Ultra-processed foods, food coloniality, and the transformation of the Apinajé indigenous food systems

Abstract

This article examines how food coloniality manifests through the widespread introduction of industrialized foods, reshaping the food systems of the Apinajé people and contributing to the weakening of both their health and traditional food practices. The objective was to understand the transformations occurring in the food systems of two villages of this Indigenous group, driven by power relations established with non-Indigenous actors. The research was based on qualitative data from interviews with elders and mothers, which explored food practices and their impacts on the community’s health. The findings reveal a hierarchical power dynamic that reorders food systems and alters the community’s relationship with food, thereby undermining traditional knowledge. The study concludes that the historical marginalization of Indigenous peoples is renewed through food coloniality, which renders traditional food practices and the health of the Apinajé people increasingly vulnerable.