Consumo de Plantas Alimentícias Não Convencionais (PANC) entre famílias em vulnerabilidade social e insegurança alimentar no Vale do Ribeira, São Paulo

Abstract

Social vulnerability and food insecurity (FI) have increased in Brazil in recent years, especially during the health crisis caused by Covid-19. Currently, in the country, there are 125.2 million people in FI and more than 33 million in a situation of hunger. Unconventional food plants (UFP) are a food alternative to diversify family diets and mitigate food insecurity. The present research aimed to verify whether social vulnerability and food insecurity influence the consumption of UFP and whether these food plants are more used among families with high social vulnerability. The study took place in the urban area of the municipality of Registro, Vale do Ribeira, SP. Using the Snowball methodology, 74 interviews were carried out in households distributed in low and high vulnerability groups. To verify the location of vulnerability groups in urban areas, the Census (IBGE) and São Paulo Social Vulnerability Index (IPVS) databases were used. In all the houses visited, in addition to the interviews, an inventory of the backyards was carried out to verify the occurrence of UFP consumed and not consumed as food by families. It was found that 100% of families that presented moderate FI and severe FI had occurrence of UFP in their backyards, followed by families with mild FI, with 83.33%. Regarding the consumption of these plants as food, families in moderate FI are those that use UFP the most (90.90%), followed by families in severe FI (87.50%) and mild FI (55.55%). It was also found that families residing in the high social vulnerability group are the ones that consume the most UFP from their backyards (77.77%), compared to families in low vulnerability groups (65.79%). Based on these results, therefore, it is possible to affirm that social vulnerability and food insecurity are factors that influence the consumption of UFP in urban areas. It is hoped that this study can contribute to public and private initiatives to promote and popularize UFP, especially among families in social vulnerability and with greater exposure.