Cameroon: Land of Good Food, Agriculture, and Various Visions of Good and Bad Food

Given that social representations are linked to environmental heterogeneity and cultural diversity and highlight the relationship that individuals have with a given social object (which in this case is food), this chapter explores social representations or understandings of meanings of healthy and unhealthy food as well as future visions of food in Cameroon. Since social representations are dynamic and susceptible to changes that occur in context (as is the case of Cameroon), there is a need to study social representations of food in Cameroon to enhance understanding of how narratives on what is (un)healthy are shaped by these factors that are unique to Cameroon or shaped by Cameroon’s relationship with the outside world. The chapter focussed on Buea (the capital of the southwest region of Cameroon), because its environmental heterogeneity and cultural diversity make it an attractive case study for exploring diverse food visions. From the 106 questionnaires administered, the findings showed that understanding of (un)healthy food in Cameroon and Buea specifically is predominantly clinically based. Also, the future of a healthier food system in Cameroon is organic food, and climate change is identified as a key threat to a food-secure future in Cameroon.