It's Corn: Process & Purpose

How are restaurateurs and producers in Portland, OR, a city that is 76% white and 9% Mexican, using corn to reconnect people to place and tell stories of the land and indigenous people?

The United States is the top producer of corn in the world, yet only 40% of that corn is destined for someone’s plate. The industrialization of corn in the Americas is a story of colonization, appropriation, and capitalism. But there are also stories of people finding ways to celebrate biodiversity, culture, and history through great corn products. 

In this episode, we talk with Pedro Ferbel-Azcarate and Wendy Downing, 2 of 3 co-owners of Three Sisters Nixtamal, an organic and traditional masa maker. We also talk with Angel Medina, co-owner of Repùblica and Co, a Mexican-forward restaurant group. 

Guests: 

Pedro Ferbel-Azcarate

Three Sisters  |  Instagram

Angel Medina

Repùblica & Co  |  Instagram  

Resources: 

To read more about what we talked about in this episode: 

• Keepers of the Corn: Despite economic pressures, Oaxaca remains a stronghold of Mexico’s wondrous criollo, or native, corn varieties

• How Mexico’s iconic flatbread went industrial and lost its flavor

• The Tortilla Cartel

• United in Tradition as Peoples of the Corn

• The history of the world according to corn - TEDTalk by Chris A. Kniesly

• Corn: Origin, History, Technology, and Production

• How Indigenous Seed Savers Safeguard Agricultural and Spiritual Tradition