Food culture in the context of the contemporary rural family system in the mata of Minas Gerais area

Cultura alimentar no contexto do sistema familiar rural contemporâneo na Zona da Mata de Minas Gerais

Abstract

This article analyzes and discusses transformations and continuities in the feeding practices of rural families in the municipalities of Piranga, Presidente Bernardes and Porto Firme, in the Zona da Mata Mineira. These families are located in one of the oldest regions of Minas Gerais, considered one of the first places where gold exploration began in the state around 1693. President Bernardes and Piranga have the largest rural population in the Zona da Mata, according to IBGE data from 2010. The food practices of the families interviewed are compatible with the cultural and socio-historical formation process of the region, maintaining traditional know-how and food production, although they are experiencing some changes in these practices. The changes observed in food practices, such as the adoption of new technologies, for example, the use of electric rice cookers, cake mixers and electric mills are occurring in a still timid way and do not imply a total replacement of the food culture by another. Qualitative research indicates that families are coexisting or adapting to the processes of change in the contemporary world without denying their historical roots. Moreover, the incorporation of modern dietary practices is not uncritical because they are aware that the constant transformations that occur in society have the power to interfere with their eating habits and practices. They consider that it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintaintheir eating habits through external rather than internal factors and that interfere with their dynamics of social and economic reproduction.