Food, Health, and Culture oh my!

The Nutrition Transition

We kicked off our last two weeks of classes with our professor Jean Harvey. Our first two days we spent talking about the differences in diet between the US and Mexico and health disasters in Mexico. We looked at US and Mexico Dietary Guidelines noting how the US seemed slightly more detailed in terms of nutrient intake as well as building healthy eating patterns, while Mexico talked a little more about the importance of enjoying eating, which was an interesting cultural difference. We then turned our conversation towards obesity and how it is a huge problem in Mexico as well as the US. This is in part due to the nutrition transition, where before in “developing” countries were extremely malnourished and thin while “developed” countries have an obesity problem, now as poorer countries are developing and have access to food, it is typically food high in saturated fats and added sugars. Now these people who have struggled to get any type of food, receive mainly junk food, causing an obesity and diabetes problem. We talked about our own observations of this in Mexico, and how we have all noticed the large consumption of sweetened beverages, especially Coca Cola. This background in nutrition prepared us for the rest of the week where we started field trips around the city to learn more about programs combating food inaccessibility and malnutrition.

Health and Nutrition Issues in Oaxaca

After learning about the nutrition background on Mexico, we Food Systems and Global Health students headed to SURCO to hear a presentation by the Community Kitchen Coordinator of DIF. DIF standing for Sistema Nacional para el Desarrollo Integral de la Familia, provides assistance to food and nutrition vulnerable populations. This includes children 6-11 months, pregnant or lactating women, and elders. There are 2,350 Community Kitchens in 834 Municipalities. They promote food security, nutrition, and human rights. They operate by working with municipalities to support communities with food, aqua filters, kitchen equipment, and education. DIF beneficiaries accept the benefits and prepare the meals themselves in teams. This way communities are committing to cooking to meals rather than solely receiving them. Community Kitchens receive a wide range of food supplies that reflect their mission of fighting obesity and malnutrition. They are integrating greater amounts of soy and using less sugar and salt while preparing meals. DIF goals coincide with the national program SINHAMBRE to strive for Zero Hunger, eliminate child malnutrition, and promote community participation.

DIF Community Kitchens trip

It was great to make the trip on Thursday to the Community Kitchen to see  the DIF program in action. We heard from the DIF sponsor, the president of the municipality, and his wife, while a group of women prepared soya-chorizo tacos with some pasta soup for the day’s comida. The DIF program is really striving to improve health and community development for vulnerable communities all around Oaxaca, and you could really sense the importance and strength of their mission when sitting in the dining hall surrounded by happy faces and amaranth bars. The people at the Kitchen were very hospitable, sharing some of the comida with us after our discussion and insisting on taking some photos. Overall it was a really good experience for us to see the efforts being made to better the lives of people here.

Food assistance, public health programs, food and nutrition policies

On Friday the Global Health and Nutrition tracks were fortunate enough to hear a presentation from an employee of the PROSPERA program. PROSPERA is a government program designed to improve well-being among impoverished families within Mexico. However, Prospera brings an interesting and unique approach to social welfare by empowering its participants through financial education and resources. These come in the form of ATM cards, microcredit loans, as well as financial education classes, with the ultimate goal of the program being to connect people with the formal job market, lifting them out of poverty. During class before this visit the group as a whole had a variety of conclusions regarding the dietary analysis project. Many found a lack of protein due to the lack of a consumption of meat. Others found that they were consuming more sugary beverages since living in Mexico. Aside from that, dietary trends were varied on a person to person basis. Neither of these are particularly surprising, as they are in accordance with larger trends within Mexico. Excited for another week of class with Jean!

Dietary Recommendations at the Community Kitchen

Presentations- Lucha(Libre) Contra Hambre!

Saludos,
Vanessa, SJ, Mary, and Benito