Introduction: the welfare of a society depends on appropriate social policies, which allow to decrease social inequalities, and essential good nutrition of its people. Outcomes and Discussion: the current food crisis and poverty facing the world, invites to the building of diagnosis strategies, intervention and monitoring, based on scientific and involving the public, private and civil society. Methodology: descriptive and historical-hermeneutic. Conclusions: the study of the social determinants of health, are essential for building social policies, which should be structured taking into account the historical background and the current socio-political context, to understand better the processes of health and disease in a population.