The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) fundamentally changed the way Mexicans eat. After being signed in 1994, NAFTA reduced barriers to trade between Canada, Mexico, and the United States. In particular, NAFTA removed many of Mexico’s agricultural protections which led to the replacement of the traditional Mexican diet with more American sugary, processed foods. These changes have had far-reaching implications on Mexican culture, health and crop biodiversity.
The traditional diet of Mexico, milpa, is mostly made up of produce like maize, pumpkin, beans, and peppers. This diet underwent some changes through colonization but has largely remained the same for hundreds of years. However, milpa is much more than just a diet. It is a sociocultural system of agriculture involving multiple crops and herbs grown together on small or subsistence farms.
After NAFTA, Mexicans who were once dependent upon this type of small-scale farming for food and income were thrust into jobs that fit the quickly industrializing Mexican economy. With these changes, larger more efficient farms replaced small farms. By 2000, over 900,000 farming jobs were lost. The changes brought on by NAFTA went far beyond restructuring the economy.
As these small farms disappeared, so did the milpaway of life and the food that accompanied it. U.S. agricultural subsidies allowed corn to be cheaply exported to Mexico shifting Mexican agriculture away from maize, an important staple of the traditional Mexican cuisine. As these agricultural practices disappeared throughout Mexico, so did a rich biodiversity of crops, especially maize, peppers, beans and pumpkins.
Today, the corn that continues to be grown in Mexico tends to be hybrid corn from the U.S. rather than strands of ancestral landrace corn. Hybrid corn is higher in starch and sugar content than the corn historically grown in Mexico. This corn is better suited to industrial uses than for traditional Mexican corn-based dishes such as tortillas or tamales.
Currently, Mexico imports roughly 45% of its food – primarily from the United States. Corn, other grains, meat and soybeans make up a majority of these exports, but exports of high-fructose corn syrup also exponentially increased after NAFTA.
These shifts in Mexico’s food systems directly impacted health outcomes. Chronic illnesses like obesity, heart disease and diabetes skyrocketed in Mexico following NAFTA. In 1980, less than 7 percent of Mexicans suffered from obesity. Today, that figure is over 34 percent making Mexico second in the world for obesity. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), diabetes is the number one cause of death in Mexico, claiming 80,000 lives each year.
Though some Mexicans certainly choose to eat these sugary American imports, food swamps are common throughout Mexico. That is, with the decline of small farms, healthy options are few and far between in both rural and urban areas, and unhealthy choices are the only options. Even when the traditional staples of the milpa cuisine are available, the price of some of these staples is out of reach for many Mexicans.
Not only did NAFTA change the way Mexicans eat, but it also transformed the way Mexicans shop for food. Between 1990 and 2000, the number of supermarkets like Walmart doubled, occupying over half of the market share. Today, supermarkets continue to dominate more of the market – Walmart alone has over 2000 stores countrywide. Supermarkets have challenged the traditional single vendor shopping experience common throughout Mexico. Despite offering many imported products, supermarkets offer limited products at the best market price. This limited availability constrains local cuisine choices.
Meanwhile, Mexico City was named as a Best Trip of 2019 by National Geographic for the revival of the milpa cuisine at some of the country’s top gourmet restaurants. Unfortunately, these restaurants tend to be out of reach for many Mexicans.
As of 2010, UNESCO inscribed traditional Mexican cuisine as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. UNESCO honored Mexican cuisine for more than just its culinary charm. Mexican cuisine was honored due to the comprehensive cultural role that food plays in Mexican life – from farming and production to shopping and cultural celebrations. As such, the changes to Mexican farming practices and food brought on by NAFTA in Mexico are of interest to Mexicans as well as the the rest of the world. More importantly, the UNESCO designation signals that the high prices and disappearance of traditional Mexican food from everyday diets are tantamount to a violation of the right to enjoy culture.
Certainly the revitalization and preservation of the Mexican cuisine are underway, but NAFTA will continue to have long-run consequences on health, access to culture, and crop biodiversity in Mexico.
Given these outcomes of NAFTA, the negotiation of future free trade agreements should give careful thought to the consequences of changing agricultural policies and protections.
