An exploration of dietary practices among South Indians in Brisbane, Australia

Abstract

Australia’s need for skilled workers in recent years has seen an exponential increase in the numbers of migrants from the South of India. Australia’s South Indian community is an example of migrants living in transnational diasporic spaces. Often well educated, many of these first-generation migrant families have lived in a number of other countries before settling down to life in Australian cities. The dietary practices of South Indians in Australia, have, however, been little researched, and neither has the question of new influences that shape dietary practices of transnational migrants been addressed. Research in other industrialised countries has shown that Indian migrants are predisposed to central obesity and related chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, drawing the attention of health professionals to the particular dietary practices of this community. In this thesis I describe dietary practices of South Indian Tamil and Malayali migrants living in Brisbane, Australia, along with an exploration of factors influencing these practices. I draw upon and broaden the theoretical concepts offered by outmoded dietary acculturation models of migrant dietary practices by introducing the additional influences conferred by distinctly contemporary patters related to the global movement of foods and peoples. I use a food-focused ethnography as a novel methodological innovation to obtain a previously unexplored culturally-informed account of dietary practices among South Indian families in Brisbane. Data were collected from twenty-one Tamil and Malayali families in Brisbane for this research. This study reveals the unique and complex web of interactions that influence the dietary practices of the South Indian community in Australia, framed by the dictates of religion, strong retention of traditional practices, nostalgia and community cohesiveness. The findings indicate that despite their multiple migration trajectories, on-going links to the ‘home’ country enable this group to remain connected to their places of origin in terms of food and place-making activities. For these first generation migrants, food choice is embedded in nostalgia, and this influences their choice more than health. While there are indications of a number of dietary practices being a direct result of the host country’s foodscape, this community’s food practices are shaped not just as a result of dietary acculturation, but are extended by their negotiations with contemporary issues such as globalisation and transnationalism. These negotiations assist in maintaining their cultural identity, which even though it is constantly evolving, remains strongly linked to their pre-migration selves in terms of culinary tradition and food practices, and keeping alive their sense of belonging to more than one cultural environment. This is facilitated by the social and financial status of members of this community which empowers them to utilise the foodscape available to them. This thesis highlights the importance of understanding and interpreting the meanings of food and health ascribed by the community in order to effectively promote healthy eating practices to culturally diverse communities within the contemporary Australian cultural and food landscapes. It offers a socioecological model to show the interplay between factors that have the potential to influence the dietary practices of contemporary, transnational migrant communities. This thesis will be of interest to healthcare professionals and researchers who work in the area of migrant dietary practice. It provides an understanding of dietary practices of South Indian migrants, useful for the development of culturally sensitive public-health nutrition policy and resources for this community in Australia. The implications of this research are important for public health, migrant and international health studies, and food studies.