Urban access and government subsidies impact livelihood and food transition in slave-remnant communities in the Brazilian Cerrado

The livelihood and food of rural communities is changing, possibly due to greater access to urban areas and their market economy. However, the degree of change and the main influencing factors appear to vary considerably. To characterize this process in a continuum of slave-remnant villages (Kalunga) in the Brazilian Cerrado, we assessed (i) the main influencing factors of this shift in food patterns and (ii) the isotopic composition (δ13C and δ15 N) in the fingernails of inhabitants. The stable isotope ratios from the fingernails of 87 volunteers from different Kalunga villages were used to determine the source and trophic chain diversity of food. In addition, we conducted semi-structured questionnaire interviews in 81 domestic units to verify details about food patterns, use of resources, and socioeconomic conditions. Data from the questionnaires were analyzed using a multinomial logistic regression to determine the relative influence of multiple factors on the transition process. From this, access to town and government subsidies was significantly associated with the reduction of subsistence farming and the consumption of staple foods like rice and beans. We also verified a gradual food change from C3 (more natural) to C4 (more processed) sources of food containing a smaller diversity items with an increase of δ13C and decrease of δ15 N toward the town. These results primarily indicate a transition pattern from locally produced foods to processed items that increases with greater urban access and more government subsidies in rural settings. This is the first time that an interdisciplinary approach with stable isotopes and one multinomial discriminant model has been used to assess the impacts of public policy and socioeconomic development on the livelihood of slave-remnant communities. The main issue raised here concerns the maintenance of food sovereignty in rural areas for residents who essentially live by their own efforts and livelihoods.