Food in Mexico

Food Cultures and Science in Mexico Mexico is a country located south of North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States, on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean, and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. The country has a moderate climate characterized by low-lying coastal areas and has pleasant summers and mild winters.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Food in Mexico specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The country’s rainy season falls between May and September while the hurricane seasons occur between May and November. The country has 113 million inhabitants and was originally under the reign of Spain. Food availability in Mexico According to GAIN (2010), we can only talk about food security when every single individual has access to food. Although research generally indicates that food availability in Mexico does not present a serious danger, there are places in Mexico where food access has been a real concern. In 2008 for example, close to 20% of the Mexican people could not access food due to lack of sufficient income and this greatly affected productivity (GAIN, 2010). Despite food being available to feed all, access has always been dependent on an individual’s purchasing power. As noted by Gilman (2011), some of the best foods in Mexico are accessed from stalls along the streets and in the market places. Although eating food obtained from the streets may appear strange to some visitors, it is quite normal for an average Mexican. This notwithstanding, Mexicans are content with food obtained from the streets and the market. They are, therefore, not about to stop getting food from these locations (Ochoa, 2001). For many citizens, these foods are fresh and dealers are equally considered healthy and very neat. Restaurant owners are known to conduct their food businesses with so much care and integrity to the delight their customers. In addi tion, most people prefer eating processed foods though they still go after fresh food as has been the tradition from the early days. Locally produced foods include peas, dry beans, walnut, sunflower, sweet pepper, and tomatoes. Mexicans import foods such as honey, dried herbs and mushrooms, roasted coffee, and cheese, to name but a few.Advertising Looking for report on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Staple food, how it is served and what are the common food sources? According to Gilman (2011), the most common food source in Mexico is corn or what is commonly known as maize. It is normally prepared either as flat bread also known as tortilla or as corn stew, usually referred to as pozole. Also available are fruits and vegetables such as green tomatoes, mangoes, papaya, and avocado. These are eaten alongside the main meals. Meat is also obtained from chicken and pigs as well as from breeds of cattle including Corrientes and French Charolais. In their cooking, Mexicans use garlic, chili, almond, clove, and cumin to add flavor to their cookery. This is further improved using various natural ingredients. Other familiar foods are seafood, frijoles or beans, and frijoles refritos or refried beans, and spiced coffee which is made using a mixture of spices. What are the common food preparation methods? In preparing their food, Mexicans tend to use a combination of methods. Deep and stir frying are the most common. Deep frying involves placing the food in a deep pot filled with cooking oil. Among fried foods are dessert puffs and chicken cheese crisp. What spice is commonly used in food preparation? Mexican food is made using spices such as almond, cumin, and chili. As has been mentioned elsewhere in this paper, Mexican food is traditionally made out of maize or corn and beans and is mainly prepared by deep or stir frying. Although many other types of food are available and can be accessed at wi ll, the limitation is usually the purchasing power (Tucker and Buranapin, 2001). What are the main macro and micronutrients and what sources? Different foods contain different nutrients. Macronutrients such as protein and carbohydrates are obtained from corn, pigs, and meat from Corrientes or French Charolais breeds of cattle. Micronutrients on the other hand are obtained through fruits and vegetables such as verdolaga and huazontle. Common fruits include guava, mango, and guanabana. Although most Mexicans have stuck with traditional foods for so long, many people also enjoy eating fast foods which mostly supply carbohydrates and fats. Other foods such as chicken soup are prepared specifically for those the sick. Some people have, however, argued that the preparation of Mexican food depends on what one wants to prepare. The preparation is also tied to the historical origins of the Mexican people.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Food in Mexico specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More What is their food culture and health implication? According to Geddes and Paloma (2000), Mexicans suffer from a number of ailments as a result of their food culture and traditional beliefs that have been carried forward from generation to generation. It is common to come by people dying from illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, and obesity caused by poor eating habits. It is absolutely necessary for people to change their eating habits and drop some of the unhealthy eating practices. Apparently, poverty is also to blame for the bad food culture in Mexico (Long Vargas, 2005). In most cases, lack of money compels average income earners in Mexico to go after unhealthy food stuffs from fast food restaurants. Save for the fact that these foods help to meet their immediate needs, they are responsible for poor health among the Mexicans. What is their way of presenting their food, serving, and table manners? Typically, Mexic ans serve their food hot and eat it using forks, spoons and knives. Food is taken into the mouth in small chunks, chewed, and the swallowed. Also made during meals are tacos which involve wrapping what is to be eaten in a corn tortilla before it can be eaten (Burckhardt, 1996). Generally, Mexicans eat three meals a day though this may vary slightly with others taking four. Desayuno or breakfast in Mexico is any form of food that one can take to start his or her day. While this may be large for people, others prefer lighter meals during this time of the day (Gilman, 2011). Comida, the most important meal on any day, is usually eaten in the afternoon and includes the main dish accompanied with other types of foods. Some Mexicans also enjoy almuerzo, a meal taken slightly later after breakfast. What food education tools are used in Mexico? Mexicans use MyPlate and Food Pyramids to educate people on healthy eating habits (Fox, 1993). Though considered quite abstract by some people, the food pyramid has been hailed for giving a clear indication of the foods in the various categories. MyPlate on the other hand comes with added information allowing consumers to make informed food choices. References Burckhardt, A. (1996). The People of Mexico and Their Food. Mankato, MI: Capstone. Fox, J. (1993). The Politics of Food in Mexico: State Power and Social Mobilization. London: Cornell University Press.Advertising Looking for report on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Geddes, B. Paloma, G. (2000). Lonely Planet World Food: Mexico. Australia: Lonely Planet Publications. Gilman, N. (2011). Good Food in Mexico City: Food Stalls, Fondas and Fine Dining. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse. Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN). (2010). Food Security and Nutrition in Mexico. Mexico: Global Agricultural Information Network. Long, L. T. Vargas, L. A. (2005). Food Culture in Mexico. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group. Ochoa, E. C. (2001). Feeding Mexico: The Political Uses of Food Since 1910. Wilmington, DE: Rowman Littlefield. Tucker, K. L. Buranapin, S. (2001). Nutrition and Aging in Developing Countries. Journal of Nutrition, 131:2417 – 2423. This report on Food in Mexico was written and submitted by user Jacob H. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Lawrence Klein Project Essays

Lawrence Klein Project Essays Lawrence Klein Project Essay Lawrence Klein Project Essay Model 1 was created to try and explain the cause and effects of the great depression in USA in the 1920s and 1930s. It tries to explain why the economy did so badly at the end of the 1920s then eventually recovered towards the end of the 1930s. Basic Time Plot Analysis We have plotted three important variables to graphically explain what Klein was trying to explain in his model. These three variables are consumption, investment and private wages. Figure 1 shows the consumption levels every year from 1921 to 1943. In 1921 consumption is 39. Consumption rises each year steadily until 1930 where consumption is at 57. 8. Consumption falls in 1931 and rapidly. It falls for a further two years and reaches a level of 45. 6 in 1933. In 1934 the consumption levels start to rise again and do so for the next ten years except for a small dip in 1939. Figure 2 shows the investment levels from 1921-1943. Investment starts at 2. 7 in 1921. Here it falls the next year to -0. 2%, after this in general it rises each year until 1927 where it reaches 5. 6%. In the next six years it falls to -6. 2% in 1933. After 1933 there is a sharp rise in investment every year until 1937 where it flattens at around 2% for two years. From 1939 Investment rises further and in three years it reaches 4. 9%. Figure 3 shows the private wages in the time period. In 1921 private wages are 28. 8. They fall the following year, but increase at a steady pace to reach 41. 3 in 1930. From 1931 to 1934 private wages fall rapidly to 28. 5. Wages start to rise in 1935 and continue to do so except for a small fall in 1939 for the next four years. By 1938 wages have reached 41. This links in with Grangers attempt to explain the great depression. As the figures show investment falls then consumption and private wages fall with a slightly longer lag. From these results one can say that significantly different estimations are obtained using TSLS rather than OLS for consumption. We can conclude also that the model is a good fit with R2 values of 0. 97214 and 0. 982007 for the OLS and TSLS regressions respectively. The signs of the coefficients for ? and W1 are as expected; when profits and private wages rise one would expect consumption to rise too. One would expect ? -1 to have a positive coefficient as in the TSLS regression rather than the negative one found in OLS, and therefore one can say that the TSLS estimates are consistent with expectations. The estimates using OLS and TSLS are almost identical and the signs of the coefficient are consistent with expectations. Near identical R2 values of 0. 980973 and 0. 980972 for OLS and TSLS respectively imply an excellent fit it both cases, and it is not of huge importance which method is used for estimation. Correlogram When we have time series data, where the observations follow a natural ordering through time, there is always a problem that successive errors we be correlated with each other. Serial correlation is present when residuals correlate with their own lagged variables. This violates the standard assumption of regression theory that disturbances are not correlated with other disturbances. This is a problem as OLS is no longer efficient among linear estimators. Standard errors are not correct and are often understated and if there are lagged dependent variables on the right-hand side, OLS estimates are then biased and inconsistent. 1 We can use the Correlogram to find out whether the series is stationary or non-stationary. With a stationary series the autocorrelations gradually die out, indicating that the values further in the past are less correlated with the current value. For non-stationary the autocorrelations do not die out rapidly at all. We have decided to plot correlograms for consumption (figure 4), investment (figure 5) and private wages (figure 6). All three of these graphs show the same thing, the autocorrelation drops fairly soon. It certainly does not stay. From this, one can assume that all three series are stationary. The regression is therefore not necessarily spurious. When non-stationary time series occur, the problem can be that the regression may indicate a significant relationship when actually there isnt one. The correlogram has allowed us to see that the regression is not spurious and so the relationships are reliable. We can tell that there is serial correlation in the model as we have tested that at least some of the AC and PC are greater than zero. The Q-stats are significant the P values are low.