title: [The policy and politics of alternative food programs in Brazil: analysis of a controversy].
abstract: The urgency to solve infant malnutrition in Brazil is undisputed. Policies to achieve that, however, are not consensual. The Alternative Food Program, put forward by the Catholic National Confederation of Brazilian Bishops' Children Pastoral with the support of various federal organizations and international agencies, has been the focus of heated debate. Although the initiative per se has much to be praised for, program proponents argue that nutritional problems in food byproducts have been "demonstrated" by scientific research. To counteract their critics, program proponents also point to scientific results that have just as well "demonstrated" the nutritional value of the used products. The present article reconstructs and analyzes the content and context of this controversy.
authors.affiliation: Pesquisadora do Institute for New Technologies, United Nations University, Holanda. velho@intech.unu.edu
authors.forename: Lea
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Velho
authors.forename: Paulo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Velho
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005523:Food Supply / Q000266:history*; D006291:Health Policy / Q000266:history*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009748:Nutrition Disorders / Q000266:history*