Food choices in the southern Peruvian Andes

Abstract

Material, socio-cultural, and personal factors affect food choices. The purpose of this study was to investigate both food consumption and some variables impacting food choices of mothers and children in two Andean communities. Recent works in the Andes have documented an increasing reliance on purchased foods. Using dietary recalls, free lists, Q-sorts, and observations, this study was conducted over four months with ten women and ten children in Yanahuara (pop. 3050) and Urubamba (pop.11 500) in southern Peru. The Yanahuara sample were financially restricted to more local foods, and prefered these for taste and health reasons. The Urubamba sample could afford more commercial foods, often chosen for convenience, and tended to value them more. The results support integrative approaches of food choice and are largely consistent with data on consumption and dietary change from other Andean regions. The guinea pig's high prestige value, however, appears specific to the Peruvian highlands.