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“Si no comemos tortilla, no vivimos:” women, climate change, and food security in central Mexico

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Abstract

In recent years, it has become clear that food security is intimately related to complex environmental, social, political, and economic issues. Even though several studies document the impact of climate on food production and agriculture, a growing segment of research examines how climate change impacts food systems and associated livelihoods. Furthermore, while women play a crucial role in providing food security for their families, little research exists that examines the nexus among gender relations, climate change, and household food security. This study investigates these relationships by asking: (1) how is the production and reproduction of knowledge about food security and climate change shaped by gender and lived experience, and (2) how does this knowledge influence attitudes and strategies for maintaining food security in a changing climate? Drawing on the results of research in two communities in central Mexico, I argue that women’s perceptions of and strategies for maintaining food security are derived from their socio-political, environmental, and economic contexts. This study contributes to both the growing literature on the gender dynamics of climate change, as well as debates about the role of bioengineered seeds in helping farmers to adapt to a changing climate.

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Notes

  1. This paper draws on the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO 1996) concept of food security as, “when all people, at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.” This conceptualization of food security addresses issues such as access, availability, and choice, which share similarities with the concept of food sovereignty.

  2. Ejidos are part of the communal system of land tenure established after the Mexican revolution. The Mexican government recognizes three types of land tenure in Ejidos: (1) ejiditarios/as (have both access and rights to farm on plots assigned to them, (2) posesionarios/as (have access to farm on land assigned to them but do not have any associated rights), (3) avecindados/as (landless individuals and families). Rights include the right to vote in assembly meetings and participate in communal decision-making, the right to receive government benefits for the cultivated land, and the right to receive compensation for crops lost during a state-declared disaster, such as drought.

  3. For an overview of this body of scholarship and future directions, see Hawkins and Ojeda (2011).

  4. Milpa is a Mesoamerican subsistence agroecosystem that consists of corn, beans, and squash (Radel 2005; Vázquez García et al. 2004).

  5. Socio-demographic data collected for each household member included the relationship of each individual to the primary respondent, their age, sex, years completed in school, occupations, location of work, and migration experience. Fourteen of the households were single female-headed and an additional 6 households were married female-headed as their spouse was located in the US at the time. The remaining 50 interviews were conducted with married women. Of the 70 women interviewed, 12 were grandmothers (currently living with grandchildren and possibly other extended family members), 50 were mothers (currently living with children and possibly other extended family members such as in-laws and daughter-in-laws), and 8 households had no children under age 20. The average age of these women was 51 years. The ejiditarias I spoke to (women with access and rights to land) comprised 14 % (n = 10) of the participants in the study. Slightly fewer, 11 % (n = 8), were posesionarias (women with land but no rights) and 39 % (n = 27) were avencindadas (landless). Women married to male ejiditarios make up the remaining 36 % (n = 25) of the participants.

  6. Quelites are tender edible plants that grow in the milpa. The word comes from indigenous Nahautl word quilit, a generic term to describe plants whose foliage is edible (Vázquez García et al. 2004).

  7. PROCAMPO, or Programa para Apoyo Directo al Campo, is a cash transfer program to provide farmers with capital each growing season to help them pay for needed inputs such as a tractor, fertilizer, and labor.

  8. 1 hectare ≈ 2.5 acres.

Abbreviations

CEDESA:

Centro de Desarrollo Agropecuario A.C. (Center for Agricultural Development)

ENSO:

El Niño Southern Oscillation

GM:

Genetically modified

INIFAP:

Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias (National Institute for Forest, Agriculture, and Fisheries Research)

PROCAMPO:

Programa de Apoyos Directo al Campo (Program for Direct Subsidies to the Countryside)

SAGARPA:

Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería, Desarrollo Rural, Pesca y Alimentación (Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries, and Food)

US:

United States

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Acknowledgments

I am indebted to the participants of this study and especially to Elizabeth Torrez Rodriguez and the late Teresa Martinez Delgado, without whom this work would not be possible. I am also grateful to Gabriela Cuevas García whom designed the maps of the study site and Frida Güiza Valverde who provided invaluable feedback on earlier drafts. I want to also thank Harvey James and the anonymous reviewers for their insights. Any errors or omissions are solely my responsibility. This research was funded through an American Association of University Women Fellowship, a Thomas F. Morgan Graduate Scholarship, a Supporting Women in Geography Fellowship, and through contributions from the College of Liberal Arts and Department of Geography at Pennsylvania State University.

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    Beth A. Bee

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“Si no comemos tortilla, no vivimos” in the paper title is translated by the author as “If we do not eat tortillas, we die”.

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Bee, B.A. “Si no comemos tortilla, no vivimos:” women, climate change, and food security in central Mexico. Agric Hum Values 31, 607–620 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-014-9503-9

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