Between perceptions and memories: an exploratory analysis of the circulation and consumption of açaí and tapioca in Portugal

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.70051/mangt.v4i2.63392

Keywords:

Gastronomy, Traditional indigenous foods, Circulation, Transnationalism, Sustainability, Anthropology of Food

Abstract

The great navigations encouraged the circulation of ingredients. The present work aimed to investigate the motivation of açaí and tapioca consumers in the metropolitan region of Lisbon. Using the exploratory method through urban wanderings and ethnographic observations, consumers of these foods were identified and selected for the research. When Portuguese colonizers arrived in Brazil, they were traditional foods from the food culture of Brazil's indigenous peoples. Its popularity in the international market has been growing, requiring an analysis of this transnational circulation. The results suggest that these foods are consumed mainly by Brazilian immigrants but also by Portuguese citizens and other nationalities due to a set of factors related to (1) a change in eating habits that tends to favor healthier eating, (2) diets, or (3) food sustainability. This work addresses some reflections on consumers of tapioca and açaí in Portugal, establishing the basis for a broader debate on the circulation of these two foods.

Author Biography

Rui Moutinho Sá, Universidade de Lisboa (ULisboa), Lisboa, Portugal

Rui M. Sáis an environmental anthropologist and currently is an invited assistant professor of Anthropology in the School of Social and Political Sciences/ University of Lisbon (ISCSP/ULisboa) and associated researcher in CAPP- Public Administration and Public Policies Research Centre. He completed his postdoctoral studies in Infectious Diseases Common to Humans and non-Humans Primates at the University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Czech Republic between 2012-2014. In 2013 he finished his PhD in Anthropology, Specialization in Biological Anthropology and Ethnoecology at Universidade Nova de Lisboa Faculty of Social and Human Sciences. He also has a Master of Science in Human Biology and Evolution in 2007-University of Coimbra Faculty of Science and Technology and a BSc in Anthropology, Major in Ethno-Cultural Relations in 2003 by the University of Lisbon-School of Social and Political Sciences. From 2014 to 2019 he founded a BSc degree in Sea and Environmental Sciences at the Lusophone University of Guinea-Bissau where he also directed the Environmental Sciences Department of the same institution. 

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Published

2024-12-30

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 2 (2024)

Section

Dossiê temático: gastronomias e circum-navegações

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Juliana Ardenghi, Rui Moutinho Sá

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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