Mexican cuisine has emerged as a paradox of globalization. Food enthusiasts throughout the world celebrate the humble taco at the same time that Mexicans are eating fewer tortillas and more processed food. Today Mexico is experiencing an epidemic of diet-related chronic illness. The precipitous rise of obesity and diabetesattributed to changes in the Mexican diethas resulted in a public health emergency.

In her gripping new book, Alyshia Galvez exposes how changes in policy following NAFTA have fundamentally altered one of the most basic elements of life in Mexicosustenance. Mexicans are faced with a food system that favors food security over subsistence agriculture, development over sustainability, market participation over social welfare, and ideologies of self-care over public health. Trade agreements negotiated to improve lives have resulted in unintended consequences for peoples everyday lives.