Abstract: Food is an essential identity for understanding the cultural processes of the Latin world. Here, I focus on the effects of Chile's food labeling and advertising law on a local and global scale. After detailing an account of Chilean cuisine and influences, local effects such as nutritional packaging redesigns and food banned at schools will be addressed. The influences this law has had on influencing other countries will also be examined from world organizations to country-specific practices. Public pushback reveals community values around the practice of sharing meals.
Chilean cuisine
Chile’s geography along the western coast of South America makes it a highly diverse natural environment, which reflects its expansive local cuisines. From deserts to glaciers, cuisine has grown with its environment and historical influences. Staples include fish, seafood, corn, beans, squash, chiles, and various spices, which hail from the indigenous Mapuche traditions. Colonization by the Spaniards introduced new ingredients, such as beef, lamb, pork, and non-native fruits and vegetables. Chile then emerged as a wine and herbal tea producer, where currently, wine, seafood, fruits, and vegetables are the country’s major exports, where the U.S. is their biggest trading partner.
Traditional cuisine emphasizes seafood, where ceviche (marinated seafood) and machas a la parmesana (clams with parmesan) are some local favorites. While the coastal regions are known for their seafood, the Southern and Central regions have their own specialties. Grilled meats like lomo a lo pobre, grilled beef with fried eggs and onions, and curanto, a meat and seafood stew cooked in an earth oven, are also enjoyed. Cazuela is a traditional potatoes, corn and local vegetable based stew, along with a meet of one’s choosing. These traditional dishes also have ingredients from the indigenous Mapuche culture, such as piñones, an araucaria fruit, and muday, a fermented wheat drink. As a result, national identity of Chile has been heavily influenced by food practices over time.
Ley 20.606 — The 2016 food labeling and advertising law
While cultural cuisines are so environmentally influenced and extremely healthy, globalization led to the introduction of processed foods. Breakfast cereals became an easy way to start the day and children love biscuit snacks. Sugary pop soda and fast food chains became quick and popular options. Ley 20.606, sobre la composición de los alimentos y su publicidad, went into effect in 2016 as a public health campaign by the government. To encourage better nutritional health, all packaged items had mandatory redesigns and labeling to inform the public about the food’s contents. Sugary drinks became taxed at 18% as a way to de-incentivize people from drinking these out of cost, as they may opt for the lower-cost options. Even schools began to ban ice cream, chocolates, and potato chips from lunches and snacks for children.
Caption: Matilde Vincenzi, a popular puff pastry snack, is labeled saying "alto en azúcares, grases saturadas y calorías," meaning high in sugars, saturated fats, and calories.
Local influences of the law
But what effect did this have on the public? Studies have shown that Chileans purchased significantly fewer sugar, fats and sodium, although this could be due to cost rather than a country-wide value shift. Value shifts take time, and the way the public and individual interactions manifest after this law reveals community values. The overexposure of the law in billboards to even TV regulations that stopped advertising fun cereals during the evening when children watched shows, for example, started to dilute the public health campaign. People were aware and made decisions individually and for their families, yet, some families felt sad that they could not send fun treats such as chocolate with their kids to school. This reveals how while nutritional health matters, the social practices around food are also important to consider.
From a BBC report, Macarena Rivera Zurnovsky says these label laws have helped her pick the best cereal for her children’s health. This increased awareness has made people more conscious about their food choices, which could overtime result in a shift toward non-processed options. Others say that their children look toward healthier options at the supermarket when the parents reach for processed foods, and parents believe this could be due to socialization practices and nutritional teachings in schools that have an influence on the children. While it is too early to tell if the overall Chilean population has started eating healthier, and with the nonlinear effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, these early signs are showing varied impacts of the law within the country.
As for the effect on the food and cuisine itself, the food industry such as restaurants and cafes have had to respond to these laws. Main ingredients began to be sourced to reduce “unhealthy” ingredients, impacting traditional Chilean recipes. The overall increase in healthier eating has created public interest in going back to the natural, unprocessed lifestyle of their ancestors, with an upsurge in indigenous and local recipes discussed earlier. Preserving cultural food practices are critical in spite of this law, so that they are not lost with each healthier modification to an original recipe.
International influences of the law
Globally, various countries and international organizations have shown interest in or adopted practices because of Chile’s 2016 law. Brazil, Peru, India, Mexico, and New Zealand have adopted public health campaigns with similar goals of promoting better nutrition by re-designing packaging. For example, Peru in 2019 started adding warning labels on packaged foods in a similar system to Chile. Mexico implementing front-of-package labeling instead of the traditional back-of-package labels for food. CARICOM, the Union of South American Nations, and the World Health Organization have also supported Chilean efforts. For example, the World Health Organization highlighted Chile’s laws as a good practice for public health campaigns that empower consumers, rather than force them to make decisions or eliminate a choice completely. This creates agency and lets the consumer be rooted in their identity and values.
Conclusions
I believe it is anthropologically important to see how Chile’s policies affect individuals and their practices with food and others, as overtime, there could be an adaptation of cultural food practices. What works in Chile might not work in all countries, serving as a reminder to adapt practices in culturally appropriate ways to a country’s politics, community values, and identities.
Works Cited - read more on these linked sites!
https://amaliallc.com/chile-a-culinary-and-cultural-perspective/
https://www.araucania.cl/index.php/en/activities/flavors-and-aromas/mapuche-cuisine#:~:text=The%20Mapuche%20is%20a%20grateful,%2C%20potatoes%2C%20fish%20and%20seafood.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-57553315
https://padillaco.com/insights/food-values-south-america/
https://www.latercera.com/
https://sph.unc.edu/sph-news/chiles-law-of-food-labeling-and-advertising-encourages-notably-healthier-choices/
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