Globalization and nostalgia. Changes in the diet of Yucatecan families

Abstract

The objective of the present study is to understand the way that families from Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico, have perceived the evolution of their way of feeding, because of globalization. Nine people from different types of families and socio-economical levels were invited, who oversee the family food, to inquire the meanings they give to it, through a qualitative methodology, conducting open interviews and observations. Results. The results express the way in which they have integrated processed foods exposing the socioeconomic factors that they perceive like the triggers of those changes. Limitations. The study describes the psychosocial factors, commenting at first instance some uncertainty on what is healthy to consume and at the same time, nostalgia for what was previously consumed. In conclusion, it can be argued that families have had to adapt themselves in creative ways to survive in the globalized world and that, in a certain way, there has been a constant departure from culinary traditions due to mainly socioeconomic aspects; likewise, the social discourse of what is healthy has partially modified the Yucatecan diets to begin to adapt to a homogenized pattern of health.