Current perspectives on food: from nutritionism to healthy, supportive, and sustainable food

Abstract

Of the many discourses on nutrition and food, two opposing perspectives stand out. On the one hand, "nutritionism" emerged strongly in the last decades, reducing the concept of food to the presence or absence of nutrients and the concept of health to the absence of diseases, a discourse that has influenced modern nutritional and food sciences, as well as the conceptualization of the current corporate food regime. On the other hand, "healthy, supportive, and sustainable food" is a re-emerging perspective associated with the traditional ancestral food system and is founded on the principle of common good since millennia ago. This paper presents a reflection on these two perspectives, taking into account the historical scenario and the socio-political context that characterize them, in order to contribute to the recognition of a food paradigm consistent with the Millennium Development Goals and the human right to food. In addition, this reflection aims to assess the progress that has been made in Colombia to achieve healthy, supportive, and sustainable eating practices in the general population.