From north to south, and east to west, Brazil produces massive amounts of food, both for domestic consumption and export. In cities, these products are plentiful in supermarkets, greengrocers, and weekly markets, the latter of which makes up an integral part of Brazil’s nutritional culture and the food environments of its cities. But a recent study from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) shows that, for the more than 15 million Brazilians who live in favelas and similar urban communities, these healthy fresh foods are harder to come by — and are often prohibitively expensive.
The study involved asking residents of Brazilian favelas about their “food environments,” a concept that encompasses all forms of nutrition available to people in the areas where they live, work, and study. The results overwhelmingly showed that the participants struggled to access healthy food at accessible prices.
Participants were split into online focus groups and asked a series of questions about their nutritional habits and the availability of food where they live. Ph.D. student in public health and spokesperson for the study, Luana Lara Rocha says the research model allowed them to invite people from favelas in different parts of Brazil to give their perspectives.
“And there was an added benefit, because the participants could interact and share experiences with each other. Favelas in Brazil aren’t all the same, each has its own context, specificities and history, so bringing these people together makes the dialogue much richer,” she tells The Brazilian Report.
Four-fifths of respondents were women, and 60 percent resided in favelas in Brazil’s Southeast, the most populous region of...
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