided in three periods. The first refers to the notion of “normal diet” [dieta normal] and spans from 1930 to 1980. The second is characterized by a focus on individual requirements of vitamins and minerals, going from 1980 until 2000. Finally, the third period goes from 2000 to the present, and corresponds to the concept of a “proper diet” [dieta correcta]. A main conclusion is that the underlying purpose of the food interventions has been to modernize Mexico - according to the different conceptualizations of what it meant to do so predominant in each period - while maintaining and reproducing relationships of power.

Keywords : Anthropology; Nutrition Programs and Policies; México..

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