CONSUMO DE CARNE DE ANIMAIS SILVESTRES ENTRE JOVENS NO ESTADO DO AMAZONAS, BRASIL: MAGNITUDE E FATORES ASSOCIADOS.

Abstract

Wild animal meat represents great social and economic importance for populations living in the tropics, as it is a source of food and income. The consumption of wild meat among young people is still a poorly studied universe, and there may be the possibility that young people influence eating habits within Amazonian families. Therefore, understanding the behavior and motivations that lead these young people to maintain or change their eating habits of consuming wild meat are relevant factors to generate guidelines for public actions and policies in an attempt to balance this habit with the conservation of wildlife and the guarantee food security of the populations inhabiting the Amazon region. This research aimed to evaluate the socioeconomic profile and the factors of changes in the consumption of wild animal meat among young people in the state of Amazonas. A semi-structured form was applied to 2760 students in 146 classrooms in the city of Manaus and in nine randomly selected municipalities along three rivers (Purus, Negro and Amazonas). The study demonstrates that the consumption of wild meat is part of the eating habits and food environment of young people in the state of Amazonas. Young people most likely to consume wild meat were those who lived in small towns, compared with those in medium-sized cities and Manaus, and those who migrated from rural to urban areas. These migrants were 60% more likely to consume wild meat when it was available and 67% more likely to taste it, compared with those who had always lived in urban areas. These results show that the demographic transition has great relevance in changing this eating habit. The results show that there is an effect of urbanization on changes in wild meat consumption among young people, where the probability of consumption decreases with the increase in the size of cities and with the availability of other foods. That is, even when wild meat is available at a meal, young people are deciding not to consume it and the probability of consumption decreases with the size of the city. This work shows that there is a trend towards a decrease in consumption by young people, compared to consumption at home. These results suggest that wildlife consumption may decline over generations if these youngsters continue to choose not to consume wild meat as they become adults. It is important that future studies investigate the motivations of these young people for not consuming wild meat (e.g., because they are concerned about conservation, or because they think that such meat is a rural tradition) to inform environmental education strategies that promote the conservation of wild fauna for these young people.