Does the human microbiome tell us something about race?

Abstract This paper critically discusses the increasing trend in human microbiome research to draw on concept of race. refers attempt investigate microbial profile certain social and ethnic groups as embodied racial traits. Here, race is treated a necessary category that helps identifying solving health challenges, like obesity type-2 diabetes, ‘western’ or indigenous populations with particular characteristics. We are skeptical this new environmentalist racialize bodies due two reasons: (i) These studies repeat outdated historical narratives, which link especially nutrition ways prone stir stereotypical exclusionary views groups. (ii) The biological used here taxonomically problematic conceptually inconsistent. It leads view races constituted by other non-human species. In addition, approach cannot group individuals into decouples from ancestry. To support critique, we case Latin America.