Nutrition and Anthropology: Cooperation and Convergences - Pacific Examples

Abstract

The work of nutritionists and anthropologists has gradually developed from the mutual support of participating academics and practitioners, as Christine Wilson's work clearly shows. Over the latter part of the twentieth century in the Pacific, current concerns regarding health, gender relations, and food security have drawn the experts into closer dialogue. When we look at the products of such attention, both theoretical and practical, we find that issues such as total caloric intake, feasting, fiber, Vitamin A intake, and the role of fast food have all benefited from the collaboration of the social and medical sciences. Food access, whether from purchased or locally grown products, continues to pose a dilemma for Pacific governments in the face of health concerns and the globalization versus localization debate. In this article, I argue that local foods are more beneficial socially, as well as for health and economic reasons.

KEYWORDS:

• nutrition
• anthropology
• Pacific
• health
• global/local

Notes

PIN, formerly Pacific Islands Nutrition Newsletter (various dates). Quarterly Publication of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Noumea.