From consumer information to citizen education: Twenty-three years of discussions (1992-2015)

Abstract

This article presents a review of the most important recommendations formulated by international organizations worldwide about feeding and nutritional strategies to be implemented at the national level, particularly in the school environment, during the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The statements presented in this article point to the trajectory of diagnoses and actions proposed by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and World Health Organization—in the context of epidemiological and nutritional transitions, associated with social, demographic and economic transformations, impacting the world population. We present a deep analysis of the tension identified between the different objectives attributed to food education. We also reflect on recommendations in food education in a broad sense, that is, its connection with survival strategies and the construction of food citizenship.