Going an Extra mile: linking religion to family diet and consumer patterns in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Consumer patterns mirrored in family diets are determined by intertwined factors like the social, economic, political, technological, cultural and religious ones. In general, solutions on family diet and health issues have been following some conventional ways modeled on western patterns. This study engages a new paradigm anchored on religion. It seeks to link religion to consumer patterns, which shape the diet of many ordinary families in Zimbabwe. Specifically, the study posits that religion plays a pivotal role in determining the quality and quantity of food consumed in families. A religiously-determined diet helps to avert the impact of some killer diseases common in Sub Saharan Africa such as tuberculosis, kwashiorkor, diabetes and HIV and AIDS. In our view, adopting the religious paradigm to dietary issues is ‘going an extra mile’. In this context, an ‘extra mile’ implies the espousal of some methods, techniques, advice and ethics on diet inspired by religion. The research utilised 12 unstructured in-depth interviews and data from 80 questionnaires administered equitably to adherents of Christianity, Islam, Rastafari and African Traditional Religions based in Masvingo province. The phenomenological method also informed the study. The study established that majority of adherents strictly observed some dietary rules and taboos for spiritual development, health and identity. The researchers concluded that religion significantly influenced family diet and consumer patterns in Zimbabwe for moral and practical reasons.