Beyond Organic: Traditional Farming, Cooking, and Eating in Oaxaca

 

 

1. Introduction

 

"Is that organic?" is not a common phrase you usually hear at the markets in Oaxaca.  Even so, I was amazed by the quantity and variety of food in the markets. From appearance, fruits and vegetables looked beautiful and healthy, presented on market tables neatly without any kind of packaging, or sold in small quantities outside by women sitting on the ground. I  had no idea where this seemingly endless supply of food came from and how it was grown. Is it produced on an industrial scale, with mass farming and little diversity like in the U.S., or organically by small-scale farmers with few commercial inputs such as synthetic fertilizers and pesticides? What I discovered from asking vendors was that most of the fresh food is produced on a large-scale, being grown in a nearby town called San Antonio or farther away in Puebla. Some fruits are even imported, like apples from Washington. All of this produce reaches the central sprawling market called Central de Abastos, which serves as the main distribution in Oaxaca. Vendors purchase produce in large quanties and then re-sell it at the markets in and around Oaxaca. This system mimics the food system of the United States, with produce being grown in large quantities and then distributed through large re-sellers or bought directly by grocery stores.

 

Going to an Organic market in Xochimilico was my first exposure to Organic food in Oaxaca and reminded me of the  farmers markets in Vermont. The market was small, but the food was fresh and delicous and I enjoyed talking to vendors and hearing their stories about why they grew on a small-scale and choose to do it organically even though it invlolves much more work. I wanted to find out how and why people choose and value growing and enjoying food in this way. One odd thing  I noticed was that there seemed to be zero local Mexicans at the market. In fact, it was nearly all white people. There were a few indigenous people from their villages selling turkeys they raised, different colored tortillas made with local corn, or vegetables like avocados, tomatoes, onions, and garlic grown in the village. On a village stay in the nearby rug weaving community of Teotitlan Del Valle, I went to the local market everyday to shop for what we would eat that day with my host mother. I was astounded by the quality of the food and sense of community. Many of the homes had vegetables gardens, grew a supply of corn to make fresh tortillas that they sold, and raised chicken and goats. At the market there were no signs for "organic" or "local" products. It was simply their way of life and labeling food as "organic" would have seemed odd.

 

As I have become more immersed in the culture of Oaxaca and visited grassroots organizations and communities, spoken with chefs, and local corn activists that are trying desperately to preserve their traditional relationship to food, I have become to realize that "organic" is quite a limited term. Starting out with this research project I had no way of knowing dimensions of food that I have never been exposed to. For example, in mesoamerican civilizations like the mayan, mixtec, aztc, and zapotec, corn is not talked about in any way but identity. It is a spiritual being that is woven into the social fabric through rituals, fiestas, and social structures. As a modern society, we simply do not look at food in terms of relationships or identity, it is a "thing" made of nutrients, and might be healthier if it is grown "organically". This raises many questions in my mind like how we can even really know ourselves if we don't really know the food that we eat or have completely lost the knowledge of how to cook and enjoy food. These are both important ways that connect us to the natural world and give us a sense of place. 

 

To try and understand why i felt like the "organic" I currently knew was lacking in depth and meaning, I  first began to explore what “organic” means and the philosophy behind it. I think this is important for two reasons. First, many people have heard of organic, but don't really know exactly what that means. Second,  I think it is important  to understand the philosophy, ideas, and values of where the term “organic” evolved from to see if “organic” today is still what its inventors had in mind or if it has become something else with different motivations. Then I began to explore other farming systems in Oaxaca including how food was traditionally grown and how this is similar and different to "organic".  My goal with this project is to end up with a broader, less reductive view of food that is more than simply labeled as "organic" or "conventionally" grown. It will be a view of food that is built upon relationships like culture, community,  history, local knowledge and provides an ecological understanding of food as part of the environment.

 

From Farm to Table: Questions to Answer

 

What is the value of producing food organically? (Monetary, Health, Environment, Community development, etc.)

Who do organic producers sell their products to?

What does “organic” mean to producers in Oaxaca? Does it need to be certified?

Who eats organic food in Oaxaca?

Who grows organic food and where?

Are there problems with organic? Can it also be a problem for some producers who can’t market and sell their food as “organic”?

What is the relationship between chefs who use organic ingredients and the producers? Do they share the same values/philosophies? What about the consumers who eat the food?

What other farming systems are there in Oaxaca? How are they similar or different to organic?

What other ways are there to define food? In terms of identity, community, culture, rituals, history?

Can "organic" include ways of consumption and preparation of food?

How can we arrive at a better understanding of what organic is? How is it limiting? 

 

2. What is Organic Farming?

 

http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=ORGANIC_CERTIFICATIO 

 

There is a lot of talk about organic farming, especially in Vermont. Here is a simple definition to start with. “Organic farming management relies on developing biological diversity in the field to disrupt habitat for pest organisms, and the purposeful maintenance and replenishment of soil fertility.” (About Organic, 2011) The two major points here are growing different kinds of vegetation and keeping the soil healthy.

In addition, Organic farmers do not use synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. For products to be sold as “organic”, they must be certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). “Certified organic refers to agricultural products that have been grown and processed according to uniform standards, verified by independent state or private organizations accredited by the USDA.” (About Organic, 2011) Just because a farmer grows organically, does not mean that the farmer will be able to sell his produce as organic. To do this, the farmer must get certified by an agency according to certain organic standards. 

 

The term “organic” was first used by Lord Northbourne in his book “Look to the Land” (1940) to describe the concept of the farm as an organism:  "The best can only spring from that kind of biological completeness which has been called wholeness. If it is to be attained, the farm itself must have a biological completeness; it must be a living entity, it must be a unit which has within itself a balanced organic life. Every branch of work is interlocked with all others.” It is important to note key themes  and techniques here because "organic" may seem new, but is actually the oldest kind of farming and very similar to traditional farming systems  in Oaxaca. The farm is seen as "a living entity" which must have balance and function as a whole system. Each part is related to every other part, forming relationships in the field.

 

Organic theories are further expanded upon by Sir Albert Howard in his book “The Soil and Health: A Study of Organic Agriculture”. Some of  the main points are:

 

• Law of Return: Recycling all non-harvested natural and organic products back to the soil.

• Composting: Organic matter that has been decomposed and recycled as a fertilizer and soil amendment

• Importance of soil organic matter: Conventional farming has tended to mine the soil for nutrients and to reduce soil organic matter levels through repetitive harvesting of crops and inadequate efforts to replenish nutrients and restore soil quality.

 

The above points illustrate the importance of seeing farming as the result of healthy relationships. The quality of the soil is related to healthy plants and healthy animals who eat those plants and then return fertilizer to the soil along with organic matter. In contrast, conventional agriculture uses synthetic fertilizers, that come from outside of this system. The specifics of organic agriculture are that  it excludes the use of synthetic inputs including: synthetic fertilizers, synthetic pesticides,  plant growth regulators, livestock feed additives, GMO’s , and  irradiation (USDA). Instead, organic farming relies on techniques such as crop rotation, using compost , animal manures, mechanical cultivation, and  building biodiversity and  soil organic matter. For more information, see the resources at the end of this project. 

 

Today, in order for a product to be labeled “organic”, it must be certified. According to the USDA website, “USDA's National Organic Program regulates the standards for any farm, wild crop harvesting, or handling operation that wants to sell an agricultural product as organically produced” (USDA). The USDA standards in the U.S. took 11 years to create. "Big Organic" corporations tried to lobby for more relaxed standards and the USDA at the last minute tried to add “to allow pesticides of questionable toxicity, antibiotics for dairy cows, fishmeal as livestock feed” (mercury/PCBs)–without public comment. In the end the official USDA definition of Organic in the U.S. is : “food be grown and processed without pesticides, growth hormones, antibiotics, ionizing radiation, sewage sludge or synthetic fertilizer, and bio-engineering; it must also be produced on farms that have implemented soil and water conservation programs and that provide for the humane treatment of animals.” (USDA Organic Label introduced Oct. 21, 2002)

 

On a field trip to Capulapam, a town high in the mountains about 4 hours outside of Oaxaca, we visited a community garden that works with the local schools and uses recycled sewer water to grow vegetables. It was interesting hearing their definition of organic. The man in charge of the project said that they do use pesticides but don’t add anything synthetic to the soil. “Nothing artificial is added to the soil, and we only use pesticides to keep the plants alive.” Another student in the group asked if using plants that smell strongly to keep away insects could be an alternative, and if they have tried this technique instead of pesticides. He said that there hasn’t been a need. “The reason why the plants flourish is because of discipline.” He makes offerings to the soil throughout the growth of the plants including mouthwash, chocolate, and mescal. He says that they leave all of their negative energy and attitudes outside, because “the plants can feel it.” Strictly speaking, this operation would not pass as "organic" according to the USDA definition. Using any amount of pesticide, no matter how small is not allowed and there is no way to include such abstract concepts like discipline and treating the land as a living entity by making offerings to it and having a good attitude. In this case, is the USDA definition too strict in some respects and not broad enough in others? These are questions I hoped to find out. 

 

3. Research Plan

 

 5 March  - Do background research on organic – what it means, what the practices are, what are the philosophies behind it, what certified organic means. 

7 March -  Go to the central Abastos Market to find out where the food comes from

10 March - Go to the Organic Farmer’s Market in Xochimilco. Interview at least 3 organic vendors. Hear their stories about growing organically.

19 March - Interview Pillar Cabrerra, Chef from la Olla about her views on traditional cooking/consumption

27 March - Visit the grassroots organization CEDICAM and learn about traditional farming systems

29 March - Speak with COVORPA, a grassroots organization involved with several community food projects

 

4. Small-Scale Organic Production and Certification

 

"Demand for organics in Mexico is tiny: 98 percent of the country's certified organic production is for export. The majority of consumers do not even know what the term “organic food” means. However, now that Mexico is a “Second World” country with a burgeoning middle class, sources in the organic sector here say that internal demand will grow. Organic farmers' markets have been started in several of Mexico’s major cities." (Rodale Institute, 2005)   

 

My first experience researching organic food was at a weekly market in Xochimilco. It was a sunny Saturday In Oaxaca as I walked up stone steps into the small and quiet town of Xochimilco. It is about 2:00 in the afternoon and I see children in their school uniforms on the streets. I enter a church courtyard where a small market is spread out in a rectangle and I start to make my way down the aisle of vendors. There are people selling products I recognize from the traditional markets like juices, tejate, and corn tortillas toasted on a comal with beans and cheese. There are also items like shampoos, conditioner, soap, coffees, garlic spray, and hand-made journals. One stand with an assortment of flat bread pizzas layered with vegetables, corn muffins, and baked sweets catches my eye and head over to investigate.

 

 

I stare drooling at the display of flatbread pizzas, corn muffins, breads, brownies, and other baked goods along with lasagna, salads, and hand rolled sushi beautifully decorated with flowers. I order a flat-bread pizza and a side salad from a bold Italian man that looks like he knows a thing or two about cooking.  I ask where he grows his vegetables. "About 30 minutes away. My wife and I have about a large garden and a greenhouse. All of our vegetables are grown there and we have four workers that help." He says that he had dreams of expanding his operation but the current location he grows his vegetables isn’t big enough to do so. I am curious about the organic certification process and he immediately shows his anger towards the process. “It’s for larger companies who want to sell their products but it’s too expensive and too much work for me”. He says that he would have to keep detailed records, write everything down, and pay a large fee. “It’s just not worth it, and it doesn't even matter to me. It doesn’t mean anything.” Instead, he favors an off the books approach. “I pay my workers with a basket full of vegetables or if someone in my town needs something I will just give it to them”. I think that it is interesting that the produce at this organic market can be sold as organic, but not certified. In the U.S. it is illegal to sell food labeled as "organic" without being properly certified. (USDA) It seems like the main reasons for not getting certified for this vendor are the cost, time to do paperwork and record keeping, and that he simply isn't big enough for it to be worth much. In Vermont there are similar issues, with many farmers choosing to grow organically but not get certified because of the cost and time. 

 

“Because it’s the only way I know” – Francesca’s Story

 

After I enjoyed my pizza and  a bowl of  tejate, I see an older woman who looks vibrant and energetic even though she is kneeling down on the ground with what is left of her vegetables on the ground. She doesn’t look Mexican so I ask her if she speaks English and she laughs and says yes but that I need to practice my Spanish. She has spinach, blackberries, pre-washed and bagged lettuce, and some root vegetables in pales on the ground. She says she has a small garden in San Lorenzo and one worker that she pays. I am interested in why she chooses organic and values growing this way. “Because it’s the only way I know”. A woman comes over, her friend, and they engage in a lively conversation for a few minutes while I finish my tejate. She gives her friend a few of her leftover vegetables and waves goodbye. 

 

Francesca is from Switzerland where almost every house has a small garden and they grow their own food. “That’s how I was raised. The food lasts longer, tastes better, and I know what I’m eating”. I can go to the supermarket and get carrots, put them in the refrigerator and they will start to go after a few days. But with my carrots they last weeks. Of course, it’s a lot more work with organic”. She says she knows which plants like to be next to each other, and which ones don’t. “I plant my spinach and my radishes together and the insects leave the spinach alone and go for the radishes, which can handle them”. This is known as companion planting. From the organic principles discussed earlier, it is a method of building biodiversity in the field instead of growing only one crop which is an easy target for pests. Instead of pesticides, she uses the smell of garlic. “The scent of the garlic repels a lot of insects.” Of course, it’s more work to do it this way. “In the night I have to go out to the garden and squish larvae.”  She also uses a compost to add organic matter to the soil. 

 

Next I asked her who primarily buys her products. “I mostly sell to all the gringos in the winter, the snowbirds that come down. It’s an elitist market, and a lot of Mexicans just can’t afford to spend 25 pesos on lettuce when it’s 5 in the markets.” Of course, she says she gives special deals to some people she knows, and in her town she gives some vegetables away for free. A woman comes over to where we are kneeling with a list of all the vendors at the market and asks her to write her name down. Francesco hands her 10 pesos, the price for selling at the market, and the collector walks away. I was surprised to learn that she doesn’t even make a profit at the market. “I grow vegetables because I love to do it.” She told me she sells her vegetables to a few tiendas but no restaurants.

 

Lastly, I ask her if she thinks that organic consumption in Mexico is increasing, and if more people are becoming aware. She says she doesn’t think so, at least not right now. “When people get wealthier they spend that extra money on processed goods, it kind of makes a statement that they can afford it.” A lot of it has to do with education. “Children are only in school for 3 or 4 hours a day. Learning about organic food isn’t a part of that”. She says some communities are doing work with growing community gardens, and having children work in those gardens. “It’s a great way for hands-on learning.” I think of the past field trip we took to Capulapam, and the school kids working in the garden. She says that here in Mexico, it’s the same industrial system as in the U.S. “Large corporations growing food with pesticides and we don’t know what’s in our food.” She says she’s a vegetarian but when she eats meat she wants to know that the animal wasn’t given anti-biotics or crammed together. “In the U.S. it’s all behind walls, but here in Mexico it’s more visible. In Switzerland everything is neat and in a row, here there is so much to do and so many projects to work on, it’s good because I am never bored.”

 

According to research, Francesca is right about people spending more of their money on processed foods. Obesity, overweight, and diabetes have all increased dramatically in Mexico. It's called the nutrient transition and it happens when under-developed countries adopt eating profiles similar to more developed countries. The transition is to diets heavy in meat, dairy and processed foods. National surveys conducted in 2006 showed that 71 percent of Mexican women and 66 percent of Mexican men are overweight or obese. (Popkin, 2007)

 

5. Globalization of Organic

 

Ajo Extract and Organic Rum 

 

 

I head back to the market the next day after dreaming of pizza and corn muffins. I need more. After getting a deal on pizza and an almond roll from the Sicilian man who must think I’m starting to be a regular, I head over to a small stand selling Ajo Extact. I am intrigued. A strong looking young man tells me it is his family business and an old recipe of Tibetan monks. The garlic in mixed with cane alcohol from Oaxaca and is used as an antibiotic treatment to improve metabolism and clean blood vessels. He says they have been selling for seven years. I ask about organic certifications and he tells me that the ajo extract is not certified but organic rum that sits next to the bottles of ajo extract is. I pick up the bottle of organic rum and see the USDA organic label and a CERTIMEX label. I ask about the process and if it is difficult. “It is a very difficult process. Especially for the USDA certification because we must call them and make an appointment to come here.” He tells me someone comes from the U.S. comes and observes the whole process of production. “Throughout all of the phases of production someone is there. They take notes and see everything that we do.” He tells me that the CERTIMEX certification is easier because there are offices in Oaxaca. “How much do the certification’s cost?” I ask. “They are very expensive. For the CERTIMEX it is about 25,000 pesos and a fee to renew the contract every year. For USDA it is 45,000 pesos and a fee to renew every year.” I wonder how a family can afford to have a product certified but don’t ask. Instead I ask if he thinks the certification process is “worth it”. He says it is. “It gives my product quality. You cannot say liar. You know it is organic.” I joke that the garlic extract might not be organic then and he laughs. “We are working on getting it certified organic. We must keep records of production first.” After hearing this I did some more digging. The National Organic Program standards state that organic crops must be grown on a field that has been free from prohibited pesticides, herbicides and synthetic fertilizers for three years preceding growth. (EPA) I think the big reason for organic certification is that he wants to sell his products internationally. The reason for getting USDA certified is as much about the "quality" of being organic as the desire to sell where there is a large demand - in the United States. 

 

For similar smaller organic operations that want to seek certification, they are able to if they group with other farmers to form a co-op.

 

"Over 50,000 small farmers, with an average holding of 2 hectares—mostly coffee producers in Oaxaca and Chiapas—produce over two-thirds of organic production value in Mexico. Since it is far beyond the abilities of a producer of that size to seek individual certification, certification is done by farmer groups and cooperatives. “Internal control systems” have been developed for groups of small farmers in order to facilitate compliance with organic certification protocols." (Rodale institute, 2005) 

 

Farmer groups must be made up of farmers from one particular area only. Individual farmers can’t earn more than $5,000 per year, and participating farmers must sell all of their production via the group. Farmer groups must also be very self organized, with their own inspectors and training sessions for farmers, in order to remain certified. An outside agency will come to inspect the group once every year to make sure that they are properly following organic standards.  (Rodale institute, 2005) 

 

A big reason why most of the organic market in Oaxaca is coffee is because there is a large demand for it in other parts of the world. I listened to a presentation given by Sustainable Harvest Coffee importers in Oaxaca, Mexico. They work with small-scale coffee producers mostly in Oaxaca and Chiapas and many of the operations are organic and fair trade certified. A significant amount of their coffee is sold to Green Mountain Coffee in the United States. As demand for organic increases, coffee may not be the only crop to be exported. According to Michael Pollan in Mass Natural, Wal-Mart is starting to carry more organic products, and at a relativly cheap price. He says that this is good for the American Consumer and some of the land in the United States.

 

"Or perhaps I should say for some of the American land and a great deal more of the land in places like Mexico and China, for Wal-Mart is bound to hasten the globalization of organic food. (Ten percent of organic food is imported today.) Like every other commodity that global corporations lay their hands on, organic food will henceforth come from wherever in the world it can be produced most cheaply." (Pollan. 2006)

 

I think that major points from this discussion are that organic is become much more globalized to satify and increasing demand for it.

 

"The globalization of organic food is already well under way: at Whole Foods you can buy organic asparagus flown in from Argentina, raspberries from Mexico, grass-fed meat from New Zealand. In an era of energy scarcity, the purchase of such products does little to advance the ideal of sustainability that once upon a time animated the organic movement. These foods may contain no pesticides, but they are drenched in petroleum even so." (Pollan, 2006)

 

In this case, is "organic" really much better than conventional growing? It does mean a substantially less amount of pestiside and fertilizer applied to the land, but there will have to be great increases in the amount of farmland to supply to mega-food stores like Wal-mart. It seems to me like the original definition of "organic" as creating healthy land through biological diversity, healthy soils, and relationships in the field, and seeing the land as "a living organism", is becoming  more about satisfying a demand, as cheap as possible.  Of course, at the farmers markets it is much easier to see where you are buying your food from than at the grocery store in the freezer aisle where a bag of Cascadian Farms may be fooling some consumers with a picture of a family farm. How did we loose our traditional, cultural and local  knowledge of growing food and where it comes from? In the U.S. , maybe we don't have a "cultural" memory of where food comes from, so a bag with a fake picture of a farm will do. 

 

6. Organic Consumption in Oaxaca

 

"The word "organic" around 1970 connoted a great deal more than a technique for growing vegetables. The movement's pioneers set out to create not just an alternative mode of production (the farms) but of distribution (the co-ops and health-food stores,) and even consumption." (Pollan,2001)

 

I think that the relationships between growing organic food, selling at the markets, cooking it using traditional techniques and tools, and consuming it with families and communities at fiestas is very interesting here in Oaxaca. It provides a bigger picture of food than simply following a set of techniques on the field. 

 

Chef Pillar is the owner of La Olla, a restaurant in Oaxaca that tries to source as many organic ingredients from local sources as possible. She grew up in Mexico where she learned how to cook traditional Oaxacan food from her grandmother. Pillar spoke about living in the villages and harvesting corn and vegetables for families, but not for commercial use. Exploring organic farming in Oaxaca has made me realize that there is so much more to the Oaxacan cuisine than just the food ingredients themselves. Traditional Oaxacan cuisine involves techniques and tools such as grinding and roasting. Observing these techniques in Teotitlan del Valle where my host mom would grind corn on a metate for up to 4 hours every day and cooked by wood on a comal spoke volumes about the importance of these methods. I have been able to draw interesting parallels between growing food organically/locally and cooking techniques. People who value taking the time to grind ingredients on a metate over using a blender are the ones who still obtain and/or grow their foods locally and in an organic way. 

 

  A comal (lower left) and metate, a traditional grinding stone (upper left). Taken in Teotitlan del Valle.

 

One story that Chef Pillar recounted spoke  about the importance of these tools and techniques to Oaxacan flavors. Pillar was learning how to make a traditional black mole with her grandmother. All of the ingredients were grown organically without pesticides or synthetic fertilizers in the village. Even the chicken was from her backyard. The mole involved cooking and roasting tomatillos and chilis on a comal with wood, never on a stove. She would go to a molino to have the ingrentients grinded. Using a blender would result in a different texture, color, and flavor. Choosing the right moliono was important for the flavor. The molino had to change the stone often, have a passion for the work, and pass the paste up to three times for the right thinness. It was impossible make the recipe in mass quantities because it wouldn't have the same flavors of the village. At the end her grandmother would taste the recipe, suggesting more sugar or more chilis. There was no recipe to follow. She just knew what the flavor was. During fiestas, the whole village would come and specific women were assigned to dishes like mole negro, tamales, collardito, tortillas which took up to a week to prepare in small batches by hand, with help from families. 

 

How are these traditional ways or cooking and consuming food similar to the original idea of organic? Traditional tools like a metate, comal, and grinder are used. As knowledge of cooking  is being lost and more people have newer technologies in their kitchen like blenders, refigerators, and stoves, it is easier and less time consuming to do it this way. The same thing is happening on the fields. Instead of using traditional methods that take more time, mechanization and new technologies like GMOs, fertilizer, pesticides are being used. The end result is a product that looks good on the outside, but tastes and is nutritionally very different. This is the sacrfice of using new technologies, the "flavors of the village" are lost. Pillar said that it is "impossible to reproduce in mass quantities". With organic now being mass produced, the same is happening, even though this is far from the original idea behind organic. It is not something that can be re-produced on a mass industrial scale. The growing of food and consumption are closely linked.

 

Pillar also spoke about "slow food" in Oaxaca. "I live in slow food for years and years" she said. Slow food is for the elite. She says that the way to protect the traditional cooking techniques and knowledge is by teaching. Now she has a cooking school and she teaches her family.  "They know that the flavor is from the market and not Petico or Walmart". 

 

7. Staying Local - Traditional Agricultural Systems in Mexico

 

                                                                                                                                      http://vivalamilpa.com/

 

I had a chance to visit a grassroots organization called the Integrated Rural Development Center of La Mixteca (CEDICAM)- “an organization of farmers for farmers in Mexico”, on a class field trip.  Their mission is to bring awareness to promote small-scale and sustainable farming systems with less external inputs. The organization has tried to recover and use the rich traditional history and knowledge of Mexican farming systems like the milpa.  Using organic matter,  native seed varieties, integrating livestock, using more diversified plants, integrated pest management, crop rotations, and building simple tools are some of the techniques. CEDICAM is also actively working to build healthy communities, provide workshops, education, and training. These efforts are aimed at Sharing knowledge between farmers and creating a space where the farmers can learn and understand each other, rather than having ideas/technologies forced upon them.

 

I learned that the traditional milpa farming system represents a vast amount of knowledge, history, and practice that uses plant diversity, small-scale farming, and local knowledge to supply an abundance of food. In many ways, it uses the same principles that are in organic production but relies more on local knowledge and traditions. Corn, beans, squash and chilies from these milpa systems are produced and consumed locally, and make up the essential staple crops in the local and regional diet in Oaxaca.  Traditional milpa systems conserve genetic diversity, now being lost as native seeds are not kept and migration forces farmers off of the fields.  These traditional farming systems and knowledge, as well as many small-scale farmers are now being threatened by changes in agricultural and development policy in Mexico. As a result of NAFTA, (North American Free Trade Agreement) the “campesino” farmer and indigenous communities have had to compete in the open market . This has reduced the price they can get for corn, leading to migration in search of additional income. Also, high input farming, monocropping, and GMO technology is the current view being promoted by the Mexican government. These actions threaten the benefits of incorporating practices of the traditional  farming system, which includes  less external inputs, a more ecological approach to farming, crop genetic diversity, and using a ground-up approach that empowers communities by using local knowledge and resources.

 

Milpa systems involve conserving crop genetic resources and managing ecological relationships through diversity in the field.  Corn is the most important food in Mexican cuisine and also in the food system. It has a long history  since its domestication from its ancestor teosinte some 7,500 to 12,000 years ago. Traditional corn varieties carry with them an extended amount of valuable attributes selected throughout history including resistance to diseases, pests, and drought. Adding beans and squash to the corn Increases diversity and provides an ecological approach to pest management and via the leguminous beans provides nitrogen for the soil. On a side note, the restaurant Italioni Tortilleria in Oaxaca is trying to promote a shift to organic ecological farming practices and diversifying production by buying different varities of maize from regional producers. They also provide education about agricultural divserisity in mexico and are cultivating a more urban market in the city and from tourists that appreciate these local types of maize. Currently 8 different varities are used in the restaurant.

 

Another example of an organization that has been very successful at trying to recover local knowledge by diversifying and engaging the community is COVORPA.  I  also had the chance to meet and learn from the organization on a class field trip. They started off planting native varieties of trees to restore forests and now have many projects including a quail farm and a new restaurant to generate new economic activity. They spoke about a time when people in the community used to all have personal gardens and grow their own food. Now it is easier to buy cheap fruits and vegetables from Puebla. They are attempting to recover this traditional knowledge by building a greenhouse,  growing organic produce gardens and offering free classes and workshops to the community. One example was giving out lettuce to grow in a pot because “people usually like watering plants and it’s easy for them”.  Recovering and using traditional milpa farming methods like  CEDICAM is doing and engaging the community through workshops on traditional vegetable gardening, like COVORPA is doing are important ways to connect with Oaxaca’s history and also incorporate new technologies.

 

 The history, traditions, and local knowledge that are significant in a milpa farming system are a very important part of the food system in Oaxaca. With new threats of GM technology, industrial farming with monocropping and commercial inputs, and migration of farm workers there are threats of losing the important knowledge contained in traditional farming systems that were worked out over many years of practice. Going back may not be the answer, but the question is how we can learn to incorporate elements of the milpa system into present day agriculture. It may be simple through things like using organic compost in the soil,  diversifying plants in a commercial greenhouse , using native varieties of corn in the field, or the developing grassroots organizations that educate and motivate the community.  Instead of looking to science or the government to create a better future, Oaxacans could consider their rich knowledge and traditions to find its solutions to its agricultural challenges. 

 

8. Conclusion and Reflection

 

My journey through the changing world of organic food started with seeing a small part of the picture. From talking with small-scale organic producers and learning about the values  they have of growing their own food, even while earning very little money and not having the recognition of being “certified organic”, to organic growers who are producing a product to sell on the global market. I think what I have learned the most about is the sense of community, culture, traditions, and history that is present in traditional farming, cooking, and eating practices here in Oaxaca. This is one aspect that “organic” leaves out, and now I am unsatisfied and left wanting more from “organic”.  

 

As demand for organic increases, industrialized organic has become more of a market.  Organic is nothing if not a set of values and if the the future of those values is in the hands of big companies that are trying to make a profit, I am not sure that the future will be so great. I have more confidence looking back to traditions, history, and traditional farming practices like the milpa to learn from.

 

There are values that the new mass-scale and USDA definition of "organic" leaves out, values that once were inseperable from word but that have since been left out because it doesn't fit into the industrial model. Values  like locally grown, seeing the farm itself as a living organism, the value of a shorter food chain, the preservation of family, community, and household farms and gardens, and even the importance of consuming and enjoying food. If the word "organic" really means anything, it means that all these things are  connected in some way. The way we grow food is inseparable from the way we distribute and shop for food, which is inseparable from the way we eat cook and food. It is seeing the importance of these relationships.  Food is  a way to connect the community, to history and traditions, to family, and to place and local knowledge.

 

An industrial organic food system are steps in a better direction than our conventional system. However, If we are to survive into the future as a species and preserve the environment and the world we live in, we need to deeply root ourselves in our food, culture, community, and the environment. Looking to the future or for technology, science, corporations, and to the government won’t save us. Joan Gussow in Ecology of Vegetarianism  says “the real problem we face is a problem of scale and control. Giant corporations that are rapidly gaining control over the world’s food from seed to table are working to create a system from which nature is largely excluded”.

 

 Industrial eating destroys culture and replaces the “we” of culture, community, and the environment with the “I” of being a consumer and feeling disconnected. Talking with corn activists in a cooking class here in Oaxaca, an important message was that we can't choose our own foods anymore because we don't have that memory of what traditional food and eating was. "You forgot what your cultural memory of food was". Being in Oaxaca, Mexico I have learned the importance of the word “Comida” and how people can always be eating but still remain starved for something else. Even by eating “organic food” will we still be starving if we don’t remember the importance of place and culture and that eating “is a profoundly social and ecological event that connects us in the most intimate and primary way to other, our land, water, and soil, to the future, and to other species…” (Gustavo Esteva, 1998) 

 

 

Further Resources:

 

Organic Certification in Mexico: http://www.certimexsc.com/

Sustainable Harvest Coffee Importers: http://www.sustainableharvest.com/

CEDICAM: http://www.agua.org.mx/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=4494

More information on organic farming: http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/torg.html

Exploring cuisine in Oaxaca: http://bittman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/market-driven-oaxaca-style/

Mamaz collective: http://colectivomamazenglish.blogspot.mx/

Milpa farming: http://www.agroecology.org/Case%20Studies/milpa.html

Viva La Milpa project: http://vivalamilpa.com/

 

References:

 

About Organic. (2011). Retrieved from Organic Farming Research Foundation: http://ofrf.org/resources/organicfaqs.html

 

Albert, S. (1945). The Soil and Health: A Study of Organic Agriculture”. 

 

EPA. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/torg.html

 

Northbourne, L. (1940). Look to the Land.

 

USDA. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=ORGANIC_CERTIFICATIO

 

Waterman, S. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://bb.uvm.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-714937-dt-content-rid-748607_1/courses/201109-BR-Crosslisted/Lecture%208.pdf

 

Lotter,D (2005) Sizing up organic  Farming in Mexico. Retrieved from
http://newfarm.rodaleinstitute.org/international/pan-am_don/feb05/mx_organic/index.shtml

 

Popkin, B (2006) The World is Fat. 

 

Pollan, M. Mass Natural (2006) Retrieved from 
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/04/magazine/04wwln_lede.html?pagewanted=all 

 

Esteva, G. Grassroots Post-Modernism (1998)