SOCIAL VIEW OF THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO FOOD: A PERSPECTIVE BASED ON BOURDIEU

Abstract

The central issue focuses on the social analysis
of conditioned consumer behavior and their
perception of their consumption and eating
practices. The study aimed to analyze the social
structuring of consumer behavior in relation
to the right to food, based on the concepts of
habitus, field, capital, and Pierre Bourdieu’s
theory of taste. It is qualitative research, with
a hermeneutic bias and deductive reasoning,
which used the notions proposed by Pierre
Bourdieu to reflect on the influence of social
context on food practices and consumption,
as well as on the realization of the right to
adequate food access. The results indicate that
the right to food involves complex aspects,
since food consumption choices transcend the
satisfaction of basic biological needs to reflect
issues of social position, power, identity, and
cultural capital, highlighting implications for
public health and sustainability policies. It
concludes that Bourdieu’s social theoretical
view allowed for the affirmation of the
existence of social, economic, geographical,
political, and cultural influences on consumer
perception and on the right to healthy, safe,
and informed food.