Introduction
In the United States, a businessman recently claimed to have made a technological leap of five thousand years by creating a machine that processes “dry dough.” This statement has sparked concern among experts, such as Enrique Ochoa, a historian and Latin American studies scholar at California State University, Los Angeles. During a session of the Critical Food Seminar organized by the Institute of Anthropological Research and the Center for North American Studies (CISAN) at UNAM, Ochoa highlighted that large transnational corporations are attempting to render tortillas and corn invisible in certain parts of the US.
The “Whitening” Process
According to Ochoa, this process involves “whitening” the tortillas, which ultimately “demexicanizes” and “deindigenizes” them. This trend is noticeable in major brands in Los Angeles, as pointed out by Julieta Flores Jurado, a researcher at CISAN.
Flores Jurado explained that there have been recent mechanisms of homogenization of the tortilla as a food in certain areas of the US, particularly with the growing industrial expansion of this ingredient. She noted that major corporate producers seem to carefully avoid any mention of the crucial role indigenous women played in inventing the nixtamalization process.
Social Construction of “Whiteness”
Cynthia Arredondo Cabrera, a postdoctoral researcher at CISAN, explained that the industrial food production model established in Mexico during the 1940s and expanded through neoliberal policies in the 1980s and 1990s, systematically weakened the national countryside. This transformation has radically altered Mexican lifestyles and dietary habits, leading to the progressive abandonment of traditional ingredients, flavors, culinary techniques, and the rich variety of foods that have characterized Mexican tables.
Arredondo Cabrera emphasized that when transnational corporations dictate what we should consume, genetically modified seeds are patented, and uniformity replaces diversity. This results in the loss of food autonomy, leaving our diets subordinate to interests and business models, creating a homogenization of taste, which she calls “culinary epistemicide.”
Key Questions and Answers
- What is the concern raised by experts? Experts, like Enrique Ochoa and Julieta Flores Jurado, are worried that large transnational corporations are attempting to “demexicanize” and “deindigenize” tortillas by homogenizing their production process, making them more similar to “white” or Westernized food items.
- How are corporations altering traditional tortilla production? Corporations are modifying the traditional nixtamalization process, avoiding any mention of indigenous women’s crucial role in its invention. They are also promoting the use of genetically modified seeds and industrial production methods, which weaken local agriculture and contribute to the loss of food autonomy.
- What is the significance of this “whitening” process? The “whitening” process symbolizes a social construction of food, moving away from traditional ingredients, flavors, and culinary techniques that have characterized Mexican cuisine. This shift leads to a homogenization of taste, which experts call “culinary epistemicide.”
