Meios de vida e produção de alimentos: quando a paisagem diversifica, o prato fica colorido

• Ano de defesa: 2013
• Autor(a) principal: Oliveira, Regina Rodrigues de
• Orientador(a): Botelho, Maria Izabel Vieira
• Banca de defesa: Cardoso, Irene Maria
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: por
• Instituição de defesa: Universidade Federal de Viçosa
• Programa de Pós-Graduação: Mestrado em Extensão Rural
• Departamento: Instituições sociais e desenvolvimento; Cultura, processos sociais e conhecimento
• País: BR
• Palavras-chave em Português: Meios de vida; Agroecologia; Paisagem e segurança alimentar e nutricional
• Palavras-chave em Inglês: Livelihoods; Agroecology; Landscape and food and nutrition security
• Área do conhecimento CNPq: CNPQ::CIENCIAS AGRARIAS::AGRONOMIA::EXTENSAO RURAL
• Link de acesso: http://locus.ufv.br/handle/123456789/4196

Sustainable food and nutrition security has become an important topic in discussions on health since the 1990s and went on to be highlighted in public policies from 2003 on. However, the health of Brazilians is still at risk and, in general, is increasingly compromised by the consumption of low nutritional value foods and high chemical contamination. In this way, this study consisted of an analysis of livelihoods and changes in food consumption promoted by Agroecology practices from smallholders of two villages of the Zona da Mata of Minas Gerais: Acaiaca and Divino. We attempted to perform this analysis following a transdisciplinary approach, evaluating biological, healthy, cultural, environmental and economic aspects. With the data from field work and reports from the Alternative Technologies Center from Zona da Mata (CTA-ZM), it was possible to gather knowledge about the region and build a semi-structured interview which was conducted with 18 farming families, participants of this research. The interviews in the two areas allowed a comparison based on the identification of different livelihood strategies. The main focus of attention in the analysis were the outlines of the landscapes, the managements adopted, the type and amount of food produced, eating practices and habits before and after the adoption of the Agroecology principals. Based on the empirical data collected, it can be stated that the diversification of food landscapes enables a more varied diet, which improves food and nutritional security, besides reducing expenses with food purchases. At the same time, while farmers participate in the construction of Agroecology spaces, such as Agroecological exchanges, workshops and courses offered by CTA-ZM and organizations of rural workers in the region, the landscapes were also modified including new elements in much of the food for families and animals. With Agroecology, the livelihoods of smallholders have become less environmentally impactful and economically sustainable, contributing to the permanence of the families in rural areas. It can also be argued that the Agroecology practices allowed smallholders to have greater food autonomy, in addition to improving the overall health status as the supply of food was diversified, consumption of healthy foods was encouraged and access to information on health and quality of life was provided.