Mexican cuisine has emerged as a paradox of globalization. Food
enthusiasts throughout the world celebrate the humble taco at the
same time that Mexicans are eating fewer tortillas and more processed
food. Today Mexico is experiencing an epidemic of diet-related
chronic illness. The precipitous rise of obesity and
diabetes—attributed to changes in the Mexican diet—has resulted
in a public health emergency.
In her gripping new
book, Alyshia Gálvez exposes how changes in policy following NAFTA
have fundamentally altered one of the most basic elements of life in
Mexico—sustenance. Mexicans are faced with a food system that
favors food security over subsistence agriculture, development over
sustainability, market participation over social welfare, and
ideologies of self-care over public health. Trade agreements
negotiated to improve lives have resulted in unintended consequences
for people’s everyday lives.
