Flavors of the city: Access to regional fruit and fruit consumption in the State of Acre, Brazil

Abstract

In 2010 more than 70% of the population in the Brazilian Amazon was living in urban centers. This article looks at the effect of urbanization on market availability and consumption of regional fruits in the state of Acre. The east and west region were used as proxies for urbanization, and quantitative and qualitative methods were combined in interviews with regional fruit vendors and consumers. Open markets in large cities provided a greater variety of regional fruits for purchase, yet fruit consumption was more diverse in the less urbanized west, than in the east. This pattern reveals the importance of fruit tree diversity in home gardens and urban forested fragments, as well as of non-monetary exchanges of goods as promoters of variety in fruit consumption. Findings suggest that children may be benefitingthe most from this consumption. Also, certain regional fruits have gained a 'cultural marker' status and are widely consumedregardless of the urbanization rates. Nevertheless, this article demonstrates how urbanization affects the diversity of fruit consumption in different social groups, and how this process is mediated by access, income level, and health concerns.