Education, communication and strategies for change of human behavior in the food security and nutrition

Abstract

Food security and nutrition is included as one of the new responsibilities of the Veterinary Public Health. When thinking about issues related to food must be approached not only the items related to control of hazards and implementation of good practice considering the aspects of hygiene, preparation, handling, storage and transportation of food, but treat it as a broader discussion involving economics of income distribution, culture and education of household food. To be carried out effective work in combating food insecurity, it is essential to do educational work with people to foster a process of awareness and popular participation. The opening of discussion should be facilitated to lead to social control. The aim of this paper is to stimulate reflection on the theme food security and nutrition for veterinarians and public health professionals, suggesting that they act as facilitators, mediators and enablers of actions taken by the population to defend the collective interests and seek solutions to problems faced. It is suggested that courses of Veterinary Medicine encourage students to develop an interdisciplinary thinking in order to do better on questions relating to food insecurity.