Case study of dietary intake of Amdo Tibetan pastoralists in Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in eastern Qinghai, China

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a case study by participant survey for 1) understanding the seasonal dietary intake in summer and winter, and then 2) discussing how current social changes affect dietary intake in the two households of Amdo Tibetan pastoralists in Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in eastern Qinghai, China. It was considered that the spread of freezers and cream separators, and the development of local market economy have reduced the intake of milk products in summer and the intake of meat and internal organs in winter, which led to losing the seasonality of dietary intake of the two households. More cases need to be studied over a wider area to clarify general characteristics of dietary intake among Tibetan pastoralists in Amdo area.