Foodways of the Americas: The Social History of Corn, Potatoes, and Cuisine MTA
From Indigenous staples to global superfoods — culinary exchange and identity across the continents

About this book:

*Foodways of the Americas* provides a comprehensive social history of corn and potatoes, tracing their journey from Indigenous staples to global commodities. The narrative begins with the domestication of maize in Mesoamerica’s milpa systems and tubers in the Andean highlands, highlighting the sophisticated agricultural technologies like nixtamalization and freeze-drying (chuño) developed by ancient civilizations. These crops were not merely food but were deeply embedded in ritual, cosmology, and the urban provisioning systems of empires like the Aztec and Inca.

The book examines the seismic shift of the Columbian Exchange, which launched these American staples into Europe, Africa, and Asia. While corn and potatoes fueled global population growth and industrial revolutions, their adoption was fraught with the politics of prestige and the tragedies of monoculture, most notably seen in the Irish Potato Famine. In the Atlantic world, these crops were repurposed into rations for plantation labor and slavery, cementing their role as engines of colonial extraction and first-wave globalization.

As the narrative moves into the modern era, it explores the rise of "Corn Belts" and "Soy Republics," where agribusiness, government subsidies, and trade agreements like NAFTA transformed farming into a standardized industrial process. The text contrasts this industrialization with the persistent cultural power of food, seen in the migration of tamales and arepas across borders and the rise of culinary nationalism in Mexico and Peru. It highlights the tension between the "Green Revolution" of high-yield hybrids and the growing movements for seed sovereignty and food justice.

Ultimately, the book frames the history of these staples as a lens for modern challenges, including climate change and biodiversity loss. By analyzing recipes as archives and markets as social centers, the author argues that the future of food depends on blending scientific innovation with ecological wisdom. The conclusion calls for a "more just table," where the resilience of Indigenous practices and the dignity of labor are honored to ensure sustainable food security for a changing world.

What You'll Find Inside:

• Explores the deep origins of maize and potato domestication, showing how Indigenous knowledge shaped milpa and terrace farming systems across Mesoamerica and the Andes.
• Examines preservation techniques like nixtamalization and chuño, revealing how food technologies became tools of power, resilience, and cultural continuity.
• Traces the Columbian Exchange and global spread of American staples, illustrating how maize and potatoes transformed diets, economies, and labor systems worldwide.
• Analyzes how food became a site of identity and resistance, from culinary nationalism in Mexico and Peru to diasporic kitchens maintaining tamales, arepas, and other traditions.
• Addresses contemporary challenges—climate change, agribusiness, GMOs, and food sovereignty—highlighting pathways toward a more just and resilient food system.

Who's It For:

This book is ideal for students and scholars of food history, anthropology, Latin American studies, and agricultural science, as well as activists, policymakers, chefs, and anyone interested in understanding how staple crops shape culture, power, and sustainability across the Americas.