Culture

The Relationship between Cultural Norms and Food Security in the Karamoja Sub-Region of Uganda

Culture is a strong determinant of food security through its influence on what society considers acceptable for consumption. Karamoja sub-region is one of the most ethnically diverse parts of eastern Africa, and is associated with the highest levels of food insecurity in Uganda. However, there is a general lack of understanding on the extent to which ethnicity is a contributing factor to food insecurity. We examined the relationship between ethnicity...

Insects as food: Illuminating the food neophobia and socio-cultural dynamics of insect consumption in Uganda

Entomophagy presents the most viable and sustainable meat alternative to feed the ever-increasing world population as insects are highly nutritious. However, the potential of edible insects' consumption is constrained by consumers' fear towards novel or unfamiliar foods (food neophobia), which tends to be higher for insects. This paper assessed the influence of food neophobia and socio-cultural factors on the consumption and consumers' willingness to consume three edible insects in Uganda...