Journal Articles (DCC-AS)

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Browsing Journal Articles (DCC-AS) by Subject "forms of malnutrition"

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    Changing dietary practices: The new food insecurity among the pastoralists in Mabwegere village Kilosa district
    (Research Gate, 2020) Massoi, L.W.; Saruni, P
    While global and national efforts are increasingly aiming at ending all forms of malnutrition by 2030, food insecurity levels are increasingly high among the pastoralist communities in sub-Saharan Africa. This scenario is attributed to the existing efforts and strategies, which are predominantly preoccupied with the narrative that, people are food secure and active life at all times. This perspective overlooks the presence of heterogeneous communities with different cultural beliefs about health, livelihoods, and sustainability of food supply. This article argues that food security is not only concerned with food availability but also traditional dietary preferences. This study used a qualitative case oriented design and data were collected through key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Food production among the Maasai is increasingly inadequate, and traditional dietary practices among the Maasai pastoralists is increasingly changing as a result of agrarian transformation in the Kilosa District in Tanzania. This is where large chunks of land are transformed for agricultural activities as a way of increasing food availability in terms of the number of meals intake and the type of meals consumed. Conventional dietary meals such as cereals and green leaves are increasingly consumed with a decreasing number of meals consumed per day and the changing of the type of meals consumed. Therefore, the analysis of food and nutrition security should understand that, cultural food preferences are important because they are interconnected with beliefs about health, livelihoods and sustainability of food supply. This study suggests that policies that address food and nutrition insecurity need to take on board the close relationship between food, nutrition security, and culture. It is important for communities to embrace other alternatives for livelihood, including farming and government support in irrigation to improve food access and availability.