Citation

Cooper EE. Ecol Food Nutr 2013; 52(4): 294-316.

Affiliation

a Department of Anthropology , University of Alabama , Tuscaloosa , Alabama , USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Taylor & Francis)

DOI

10.1080/03670244.2012.707419

PMID

23802913

Abstract

Hunger is complex, encompassing experiences ranging from a family's forced acceptance of a monotonous diet to individual physiological pain. I evaluate the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) as a means of capturing the universal elements of hunger without doing violence to its culturally-specific expressions within two Malay communities. The HFIAS is assessed conceptually by comparing its assumptions and concept-to-measurement gap with competing indicators and practically with respect to village conditions and practices. This case study recommends the HFIAS for this site and for communities that similarly lack maternal buffering, while highlighting the unique features of the local hunger experience.

Language: en