Saving Mexico’s Tortilla

Corn is fundamental to the Mexican diet, but a number of ancient, native species of the crop and the traditional farming techniques used to produce them, are under threat. A new social enterprise based in the country’s capital, is trying to change this.

From tacos to tamales, corn (Spanish – maíz), is an integral part of Mexican food culture. A pre-Hispanic crop, it dates back over 10,000 years to the Mesoamericans for whom it was of great significance: the subject of numerous rituals and mythologies, some of which continue to be practiced by indigenous groups today.

Traditionally, corn consumed in Mexico was produced domestically using traditional, organic methods. However, since 1994, when the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) took effect, the country has been importing cheap mass-produced, genetically-modified (GM) corn from the U.S. There are over 60 native Mexican species of corn, each of which has uniquely adapted to its environment through thousands of years of seed selection. In contrast, by modifying the DNA of a plant, US farmers are able to control specific traits of corn, such as disease resistance in order to optimise their crop yields. As a result, GM farming often involves planting single cultivar that have identical genetic makeups to the plants around them, otherwise known as a monoculture.

Although the Mexican Government has attempted to protect the biodiversity of their native corn through a soft ban on GM corn production, it is impossible for Mexican farmers to compete with the scale of the US corn market, which has encouraged the proliferation of such techniques amongst domestic farmers.

Whilst the Mexican Government has recently pledged to reform the country’s farming system, many people are still unable to access good quality corn-based products. Tamoa, a Mexico City-based, social enterprise and food wholesaler founded by husband and wife team Francisco Musi and Sofia Casarin, are trying to reverse this trend by sourcing high-quality heirloom corn from small-scale domestic farms. They pay farmers a fair price for their products, and only purchase surplus crop, to ensure the safeguarding of farming communities and thus the protection of Mexico’s ancient species of corn.