What region is most responsible for the food we eat?

−Is it:

Select only one of the following:

a. The Middle East

b. China

c. Latin America

d. Europe

e. India

Look closely at the image below for clues:

What region is “most responsible” for the food we eat?

+And the answer is ...

LATIN AMERICA

Do you know why Latin America takes the crown?

It’s home to this planet’s biggest superfood.

It’s everywhere, even more pervasive than social media.
It’s probably in the food you’re eating right now.
Maybe in what you’re drinking.
It might be powering your car, heating or cooling your home as you read this, feeding your pet, or the farm animal that ends up on your plate.

That crop is corn.

The Middle East gave us bread and domesticated animals.
China gave us rice and noodles.

But corn, born in Mexico and Central America, quietly took over the modern world. It became the backbone of industrial food systems in a way no other crop has matched.

That’s why, when we ask which region is most responsible for the food we eat today, the answer points straight to Latin America, and specifically to Oaxaca, one of the original homes of corn.

And for those in the neighboring countries that can also claim early cultivation of corn, don’t worry, your turn is coming soon.

We’re skipping the beaches this time. This trip is about food.

+The quick museum tour with pearls of wisdom included

The museum

Think about it, when you’re in beautiful sunny Mexico, do you really want an indoor museum? It’s far better to step into an outdoor museum set on a hilltop, surrounded by buildings that still carry the presence of an old civilization. That’s Monte Albán, the capital of the ancient Zapotec people. This place, with its stones, plazas and carefully planned paths, tells the story of their architectural genius. Not far from here, other sites reveal their deep knowledge of farming. This region, heavy with ancient secrets, is one of the places that gave birth to the corn-based Oaxacan food we still enjoy today.

+ Local wisdom from the guitar

If you carry joy in your heart, you can heal any moment.
//
Carlos Santana — Notes from the Underground

Carlos Santana

Carlos Santana, born in the Pacific state of Jalisco, became a global force in the 1970s and then again in the late 1990s with the massive hit "Smooth." Why mention him here? His rise to fame coincided with the moment environmental consciousness started entering mainstream conversation. Scientists at the time pointed to corn as a possible environmental savior. Instead, the world ended up with a surplus of corn that quietly infiltrated almost everything, animal feed, high-fructose corn syrup, ethanol, and countless everyday products. Santana’s music, like corn itself, crossed borders and became part of the global soundtrack. When night falls in Oaxaca you can still hear the Latin rhythms that artists like him helped carry to the world.

+ Local wisdom from the big guy

If I die from overeating, God bless me, that’s exactly how it was supposed to be.
//
Gabriel Iglesias (Fluffy) — Notes from the Underground

Gabriel Iglesias

Gabriel Iglesias (better known as Fluffy) is one of the world’s most successful clean comedians. In one of his routines he tells the story of performing in Saudi Arabia when a local prince kept calling him "the American.” The moment lands hard for anyone born to immigrant parents. Mexican culture has travelled farther than most people realize. In that spirit we come to Oaxaca, widely regarded as the culinary capital of Mexico, a place where even a man who jokes constantly about food would feel right at home.

+ Local wisdom from the Queen of Latin Pop

Who cares what I do? Who cares what I say? This is who I am, and who I’ll always be.
//
Thalía – ¿A quién le importa? — Notes from the Underground

Thalía

Thalía (born Ariadna Thalía Sodi Miranda in Mexico City) is still called the Queen of Latin Pop. With more than 25 million records sold, telenovelas broadcast in 180 countries, and a career that spans music, television and books, her influence is hard to overstate. When you’re in Oaxaca you don’t need her to appear in person. You can still hear the same Latin sounds she helped popularize at the Zócalo, the city’s main square, or inside the historic Teatro Macedonio Alcalá, which opened in 1903.

+Nature's best in a YouTube video

Hierve el Agua & Puerto Escondido

Oaxaca is rich with natural wonders. One of the most striking is Hierve el Agua, natural rock formations that look like cascading waterfalls. These "petrified" falls are created by mineral-rich water that rises from the ground and slowly deposits calcium carbonate on the cliff face. The region is also home to the famous Árbol del Tule, one of the widest trees on the planet. Since this is Mexico, we also make time for the coast. We head to Puerto Escondido on the Pacific, home to the powerful surf of Playa Zicatela and the quieter, more sheltered Playa Carrizalillo.

+Fun fact

Oaxaca’s original superfoods

Did you know that Oaxaca, already famous as one of the first places to cultivate corn, was also among the earliest regions to grow chili peppers, avocados, and beans? That ancient legacy is still alive today in the state’s lively food markets. Avocados, in particular, remain as popular as tomatoes, even though they are technically a fruit.

+What does Trip Advisor tell me to do

Oaxaca de Juárez & the road to Puerto Escondido

In Oaxaca de Juárez, the best way to experience the world’s most important crop is the tour called “Earth, Corn and Fire, Tasting the Roots of Oaxacan Cuisine.” This region is widely regarded as the culinary peak of Mexico, and the city of Oaxaca sits right at its center.

On the way to Puerto Escondido (roughly 250 km through the Sierra Madre del Sur, about 6 hours by road), two excellent stops stand out:

- San Martín Tilcajete , famous for its brightly painted Alebrijes, the fantastical wooden creatures of Mexican folk art.

- San Bartolo Coyotepec, home of the renowned black pottery, with its deep mirror like finish.

Once you reach Puerto Escondido, take time for the beaches, then head to Laguna de Manialtepec for the night tour to see the bioluminescent plankton that lights up the water.

+The perfect restaurant at home

Mole, the soul of Oaxaca

Do you know what the most famous dish from Oaxaca actually is? It’s not tacos. It’s Mole. This rich, complex sauce is made from a mix of chili peppers, chocolate, nuts, seeds, and many spices. Second on the local list is chapulines (fried grasshoppers), but we’ll leave those for the adventurous. Instead, here’s how to make a proper Mole at home, the kind you can pour over chicken, pork, or whatever protein you like, and serve it the Mexican way with rice and warm tortillas. Simple ingredients, deep flavour. Real comfort food.

+References and tour summary

The references

Springler Link(Regional benefits of climate change), Advancing Earth and Space Sciences(Regional benefits of climate change), Mdpi(Regional benefits of climate change), National Science Review(Regional benefits of climate change), Ecology Society of America(Corn for energy production), Journal of Environmental Quality(Corn for energy production), Cambridge University Press(Corn for energy production), American Chemical Society, (Cows for energy production), Frontiers(History of corn in Oaxaca, Mexico), Biotechnia (History of the Avocado in Oaxaca, Mexico) All images are AI-generated using Fotor and are meant to describe the subject matter they portray figuratively, not factually.

The tour summary

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