tortillas

(a bunch of links following up on Lind and Barham 2004)

The Progressive: Tortilla Wars.(Mexican tortilla production)

The owner of Maseca-Gruma--Roberto Gonzalez Barrera, known as "the King of the Tortilla" and a Forbes magazine-celebrated billionaire--has had a lifelong friendship with the Salinas family. During the presidency of Carlos Salinas, the federal grain distribution agency shifted all its subsidized corn sales to Maseca, freezing out the nixtamaleros (people like Dona Teresa, who produce tortillas by the old method), who were forced to buy corn at the market price.

In search of a just tortilla

In search of a Just tortilla, I went to the market today looking for ones made from Mexican grown corn. They are a bit harder to find than the standard Maseca brand tortillas that dominate the market here in Mexico, and most of which are made from genetically-modified corn imported from the two U.S. corn monopolies--Cargill and Archers Daniels Midlands (ADM). It was a difficult quest, but I searched every corner of the market, asking for "maiz mexicano puro." You see the tortilla situation here is one of many examples of the type of devastating effects that "free trade" has had on everyday people in Mexico as well as most other countries

Gruma focuses on core businesses (2001)

In the first nine months of fiscal 2001, operating income of Gruma Corp., which includes the Mission Foods tortilla operations in the United States, as well as in Europe, and the U.S. corn flour business, was NP$439 million ($46.2 million), up 33% from NP$331 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2000. That improvement came on a 4% increase in net sales and a 2% increase in volumes. Maseca, the corn flour and tortilla operation in Mexico and Gruma�s second-largest business, posted operating income in the first nine months of fiscal 2001 of NP$372 million, off 6% from NP$397 million in the year-ago nine months.

[09-16-96] DAVID BACON, L.A.'S IMMIGRANT STRIKERS TARGET MEXICO'S TORTILLA KING

"The popular stereotype that tortillas are produced in small storefronts is wrong," says Joel Ochoa, organizing director of the Los Angeles Manufacturing Action Project, which is supporting the strike. Over 25,000 workers nationwide produce $2.5 billion worth of tortillas each year. They are almost all immigrant workers, in the same economic situation as the drivers. About a quarter of that production is concentrated in southern California, and most of that belongs to Mission Foods. Mission, a division of Grupo MASECA (or Gruma) belongs to Roberto Gonzalez Barrera, the Mexican tortilla king who has amassed a fortune in excess of $1.1 billion, including banks, brokerage houses and fast food franchises. Gruma has 10 plants across the U.S., and $400 million in total U.S. tortilla sales. When it moved into the Los Angeles market, it was already one of the largest food producers in Mexico. Gonzalez grew rich on government tortilla subsidies, and the vast growth of his industrialized tortilla production put thousands of small producers, the nixtamaleros, out of business.

Lawsuit filed against Mexican tortilla giant

...Gruma. The Mexican giant dominates America�s packaged tortilla trade through its U.S. subsidiary Gruma Corp., whose stable of brands includes the Mission, Guerrero and Buena Comida labels found at Food 4 Less and other supermarkets.

US Dumping Genetically Engineered Corn in Mexico

the most prominent corporate name on the list is Maseca, founded by Roberto Gonzalez Barrera, "the King of Tortillas." Maseca's U.S. operation (a third of which is owned by the ubiquitous Archer Daniels Midland) does business as Mission Foods. Its huge Azteca milling complex in Plainview, Texas, was at the hub of last year's StarLink scandal, when Taco Bell-brand taco shells were found to contain genetically engineered corn that the Food and Drug Administration had licensed only for animal feed. The suspect corn flour was fashioned into taco shells at a Pepsi-Co maquiladora in Mexicali, Mexico, which also turns out that country's numero uno snack food, Sabritas. While the U.S.-bound taco shells were recalled, Sabritas were not.

Forbes.com Company Details: Gruma S.A. de C.V. (ADR)

GMK is a holding company for subsidiaries that are engaged in the production and distribution of corn flour for tortillas and related products in Mexico, Central America and the U.S. For the FY ended 12/31/2003, revenues rose 12% to PS23.04B. Net income before U.S. GAAP rose 16% to PS493.0M. Results reflect higher volume sold by Gruma Corporation and GIMSA. Net income benefited from lower interest expenses and reduced exchange rate losses.

Mission Foods

Founded by Mr. Roberto Gonzalez Barrera in 1949, Gruma revolutionized the tortilla process by adhering to a strict recipe that maintains the authentic Aztec flavor.

TED Tortilla Case Study The Decline of the Tortilla Welfare State

Improving on Tradition

To cook, or not to cook, that is the question. Cooking raw corn in-plant is the traditional method for preparing corn masa, dough made of ground, alkaline-treated, cooked corn. Yet the use of dry corn masa, also termed corn masa flour, is increasing among tortilla and snack processors wishing to avoid the capital expense and environmental cost of on-site cooking. Others turn to corn masa flour for its uniformity and consistent performance.

Corn Masa: the dough dimension

How does corn masa differ from milled corn meal, grits, germ or flour? Why is this important? How does nixtamalization change corn’s functional and nutritional properties? Why is particle size grade important to selecting the right masa?

Salsa in Suburbia

The influence of Hispanics on the U.S. food industry is undeniable — the Hispanic food market ballooned by more than 60% between the years 1990 and 2000 and is still growing. While tortillas are perhaps the most recognized Hispanic food, snacks and frozen foods with a Latin American twist are also making their way into mainstream America.

Industry Update: Hot Times for Tortillas

According to data compiled by Tortilla Industry Association, annual sales of tortillas in the United States hit $4.4 billion in the year 2000 and should reach $5.7 billion by the end of 2002.

Grupo Bimbo

Grupo Bimbo S.A. de C.V., Mexico City, already has cornered much of the Latin American market for grain-based foods. Now, it is setting its sights northward to the United States.

World Baking Guide: Mexico

Mexico’s bakery market has yet to reach its full potential. According to the Agri-Trade Canada report, The Bakery Products Market in Mexico, opportunities abound in almost every segment, from breads, bagels and cakes to biscuits and specialty products.

Viva la Tortilla

Once viewed as a product strictly for Mexican and Latino dishes, tortillas today have a much broader role. Dishes made with tortillas, or wraps, can be found on virtually any restaurant menu. And consumers are developing new and interesting recipes incorporating tortillas into their own dishes at home.

Hispanic Ole

Companies that manufacture and market Hispanic products have introduced several new products in recent months.

Special Treatment

Corn is also the basis for the fastest growing product category among grain-based foods: the tortilla. And it takes a special process — nixtamalization — to turn hard, dry corn kernels into popular tortillas.

La Tortilla Factory

Milling & Baking News, June 1998 Tortilla Product Perspective

Some from Annie:

AUTHOR Gonzalez, Roberto J. (Roberto Jes�s), 1969-
TITLE Zapotec science : farming and food in the Northern Sierra of Oaxaca
IMPRINT Austin : University of Texas Press, 2001.
CALL NO. F1221.Z3 G66 2001.

AUTHOR Torrans, Thomas.
TITLE Forging the tortilla curtain : cultural drift and change along the United States-Mexico border, from the Spanish era to the present
IMPRINT Fort Worth [Tex.] : TCU Press, c2000.
CALL NO. F786 .T68 2000.

AUTHOR Pilcher, Jeffrey M., 1965-
TITLE Que vivan los tamales! : food and the making of Mexican identity
IMPRINT Albuquerque : University of New Mexico Press, c1998.
CALL NO. TX716.M4 P54 1998.