The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1907-06-29
FooDsTuFFs IN MEXICO.
What the Mass OF the People Have
to Eat.

What the Mass OF the People Have
to Eat.
In answer to inquiries from tho
United States relative to Mexico's meat
and dairy product supplies, Consul
James A. lie Roy of Durango furnishes
the following report, says the Washing
ton Star
While the mass of the people Of Mex
leo subsist primarily on tortillas (corn
cake) and beans, it Is significant that, !
in the larger centers Of population, |
wherever the workmen are getting |
higher wages, as a result of the estab- |
lishment Of new industries, they buy |
fresh meat and flock to the bakeries of |
wheaton bread. Indeed, the increased
| consumption Of wheat Is one Of the |
| signs of the times in Mexico. 1t has
become an article Of necessity with
families In moderate circumstances, as
1t always has been with the people Of
wealth and these two classes are also
great consumers Of meat. 1t may be
put down as a rule that while Mexico
Is still a country dependent primarily
upon corn and beans, all Mexicans who
can afford to do 80 daily eat large
amount Of meat
1t cannot be expected that there will
be any market for fresh meats from the
United States, as cattle raising Is
pursuit that is followed In nearly all
parts Of Mexico. There IL also a duty
Of 10 cents Mexican the net kilo (about
2A cents In United States currency
per pound avoirdupois) on fresh meat.
In the capital and in some Of the other
,, cities there are small butcher shops,
first started to cater to- the trade of
, American residents, which have facili-
t. ties for keeping meat several days on
! Ice. The industry of refrigerating beef,
as 1t is known In the United States, is
practically unknown In Mexico. Lately
it has been said that one firm would
attempt 1t in Mexico city; but there
will be no shipping Of refrigerated beef
into Mexico while freight rates remain
, as high as they are, or until the taste
} of nearly all the meat eaters is edu-
. Gated not to demand meat Just killed.
There cannot, under present condi-
, lions, be great market for canned
meats in Mexico. Their price puts
; them wholly out Of the reach of the
masses Of the people, even IL they ever
. considered their purchase. Fresh meat
Is still a luxury with them, and they
I live In a grazing country. Pork, far
| more than beef or mutton, 10 the poor
mans meat In Mexico, though this is
. more conspicuously the case In certain
regions than In others. Lard Is a To-
cal product everywhere, on small or
large scale, and forms one of the items
: most actively bartered in the town
I markets. 1t is used by all classes in
: everyday cooking and in the prepare
i ton Of very large proportion Of their
. dishes. yet lard Is imported from the
United States in considerable quantity
/ Mexico cannot be called a butter-con
: Stunning country, as bread Is commonl,
: eaten without butter. Lard Is its sub
stitute to great extent, where 1t ha
a substitute. Nevertheless the use o
butter Is increasing among Mexican
themselves, and the foreign population
especially the Americans, constitute
y growing demand for butter that doe
"a not seem to be met by the starting o
: small dairy farms near cities, mlnin
camps, etc. More than three-fourths O
% the butter imported comes from tn
. United States, Spain and Denmark sup
plying nearly all the remaj ntIor IL 4
h imported mainly in cans, but the impor
y tatlon Of fresh butter in rolls from tn
\ dairies In the lower Mississippi vale
n region has been steadily Increasing
. The imports Of American cheese an,
"a milk show constant gains, but in tn
\. nature Of things the market for thes
products cannot greatly increase.