Meanings of food, eating and health among African Nova Scotians: ‘certain things aren’t meant for Black folk’ Brenda L. Beagan a * and Gwen E. Chapman b a School of Occupational Therapy, Dalhousie University, 5869 University Avenue, Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada B3H 3J5; b Food, Nutrition and Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z4 (Received 27 January 2011; final version received 25 January 2012) Objective. Most research on food, ethnicity and health in Canada is focused on the dietary acculturation of first of second generation migrants. ‘Failure’ to adopt nutritional guidelines for healthy eating is generally understood as lack of education or persistence of cultural barriers. In this study we explore the meanings of food, health, and well-being embedded in the food practices of African Nova Scotians, a population with a 400-year history in Canada. Design. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 2 or 3 members of each of 13 families who identified as African Nova Scotian. Interviews asked about eating patterns; the influence of food preferences, health concerns, cost, and culture; perceptions of healthy eating and good eating; how food decisions were made; and changes over time. In addition, research assistants observed a ‘typical’ grocery shopping trip and one family meal. Results. Participants readily identified what they perceived to be distinctively ‘Black ways of eating.’ Beyond mainstream nutrition discourses about reduction of chronic disease risk, participants identified three ways of thinking about food, health, and well-being: physical well-being, emphasizing stamina, energy and strength; family and community well-being; and cultural or racial well-being, emphasizing cultural identity maintenance, but also resistance to racism. Conclusion. While culturally traditional eating patterns are often understood as costly in terms of health, it is equally important to understand that adopting healthy eating has costs in terms of family, community, and cultural identity. Dietary change unavoidably entails cultural loss, thus resisting healthy eating guidelines may signify resistance to racism or cultural dominance. Several suggestions are offered regarding how community strengths and beliefs, as well as cultural meanings of food and health, might inform effective healthy eating interventions. Keywords: diet; eating practices; African Canadians Introduction African Americans have been shown to be at elevated risk for several diet-related health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity, and some cancers (National Center for Health Statistics 2011). African- descent populations in Europe have higher rates of stroke, hypertension, and diabetes, though not of coronary heart disease (Agyemang et al. 2009). In Canada, information *Corresponding author. Email: bbeagan@dal.ca Ethnicity & Health Vol. 17, No. 5, October 2012, 513Á529 ISSN 1355-7858 print/ISSN 1465-3419 online # 2012 Taylor & Francis http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13557858.2012.661844 http://www.tandfonline.com