- This has been called a “deficit approach” and my research with Ghanaian women set out to challenge some of its assumptions.
- Previous studies on Ghanaian immigrants showed that following their arrival in the United Kingdom, most maintained their dietary traditions.
Seeing versus telling
- We asked Ghanaian women living in Manchester, England, and in Accra, Ghana, to take photographs of their own cooking experience.
- We then used the photographs as a prompt to allow participants to tell the “stories” of their everyday cooking.
- They also saw themselves as cooking with love and care and adhering to culturally acceptable ways of feeding their families.
- “I have introduced my kids to the local dishes, and they love them, and one of my boy’s favourites is yam.
- Studies have shown that many in Britain have abandoned traditional ways of cooking and turned to new ways of cooking and eating.
- Our findings showed that they love to cook, and saw maintaining traditional foods as being a central part of their cultural heritage.
When tradition doesn’t rhyme with safety
- In Ghana, disease risks included foodborne illnesses, and both there and in the UK, the risk of obesity, high cholesterol and heart disease were highlighted.
- “The ingredients make the food healthy.” (Accra resident)
“The ingredients make the food healthy.” (Accra resident)
- We found that despite the women recognising that obesity was an important health issue, it was not seen as a priority for targeting change.
- Our research suggests sociocultural rules and structural determinants often specify which foods are considered preferable, cooking choices as well as the differences in habitual intake for different people.
“It takes a lot of time to cook over a fire and it produces a lot of smoke, which ends up making the food reek.” (Accra resident)
“It takes a lot of time to cook over a fire and it produces a lot of smoke, which ends up making the food reek.” (Accra resident)
Conclusion
- Perceptions of “good” cooking were linked to nutrition and health but also had social, cultural, and emotional associations.
- There is therefore the need to continue to challenge the idea that women lack knowledge or the will to cook healthy foods.
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Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.