Mexican Food Research Paper

Mexico has many environmental problems which stem from significant pollution from factory discharge and waste dumping. Their main threat is deforestation and other natural habitat losses which can effect biodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems. An influential religion in Mexico is Roman Catholicism with eighty-eight percent of the population being this specific religion. Their diet is high in legumes, dietary fiber, and cholesterol which can affect their bodies in different ways. Those consuming the traditional Mexican diet pattern also had high BMIs and waist circumference values but did not differ significantly compared to other groups.

We are all made of corn. Take a strand of your hair. A recent study proved that if you are like the average American consumer today, your hair is 69% made of corn carbon. This is in contrast to the 5% of corn carbon that is in the hair of Europeans. Americans use more corn in their diet than anyone else, and the corn content of the American diet is partially responsible for our country’s widespread obesity and the prevalence of diabetes. America’s over-production of corn has serious consequences for our health and for our environment.

Growing up in Nebraska I can tell you that I have ingested my fair amount of corn and corn-based products, I mean we are the Cornhuskers after all. But what is so special about corn? I ask this question because I want to know what is so special about corn and why is it in almost anything and everything we eat. America's agriculture is vast in the many types of plants that are planted and harvested every year, such as soybeans and wheat that are also used as an ingredient in many of our foods that we consume every day. When trying to answer this question I had to do some of my own investigative work, just as Pollan did when finding out all he could find out about corn. I researched the most grown grains in America, since corn is a grain, and to no surprise, it was corn but the second majorly grown crop that we Americans plant was soybeans. From there I

Corn even turned up in French fries (23 percent).” (Patrigenaru) What is wrong with all this corn? Growing corn involves an abundance amount of pesticides and fertilizers that release chemicals into the soils that eventually make it to the water tables underneath. the ground. That can be terrible for the environment. Also, eating too much corn can cause an abundance of calories in a diet and not enough nutrients necessary to sustain a healthy body. In other words, corn replaces nutrients with an excess of calories. Patrigenaru also points out, “More than a quarter of products in the average American supermarket now contain corn or its derivatives.” (Patrigenaru) Since corn replaces nutrients with calories and is in almost everything that is consumed in America now, it is plain to see why the United States is one of the fattest countries in the world. Processed food are becoming more and more prevalent in the American diet day to day. Kim Rhyssdal wrote in an article based on an interview, “Processed foods are, plus or minus, 70 percent of what most of us eat.” (Ryssdal) 70 percent is a very damaging piece of evidence to the conviction of the American diet. While corn is the leading source of the unhealthiness of Americans, added sugar and fat are not far behind. Tim Philpot wrote in an article, “As for added fats and sugars, their 2008 levels reached 459 and 641,

Corn is not the ideal nutritious food. It wreaks havoc on the animal;s' digestive system and gets turned into sweeteners that makes people obese, aside from giving us an unhealthy diet. In other words, the industrial food chain that American man is sustained on is largely based on corn, whether in its direct form, fed to livestock, or processed into chemicals such as glucose, and the cheapest forms of these are high-fructose corn syrup and ethanol. The former, particularly, through a combination of biological, cultural, and political factors, appears in the cheapest and most common of foods that constitute the American diet. It is the ingredient that results in obesity, and, since it appears in the cheapest products, the ingredients that more poor, than wealthier individuals, consume.

Chapter one of The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan follows corn on its journey from acting as the primary crop of the Native Americans all the way to its introduction into the industrial setting. Pollan makes it explicitly clear that corn is in everything. Behind all the chemicals listed in the “ingredients” section on a product, consumers will find corn. Corn even plays a role in our chemical makeup. Because of corn’s ability to intake more carbon than most other plants, it does not have a preference over the carbon isotopes it consumes. By looking at the carbon isotope ratios in humans, we can determine how much corn one has eaten. Pollan states that corn’s variability is what makes it such an important crop. The European settlers

Can you think of one type of food or ingredient that is in almost everything that you consume? Corn has become a primary ingredient in majority of all American citizens diet. In, “When A Crop Becomes King” by Michael Pollan. Pollan describes how corn has taken over our food and our government. Corn is the most widely planted crop in the world and has taken over our landscape, food, and federal budget.

Everywhere, people have sex and many see it as something that is done either for reproduction or for pleasure. What sociologist have learned is that all the factors that deal with sex, like when, why and how you do it, are not decisions made by an individual and are not entirely biological. Everything is determined by what is in the society. A few of these causes are culture, religion, education and media. The whole enchilada has an impact on the way we all see and judge sex.

Many non-Hispanic people tend to think that all Hispanics are Mexican. Mexicans make up almost two thirds of the Hispanic population in the United States, but that does not mean that there is any shortage in diversity among Hispanics. Being Hispanic makes it easy for me to identify the differences in Latin America culture. Hispanics are one of the most racially diverse ethnic groups in the world. Hispanics are light skinned, black with afro textured hair, Indigenous, Asian, Spanish, German, and Italian.

Coming from a Hispanic culture background has taught me a lot of many different values. I was born and raised on a border town between Texas and Mexico. The culture of Mexican-American has impacted many people on both sides of the border.

Mexican cuisine is a style of food that originates in Mexico. It is known for its varied flavors, colorful decoration, and variety of spices and ingredients, many of which are native to the country. What makes a meal distinctly Mexican, of course, are the lively seasonings. Not all Mexican recipes are fiery, though; while renowned for their heat, many subtle and intriguing spice combinations are also found in Mexican fare.

During this project, I learned how to make a common Hispanic dish. I also learned about different herbs that are common in Mexican culinary practices (epazote being one). After completing this project, I would say that I wish my culture was more similar to what I learned. My culture doesn’t put as much spice and flavor into the food as the Hispanic culture does. I can apply what I learned and connect more with the Hispanic culture by trying out new spices when I cook. I think the knowledge I gained from completing this project will help me appreciate other cultures’ foods more. Refried beans are a very common dish, but I don’t think most people realize how long it takes to make them. I know I didn’t until I started this project. I feel good

We believe that this is a basket with some açaí berries in it. This basket of grape-looking things, (what seems to be açaí berries), demonstrate the idea of food. This suggests that the ancient Aztec civilizations were able to grow or forage things to eat. We think that these things are açaí berries, because they are purple-ish black, small and round, the way açaí berries are supposed to look. Açaí berries are found in Mexico. We believe that the Aztecs may have had to move across a large area of land to collect and pick these berries, because the berries are in a basket, an easy to handle container. Moving across a big area of land requires a container to hold the berries, and in this case, a basket is what they used. This also shows that

Imagine a world without Tex-Mex foods. People would not be able to go to Taco Bell anytime of the day, learn about the mexican culture, and america would not have its prideful cuisine. Tex-mex is not considered mexican food but it is known as “America's first original regional cuisine” (Alarcon). Many people believe that tex-Mex is just food that mexicans of Texas eat, but that is untrue. People of all cultural backgrounds eat the original and delicious Tex -mex cuisine.

Page 1 of 2 ZOOM Spencer GayheartAuthentic Mexican food and Tex-Mex foods are just different types of Mexican foods. Many of the so-called Mexican foods we love like hard shell tacos, burritos, and nachos are all Tex-Mex foods. Tex-Mex is the abbreviation for Texas-Mexican foods. Many Mexican heritage people think Tex-Mex food is fake and not as good as real, traditional Mexican food.