Superfoods amazônicos: um estudo de caso sobre os impactos sócioambientais causados na exportação de açaí na Amazônia Oriental

Abstract

The article addresses the growing exploitation and export of Amazonian superfoods, focusing on açaí (Euterpe oleracea Mart), highlighting the cultural and nutritional importance of these foods for traditional communities in the Eastern Amazon. The overall objective is to verify how the growing export of açaí-based foods can impact the socio-biodiversity of the Brazilian Eastern Amazon. The research used a qualitative and quantitative approach, of a social and applied nature, with an exploratory and explanatory purpose. High international demand, driven by the superfood market, has generated negative socio-environmental impacts, such as “açaízação” (monoculture), loss of biodiversity, and devaluation of traditional knowledge. Exports, focused on profit, result in the unequal distribution of benefits and threaten the food sovereignty of local communities. There is an urgent need for public policies that promotes the preservation of socio-biodiversity, ensuring that the exploitation of açaí for export is fair, sustainable, and values the traditional peoples and communities of the region.