Meanings of food, eating and health among African Nova Scotians: ‘certain things aren't meant for Black folk'

Abstract

Objective. Most research on food, ethnicity and health in Canada is focused on the dietary acculturation of first of second generation migrants. ‘Failure’ to adopt nutritional guidelines for healthy eating is generally understood as lack of education or persistence of cultural barriers. In this study we explore the meanings of food, health, and well-being embedded in the food practices of African Nova Scotians, a population with a 400-year history in Canada.

Design

Design. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 2 or 3 members of each of 13 families who identified as African Nova Scotian. Interviews asked about eating patterns; the influence of food preferences, health concerns, cost, and culture; perceptions of healthy eating and good eating; how food decisions were made; and changes over time. In addition, research assistants observed a ‘typical’ grocery shopping trip and one family meal.

Results

Results. Participants readily identified what they perceived to be distinctively ‘Black ways of eating.’ Beyond mainstream nutrition discourses about reduction of chronic disease risk, participants identified three ways of thinking about food, health, and well-being: physical well-being, emphasizing stamina, energy and strength; family and community well-being; and cultural or racial well-being, emphasizing cultural identity maintenance, but also resistance to racism.

Conclusion

Conclusion. While culturally traditional eating patterns are often understood as costly in terms of health, it is equally important to understand that adopting healthy eating has costs in terms of family, community, and cultural identity. Dietary change unavoidably entails cultural loss, thus resisting healthy eating guidelines may signify resistance to racism or cultural dominance. Several suggestions are offered regarding how community strengths and beliefs, as well as cultural meanings of food and health, might inform effective healthy eating interventions.

Keywords:

• diet
• eating practices
• African Canadians

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Canadian Institutes for Health Research for funding, and Josephine Etowa and Donna Smith who helped guide the project. We thank Carolyn Gill and Candy Johnson, research assistants, as well as the study participants who made this possible. We are grateful to the anonymous reviewers and the editor, whose feedback greatly strengthened this paper.

Notes

1. As in the movie Soul Food (1997), Big Mommas are well-respected women in the African community known for cooking ‘soul foods’ for Sunday gatherings after church.