Traditional Mezcal Production in Mexico

Challenges for Equity, Benefit Sharing and Conservation

People and Plants International, through the Traditional Foodways and Voices for BioJustice programs, has produced a series of videos documenting the environmental, social, and political dimensions of Mezcal production and commercialization in Mexico. These videos are part of a series produced by local organizations and media teams from around the world that explore issues of power, representation, and politics associated with food production, consumption, and trade. They are part of our work to support and strengthen traditional food systems. We are committed to ethical storytelling and true partnership.

We invite you to watch an overview video exploring the production and commercialization of mezcal, and the conservation and equity challenges that have emerged in recent years, in particular how current markets and law privilege large, industrial producers over the traditional and small-scale, and the impacts this has on biodiversity and forest conservation.

Interviews

In this collection of interviews with community members, producers, researchers, and others, we explore in greater depth the complex case of Mezcal production and commercialization.

Ignacio Torres García
Traditional mezcal production: cultural meanings and local identity

Carlos Lucio López
Mezcal's Denomination of Origin: Challenges for small-scale producers

Selene Rangel Landa
Certification of mezcal production: Challenges for small-scale producers

Miguel Angel Partida
Small-scale mezcal producers facing commercialization problems and displacement by the industry

Gloria Isabel León Rojas
Public policies undermining conservation and threatening biocultural heritage

Ignacio Torres García
Ecology and management of agave species for the production of mezcal

José de Jesús Hernández
Mezcal Denomination of Origin: ecological and social implications

Tomás Virgen Méndez
Small-scale mezcal producers facing commercialization problems due to Denomination of Origin

Oliverio Pérez Facio
Tradicional mezcal production in Michoacán, Mexico

Literature and Resources

Ignacio Torres-García, Alejandro Leon-Jacinto, Ernesto Vega, Ana Isabel Moreno-Calles & Alejandro Casas. Integral Projection Models and Sustainable Forest Management of Agave inaequidens in Western Mexico. Frontiers in Plant Science (2020). Download PDF.

Carlos Lucio López. La crisis de las denominaciones de origen en México como figuras de reconocimiento y protección. El desafortunado caso de un mezcal llamado “raicilla”. Verdebandera Periodismo Ambiental (2020). Download PDF.

Ignacio Torres-García, Francisco Javier Rendón-Sandoval, José Blancas, Alejandro Casas & Ana Isabel Moreno-Calles. The genus Agave in agroforestry systems of Mexico. Botanical Sciences (2019). Download PDF.

Catarina Illsley Granich, et al. Manual de manejo campesino de magueyes mezcaleros forestales. GEA (2018). Download PDF.

Selene Rangel-Landa, Alejandro Casas, Erandi Rivera-Lozoya, Ignacio Torres-García & Mariana Vallejo-Ramos. Ixcatec ethnoecology: plant management and biocultural heritage in Oaxaca, Mexico. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2016). Download PDF.

Catarina Illsey, Silvia Purata, Fabrice Edouard, Fernanda Sánchez & Citalli Tovar. Overcoming Barriers in Collectively Managed NTFP’s in Mexico. In: Sarah A. Laird, Rebecca McClain and Rachel P. Wynberg. Wild Product Governance: Finding Policies that Work for Non-Timber Forest Products (2010). Earthscan, London. Download PDF.

Manejo Integral y Local de Productos Agroforestales (MILPA, A.C) Learn more about the organization and explore their YouTube channel.

Declaratoria de la IV Reunión Nacional de Manejadores de Maguey Forestal. Download PDF.

Manifiesto de la IV Reunión Nacional de Manejadores de Maguey Forestal. Learn more.

Our literature and resource collection will grow through crowdsourcing. We welcome your contributions. Please send them to: coordinator@peopleandplants.org