The outside meaning of “eating right” in Mexico

Abstract

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

• Antropología
• Programas y Políticas de Nutrición y Alimentación
• México