“I work hungry delivering food every day”: precarious work and eating practices among food app delivery men in the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

This paper proposed an analysis of aspects of violation of the Human Right to Adequate Food in experiences of food app delivery men in the city of São Paulo, as portrayed in journalistic materials published until September 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This work was a case study in an undergraduate course in Nutrition, through a project focused on situations of inequality and vulnerability. Journalistic materials were selected if food practices and/or demands associated with labor activities were present. Contents were approached through the definition of the Human Right to Adequate Food in the Brazilian National Food Policy of the Ministry of Health, considering recommendations from the Brazilian Dietary Guidelines and discussions of the sociology of work. Violations of the Human Right to Adequate Food were noted regarding: difficulties in access to food in proper quantity and quality, with a high consumption of ultra-processed foods; inadequate food practices regarding the act of eating and commensality, with a preponderance of an attitude toward “satisfying the hunger”; and the insertion of delivery men in a food system characterized by unfair labor relationships, and unsustainable environmental and health aspects. Through the recognition of the circumstances of hunger and the demands presented by food app delivery men, this analysis highlighted the humanizing potential of food in stimulating such claims, especially in a pandemic context aggravated by the absence of labor rights. Better work conditions along with public policies that mitigate hunger and injustice are needed to promote healthier food environments and systems.