Processo de construção do novo Guia Alimentar para a População Brasileira de 2014: consensos e conflitos.

Abstract

The new Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population launched in November 2014 was prepared by the Ministry of Health (MH) in partnership with the Center for Epidemiological Research in Nutrition and Health of the University of São Paulo and support of the Pan American Health Organization. The document is considered innovative because it presents a new food classification according to the purpose of the processing and for addressing sustainability aspects. Its construction process began in 2011, had discussion workshops and a preliminary version of the document was held for three months in public consultation, to receive contributions from the society. The present work analyzes the formulation process of the new Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian population and maps the involved individuals and groups, recognizing their ideas, arguments and strategies adopted. It is a study of health policy analysis that includes: documentary research; analysis of the comments and positions submitted in the public consultation stage; and interviews. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 actors who participated in different ways in the preparation of the Guidelines (from its writing, until the elaboration of positions sent to the MH). The platform of the public consultation received 3125 contributions from 436 individuals / institutions, representatives of: educational institutions, councils and professional bodies of nutritionists, non-profit institutions, federal, state and municipal governing bodies, industry associations and unions, as well as individuals. The preliminary version of the document generated several debates, including one concerning the Guide's potential. While the team responsible for drafting the document was betting on it as a tool for transforming individual action, in which people, as citizens and consumers, with such information would have the support to make their decisions, but at the same time also betting on it as a potential influencer for public policies, food security and nutrition (FNS) actors, argued that it would be necessary more than just this information, but rather to reinforce the importance of public policies and the role of the State in guaranteeing the right to adequate and healthy food. On the other hand, food industry associations (and collectives organized by them), defending food consumption as an individual choice (and responsibility), criticized contents of that version of the Guide that contextualized this consumption, indicating that some determinants go beyond the individual (micro) level. Thus, networks of actors with heterogeneous profiles were constructed, which organized themselves to guide themes of their interest, using different strategies. Several factors contributed to the launch of the document, including this support, the context and the political will of the MH. The arguments used in the debates and contributions suggest the existence of different views and conceptions of food and nutrition, some immeasurable and others capable of forming networks, as identified in some moments during the construction of the Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian population.