cultural factors

This study determined maternal dietary diversity, breastfeeding and, infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices and identified reasons for poor nutiriton and suboptimal breastfeeding in five rural communities in South Africa, in the context of cultural beliefs and social aspects. Finding a balance between mothers’ income, dietary diversity, cultural beliefs, breastfeeding and considering life of lactating mothers so that they will not feel burdened and isolated when breastfeeding and taking care of their children is crucial. »

This paper provides an overview of research highlighting the relation between cultural processes, social norms, and food choices, discussing the implication of these findings for the promotion of more sustainable lifestyles. Development of evidence-based policies in the domain of more sustainable food choices could be based on a combination of cultural and education interventions with urban planning management and transformation. »

This article reviews the impact of culture on all four dimensions of food security (availability, access and choice, utilization, and stability). This review has shown that what we eat, as well as how and why we obtain, process, store, prepare, share, and eat food, is affected by culture in various ways. »

This article describes the reasons why women in Ethiopian communities did not take up training opportunities. In order to encourage gender equality in delivery of varietal knowledge to male and female farmers in Ada’a and Ensaro districts of Ethiopia, chickpea breeders set a policy that each male farmer would bring along his wife to participatory varietal selection sessions. »

This publication (PDF) by FAO discusses rural women’s time poverty in agriculture, elaborates on its possible causes and implications and provides insight into the various types of constraints that affect the adoption of solutions for reducing work burden. »