by Ann Marie Deer Owens

Broccoli -- that leafy green vegetable that former President George Bush publicly disdained -- has become a true staple of the American diet. Today, the average American family consumes more than 14 pounds of broccoli a year. While California farmers still supply the lion's share of the market during the warmer months, a growing portion of the broccoli we buy in the winter is grown in the remote Guatemalan highlands.

"We hear a lot about what globalization does for us in the 'heart' of the new economy," said Edward F. Fischer, an assistant professor of anthropology who has researched the effects of the world's economic changes on the Maya culture. "We can listen to German radio live over the Internet, watch distant wars in real time on television and purchase shoes and toys that were made in China, Taiwan or Mexico. But what does globalization mean for the people who make these items? What shape does globalization take on the margins rather than the center?"

Fischer, who is the author of the new book Cultural Logics and Global Economies: Maya Identity in Thought and Practice (University of Texas Press 2001), spent extensive time during the past 10 years among the farmers in the once sleepy town of Tecpan for his research on contemporary Maya and Guatemalan politics and society. He found that many of the Indian peasants have switched from growing only the traditional corn and beans of the region. They have added broccoli, snow peas, blackberries and other exotic crops for export to the United States. Overall, the farmers have done fairly well, increasing their income somewhat and improving their standard of living.

For example, Fischer interviewed Serapio Ordoñez, a 47-year-old Maya Indian living in a remote Guatemalan village. Following the footsteps of his father and grandfather, Ordoñez grows corn, beans, squash and tomatoes, native crops that have sustained the Maya for thousands of years. However, Ordoñez, like many of his neighbors, has begun to swap some of his beans and corn for broccoli, mini-zucchinis, and other crops for export to the United States. With earnings from these export crops, Ordoñez has been able to buy a pick-up truck to haul his produce directly to packing plants; he even has a cell phone that occupies the centerpiece of the living room table.

While some farmers complained to Fischer of having their crop rejected at market or not being paid at all, surveys show Maya farmers see nontraditional agriculture as a positive development. They view it as a way to hold onto the farms of their ancestors while making a little money. Although a fried chicken chain has opened in Tecpan, corn and tortillas are still an integral part of most family meals. Fischer believes the more familiar cultural traditions have become strengthened and revitalized in the new economy.

On the other hand, not everything about the changes is positive. As the small towns become more connected by modern technology -- including the Internet and telephones -- the people are exposed to more foreign cultural elements, some of which are bad. Crime is now on the rise in Tecpan and a few street gangs have been known to roam the streets at night. Some older citizens complain that young people aren't following the Maya traditions passed down from their ancestors.

"Some lament the loss of a pristine Maya culture, but Maya culture has never been pristine," Fischer said. "It's constantly in a state of flux."

He points out that globalization is certainly a two-way street, with the Internet and other western influences felt in the region. For example, Guatemalans have begun to import black beans from the United States.

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