A segurança alimentar e o povo indígena Akwẽ-Xerente

Abstract

This study analyzed the concepts related to food security from the perspective of the Akwẽ- Xerente indigenous people of the state of Tocantins, based on the ethnic diversity that

characterizes their cultural and dietary practices, knowledge, and interpretations. This is a qualitative study, guided by the ethnographic method, carried out through fieldwork, participant observation, and semi-structured interviews. Data collection was carried out in the Xerente and Funil Indigenous Lands, showing that food security needs to be considered from a broad, interdisciplinary, and participatory process that encompasses all the issues surrounding access to food for these people. The research also showed that the development model currently underway in the state directly affects the food system of the Akwẽ-Xerente people, making it impossible to continue traditional practices in several dimensions of Xerente life, causing changes in eating habits, especially the consumption of ultra-processed foods, whose literature shows a correlation with the increase in chronic non-communicable diseases. This paper presents important issues for debate and reflection on environmental impacts in indigenous territories, highlighting that traditional forms of food production are intrinsically linked to the cycles of nature. Based on this study, we propose a methodology for assessing food insecurity that approaches the Xerente reality, dialoguing with their food system.