Food environment within the context of the neoliberal food regime: a case study in Curitiba, Brazil

Abstract

This paper uses the ecological research method to analyze the macroenvironment for food in the city of Curitiba through the lens of a neoliberal food regime in order to understand the organization of fruit and vegetable supply, factors related to social vulnerability, and the nutritional status of the population. We found that the most vulnerable areas of the city had a higher prevalence of overweight adults and little to no access to fruits or vegetables. In the private food macroenvironment, we did not detect any statistically significant correlation between density of establishments selling this produce, income, level of precariousness, or nutritional state. In the more settled regions, we observed denser retail networks as well as a negative correlation with nutritional status. The food supply policies in Curitiba were determined to be in line with the neoliberal food regime, in which areas with better living conditions are better served by public food supply policies.