The Biocultural System of the Native Corn Zapalote chico in the Tehuantepec Isthmus (Mexico)

Abstract

In this work, we characterized the food-processing system used by the population of the Tehuantepec Isthmus (Mexico), largely of zapotec origin. Also, we examined the relationship of the system to the native corn zapalote chico, and assessed its potential for retaining its food sovereignty. For this purpose, we performed extensive empirical fieldwork involving peasant and consumer surveys, and also on interviews with key local informants. Based on the results, the native cereal, which accounts for more than one half of the food intake for the locals, is cropped by a high proportion of peasants in the region. As confirmed here, this native variety is used to produce a wide variety of highly complex and diverse foods that remain the dietary basis for the isthmian population as a legacy of the pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican counterfoil. Available empirical evidence suggests that this food system, linked to the cereal’s biocultural model, has allowed the population to retain a high level of food sovereignty or autonomy.