Values and Cultural Differences of food between Mexico, India, the United States, and

Canada

Fatima Gamino
University of Texas at Dallas, Texas, USA, and
Shefali Mahajan
University of Texas at Dallas, Texas, USA

Purpose This study aims to examine the values and cultural differences of food between
Mexico, India, the United States, and Canada. In addition, the article examines the impact of
food on these various countries and how health care programs are implemented in these
countries.

Design/methodology/approach The data for this research paper was collected from the
following model: Rokeach Values Survey and Hofstede model.

Findings The findings showed implications of food on health of the people of Mexico, India,
the United States of America, and Canada. The findings may help government and other
agencies with business strategies to include healthy material in food. The findings show that
there are differences between countries and their eating lifestyle. As well as the capital
expenditure on food spent by various governments. Also, possible ways for health care programs
were addressed.

Originality/value/contribution This research paper is original in ways that it contains broad

information from different journals used, therefore creating unique research and future
suggestions have been offered at the end of the paper. It analyses different measurements in
values and cultural differences between various countries.

Keywords United States of America, India, Mexico, Canada, Health, Culture, Health care,
Obesity, Food, Values.

Paper type Research Paper

Introduction

Food is an essential need for every living creature on Earth. However, consuming excess
food can lead to an unhealthy lifestyle. An article defines obesity as follows, Obesity, a state of
altered body composition with an increase in the proportion of body fat, is defined as 20% above
desirable weight (Elliot, 1987). It can occur to anyone from a child to an older adult. The main
causes of obesity are overeating, genetics, environment, and stress. These days children lack
physical activity and a big reason behind lack of physical activity is technology. The growing use
of Internet and smartphones has resulted in decreased interest in outdoor sports or any kind of
play. Also, most of the people prefer junk food instead of healthy eating options. Heredity is also
one of the causes. Overweight mothers give birth to overweight babies (Orr, 1985). It seems like
in these countries, it is cheaper to eat unhealthy than healthy. Healthy foods tend to be more
expensive than a $1 McChicken at McDonalds; therefore people go for the cheaper alternative.
These all can lead to serious health issues such as diabetes, heart disease, depression, and even

death. In an article Heaney wrote the following, U.S. surgeon general David Satcher declared
obesity a major public health problem in his 2001 Call to Action. He warned that overweight
and obesity may not be infectious diseases, but they have reached epidemic proportions in the
United States, causing approximately 300,000 deaths a year in this country (Heaney, 2007).
Therefore, we believe it is important for people to stay active and eat foods that are healthy.
Although, 29 percent of the men in the United States and 44 percent of the women describe
themselves as trying to lose weight (Yanovski, 2002).

We will be focusing on four countries, Mexico, India, the United States, and Canada's
food and examine the differences between them. The top two obese countries of the world are
Mexico followed by the United States of America. According to the World Health Organization
(WHO Global InfoBase 2005), in 2005, the prevalence of obesity among women older than 30
was about 44% in Mexico and 49% in the United States; among men, these levels were 30% in
Mexico and 42% in the United States (Monteverde, 2010). This paper will examine the food
lifestyle of four countries, their food industry and its impact on the people. Each country has
their own health care programs followed by their policies and procedures. So, health care
programs in Mexico, India, the United States, and Canada will be studied and the differences will
be noted.

We will also be examining the difference in values and cultures between our four selected
countries and see what role they play in contributing to obesity, healthcare, and lifestyle. We will
be conducting Rokeach Values Survey and Hofstede model.

Cultural Difference
Hofstede's model has six dimensions: power distance, individualism, masculinity,
uncertainty avoidance, long term indulgence and indulgence.

Data
taken from: http://geert-hofstede.com

We compared the United States and Canada based on the Hofstedes model. Power
distance is almost the same for both countries, 40 for the United States and 39 for Canada. The
United States has high individualism with a score of 91 and Canada with 80. The United States is
more masculine scoring a 62 and Canada not far behind with a 52. Canada is a little above with a
score of 48 and the United States with 46 in uncertainty avoidance. Canada has high long-term
orientation scoring a 36 as compared to the United States scored a 26. The United States and
Canada have exactly the same indulgence, scoring a 68. Looking at the results, we can say there
is not much cultural difference between United States and Canada.

Data taken from: http://geert-hofstede.com

Now we compare Mexico and India based on Hofstedes model. Mexico has a higher
score with 81 and India with 77, both is high and that means individuals in society are not equal.
India is higher in individualism with a score of 48 and Mexico with 30. Both countries are fairly
low in individualism unlike the United States and Canada with high scores. In terms of
masculinity, Mexico is higher with a score of 69 and India with a score of 56. Which means
Mexicans tend to be driven by competition and other achievements. Mexico has a high score of
82 in avoiding uncertainty as compared to India scoring 40. India has a high score of 51 in longterm orientation as compared to Mexicos score of 28. This depicts that Mexico is normative in
culture. Mexico has very tendency towards indulgence by scoring a 91 as compared to India's
score of a 26. It tells us that Mexicans give priority to their leisure time, fun and have a tendency

towards enjoying life. Looking at the results, there is considerable amount of difference between
Mexico and India.

Mexico
Culture in Mexico is very prominent among sports, telenovelas, dance, and music. There
are many different people in Mexico in terms of looks and interests. However, food is a big part
of the Mexican culture that almost everyone is apart of. Many people around the world eat
Mexican food and could possibly be considered one of the best. However, that does not mean
that it is healthy and is good to eat everyday. Mexico has become the fattest country in the world
with 32.8% of Mexican being obese (Miller, 2013). In the Mexican culture almost every dish
contains a tortilla, which is a thin corn, or flour based bread. One eight-inch flour tortilla packs
about 150 calories, 25 grams (g) of carbs and 3 g of fat. Corn tortillas (usually smaller than flour)
have about 12 g of carbs per serving (they're lower in fat and calories, too) (Baker, 2004).
Therefore, there is an option to chose to eat flour or corn tortillas. Like Baker said corn tortillas
have fewer calories than flour tortillas and that could be a good alternative to chose for weight
loss. However, some Mexicans do not just eat one per dish, so that is a lot of calories to have per
dish. Therefore, the tortilla itself contains lot many calories if a person eats more than one its
unhealthy to eat too much of it. Sometimes, the tortilla can be fried as well and lets just say that
does not make it healthier. They will also get you fuller sooner and are less than half the calories
of the tortilla. For fiestas (parties) the families tend to kill a pig, which becomes into carnitas and
feed it to their guests. It is hard to change the Mexican culture. Some people do not like change,
especially if it something they are used to doing everyday.

India
India is one of the oldest in cultures and ranks one of the highest in diversity in language,
religion, food, clothing, architecture, art, customs, and celebrations. There are a basic 20 to 30
spices that are used in many dishescumin, coriander, turmeric, and ginger, to name a fewand
there are an infinite number of ways of using them (Gauchat, 2015). These spices are the main
ingredients in an Indian curry. The curry is usually eaten with bread, also called roti or naan
(Shrestha, 2009). Hinduism is the main religion of India and mostly Hindus are vegetarian.
Traditional Indian food can be a healthy choice with a balanced diet of starch (steamed rice,
Roti), tons of vegetables, dal (lentils), yogurt, saag etc. (Shreshtha, 2009). It is super healthy and
triggers digestion, therefore increasing metabolism. Overall, the dishes are healthy with less
percentage of fat. Obesity is a major problem in developed countries. India is a developing
country, so obesity is not a major issue in India. The reason behind this is that India still faces
poverty, hunger and malnutrition.

Indian vegetarian cooking is highly developed, because the majority of the population
eats little or no meat. Hindus do not eat beef; Muslims eat no pork or shellfish; and certain Hindu
sects, including Brahmins and Jains, eat no meat at all, even avoiding such meat-colored foods as
tomatoes, beets, and watermelon. (Bard, 1990). Cow is considered sacred in India and people
worship it. Recently Maharashtra government banned beef in the state. The main reason behind
is Indias secularism as they consider cow as holy animal. The Hindu majority - 80% of the
country's 1.2 billion people - regard cows as divine; the 180 million-strong Muslim minorities
see them as a tasty meal (Rowlatt, 2015). This resulted in a big conflict across the other states. It
didnt affect the Hindus, who dominate most of the country, but it did affect the other part of the
population. This part is mainly Muslims who consider beef as a part of their diet. People are

debating what other things the government can ban. If they can ban beef, consumed by nonvegetarians, they can also ban paneer. Paneer is white cheese that can be made naturally at home.
It is one the main part of diet of vegetarian people. Banning of beef affected the Maharashtras
economy as well. Many businesses had to shut down due to which people in the entire supply
chain incurred a huge loss. Many slaughterhouses are now closed and beef dishes have been
taken out of the restaurants menu. The consequence if illegally doing beef business can be a
large amount of fine or prison up to five years.

The United States of America

The United States has a very diverse culture there are many people who have different
backgrounds, which can only lead to having different types of foods. Some states and cities have
their own special foods. For example, Texas has various of foods like Tex-Mex, which
dictionary.com defines it as, of or relating to aspects of culture that combine Mexican and
Texan or southwestern U.S. features, especially aspects of culture developed in southern Texas
based on or influenced by Mexican elements (Tex-Mex, n.d.). The United States of America
was number one in most fat country in the world for a while until Mexico surpassed them in
2013 (Miller, 2013). Therefore, making the United States number two with 31.8% of the
population being obese. Americas food is high in fat and not considering all the fast food places.
The fast food industry is popular in the United States. People are busy with work and other
activities that they have no time to cook at home, so they prefer to go out and buy something that
can be cooked in five minutes and it is cheap. Time is money and if there were a way to get food
faster in the American family dinner table, then we would be all over it. President Bush once
said, the great strength of our country, which is the love of our citizens. (Salvatore, 2008). The
United States is all about the people and Americans are very proud of being Americans.

Canada
Canadas food is influenced by family heritage and varies from region to region. Canada
is famous for maple syrup and related products. Therefore, the maple tree is very precious to
Canadians. Many families visit the maple tree shack where the sap of the leaf is boiled to make
the syrup. The national food of Canada includes Poutine, butter tarts, and kraft dinner. The
people in Canada are very concerned for their and health nutrition. The federal Health
Department introduced Canadas first food guide, called Canadas Official Food Rules, in
1942(Katamay, 2007). It provides the healthy meal plans, reducing the risk of chronic diseases
like obesity and diabetes, In spite of government efforts, previous studies have estimated the cost
of obesity in Canada to be 2.4% (1.14.6%) of direct healthcare expenditures or $1.8 ($0.83.5)
billion in 1997 dollars (Zang, 2010).

Values
Rokeach Value Survey has two different sets of values, terminal and instrumental. Survey
was done on the four countries.

Mexico
Values in Mexico are strong, because they do not seem to want to change the past.
Mexicans values are normally taught by family and society. Many Mexicans know what is good
and bad to them and will stand up for their beliefs. There are families that believe that the
husband should have a say in everything about their wife. If the husband wants the wife to stay at
home they shall do so without question. A student from Guanajuato, Mexico said, "Machismo
could be very loosely defined as an attitude of male dominance which functions as a complex
part of Mexican society." (Daniels, 1991). However, there are modern values that believe the

woman should have a say if they want to work or be a housewife. For instance, religion is a
value Mexicans are passionate about. The majority of Mexicans consider themselves Roman
Catholic and is considered the biggest religion in Mexico. In Mexico City, there is a statue of the
Virgin Mary where she was believed to have appeared. She is loved and prayed to by many
Catholic Mexicans. Starting Ash Wednesday, Catholics cannot eat meat on Fridays for the next
40 days. There is also an option where the person can give up something they enjoy for lent. For
example, a man likes to drink beer, so he decides to give up beer for the next 40 days. Another
strong value for Mexicans is family. There was a study done in 1960 by Roman Catholicism in
Mexico that compared Mexican and Brazilian men and asked similar questions about how many
children they wanted. Mexican men had a mean of 3.9 and Brazilian men had 2.6 (Cern
Mireles, 2001). Therefore, showing that Mexican men prefer a larger family and this hasnt
change much in the last few years. For example, my aunts and uncles have on average at least
four to five kids each. However, with women now working in Mexico this may change in the
future. The participation of women of reproductive age in the workforce has increased over the
past few decades, rising from 19% in 1970 to 31.4% in 1990 (Cern Mireles, 2001).

India
India is rich in values and cultures. Values will be a difficult subject if we talk about such
a diverse, stratified and, secular country like India. Values differ according to religion, language,
state, and even city dwellers or rural dwellers. People are very respectful when it comes to values
and these values are inherited from their families. Indians are very religious. They like to
celebrate festivals or any other holy day with their families. On any religious day, people dont
drink or eat any meat. It is so because that particular day is given to God and people do a lot of
things that could please well. Various types of food are made on various occasions. Shani

Bhagwan is honored by offering black channe, Shiv ji by milk and, so on (Srinivas, 1993). On
Diwali, the festival of lights in India, people make different kind of sweets at home. The sweets
include laddu, barfi, besan, and many more. In considering values and norms, and behavior one
cannot forget the influence of scriptures and epics like Manudhadharmashastra that has been
greatly exaggerated on Hindus (Srinivas, 1993). Overall, Indians are aware of their values and
beliefs and they respect them in all possible ways.

United States of America

Like stated before the United States is a diverse culture, however people still have strong
values. According to Rokeach Value Survey, the United States highest instrumental value was
imaginative and their lowest was honest in 1971 (Kalleberg, 2012). Which is odd, because
honesty should be a top priority in values. However, in a business perspective, honesty is not
always the top priority. In business, people want to seal the deal and make it work for them.
When thinking about food and the United States it is hard to think about values. Values and
foods do not seem to go together in the United States. Many people in the United States do not
know about hunger, because it is one of the most powerful countries in the world. Having said
that there are many different ethnicities and cultures that make up values for the United States. In
a study that was researching working values found the following, ...middle class parents tend to
stress self-direction and intrinsic rewards, since they have found these most useful and rewarding
in their working lives. On the other hand, working class parents are more likely to encourage
obedience and conformity, again reflecting their life experiences. These early influences shape
ones work values, which become increasingly stable in the years after high school (Kalleberg,
2012).

There are different sets of values for different families since not everyone has been
through the same life experiences and then they pass it down to their children and so forth. An
experience in a persons life is enough to change their values, because in life people live and
learn.

Canada
Values are very important to Canada. They have been recognized as one of the polite and
peaceful people of the world. They will even say sorry or excuse me even if other people bumps
into them Canadians have values such as freedom, equality, love for nation, and respect for other
cultures. Henry Malachite Busili, who immigrated to Canada from Zambia in 2007, says he
considers equality and respect to be Canadian values, and agrees the government has the right to
expect immigrants to adopt these values (Evans, 2014). Canadian government is very
compromising when it comes to its citizens. The laws governing its citizens are made up of
democratic values with dignity and respect. Also, health is one of the major values that are
important to both government and it's people. Therefore, government has implemented various
health care programmed for the people of Canada which easily accessible and affordable.

Healthcare
Every country has their own health care system and there are differences that may
determine why some countries have high obesity, diabetes, heart diseases, and other health
problems.

Mexico
The importance of the healthcare system in Mexico is growing. In 2000, there were
approximately 48 million people enrolled in the Instituto Mexicano Seguro Social (IMSS) the
largest public healthcare system in Mexico (Gutierrez, 2010). Many people cannot afford
medical attention in Mexico, so in 2012 the Mexican congress approved for Suguro Popular,
were even the poorest person can receive medical attention and afford it (Gutierrez, 2010).
Hopefully, with this new health care people who are have health problem and be attended
properly. Mexico is the fattest country since 2013 and this can increase Mexicans health
problems. Mexico and the United States share a border where many companies have their
factories and get us wondering how the health of the people around the factories is. An article
states, Air and water pollution, improperly disposed hazardous wastes, shortages of potable
water, and poor sanitation are longstanding public health problems for border communities. The
water quality on the United StatesMexico border is affected by pollution generated from
industrial zones, agricultural runoff, and wastes emitted by borderland boom towns. (CarterPokras, 2007). Therefore, it is important for Mexico to have a good healthcare system that
everyone can benefit from. Mexico should not just focus on the people who have money, but also
those who need the support.

India
The general population of India is poor. Even in poor Indian families, 79% of all
ambulatory care and 40% of all hospital admissions are in the private sector (Devadasan, 2006).
The private sector is unregulated that results in unnecessary prescriptions. Government health
expenditure is very low and has risen only slightly during the past decade; and most spending on
health care is paid out of pocket and is rising in cost. (Devadasan, 2006). Health care has now

become as one the reasons for poverty. People suffer debts, as they cannot pay for healthcare.
Government is putting efforts to establish a universal health care system that can be affordable to
each citizen. Its the right of every citizen to get good quality health care and therefore, a call to
action is required by Indian government to promote equity, efficiency and effectiveness in
universal health care.

The United States of America

Health care costs directly attributable to obesity amount to approximately $68 billion per
year, and an additional $30 billion per year is spent on weight-reduction programs and special
foods (Rosenbaum, 1997). The United States health care system Obama Care is new to the
country. It was signed into law in 2010 as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care act
(Henderson, 2012). In the article reviewed by Oberlander he says, Health care reform is back.
For the first time since 1993, momentum is building for policies that would move the United
States toward universal health insurance. (Oberlander, 2009). Therefore, since 1993 the United
States has wanted to come up with a health care reform and have failed to deliver. During
Obamas campaign he talked a lot about changing that and having a plan to do so. According to
the article, Obamas plan would shift most of the 46 million uninsured Americans into health
plans, strengthen employer-sponsored insurance, increase the efficiency of the health care
delivery system, and save the average family $2,500 a year on their insurance premiums.
(Antos, 2008). Now Americans have to have health care or they will be penalized for not having
it. Many people are opposed to Obama care, because they would rather have an option and not be
forced to get health care. Obama care is supposed to be affordable for families who are lowincome, but for some families it will cost more than when they did not have health care. The
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are concerned about how much Obama care

will cost. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obama Care targets to help low-income families,
which means there will be a lot of money spent on them. According to Gruber, ...under the law,
all individuals with family incomes below 133% of the poverty line (i.e., below about $30,000
for a family of four) are eligible for free public insurance, and there are tax credits to help make
health insurance affordable for families with incomes of up to 400% of the poverty level.
(Gruber, 2010). However, it should not just be about the rich and middle class. It is important to
take care of all Americans, because going to get a check up should not be unaffordable.

Canada
Canada provides almost free health to its citizens. 70 percent of total health care funding
in Canada comes from the public sector less than in many European countries but
considerably more than in the United States (Steinbrook, 2006). Government neither intervenes
in daily care nor the personal information provided by the patient to the doctor. The universal
health care doesnt cover the prescription costs, long-term diseases, and home care. With the
Canada Health Act of 1984, the federal government entered into a matter of provincial
jurisdiction by making its health care funding conditional (Steinbrook, 2006). This act included
the provisions of full funding, universal coverage on non-profit basis and included eligible
insurances. Health care varies from region to region. All genuine refugees in Canada receive
primary health care coverage (Alexander, 2014). After adjusting for age, gender and other
illnesses, new heart-attack mortality rates within 30 days in some larger health regions
(population over 75 000) were more than double those in others. Overall regional death rates
ranged from 7.6% to 16.3% (Comeau, 2006). Canada's system, called Medicare, is under attack
for inefficiency, insufficient funding, and failure to meet some patients' needs in a timely fashion
(Steinbrook, 2006). People fear that there will be a time when government will suffer lack of

funding and then people have to switch to private sector. Some doctors are already switching
from public sector to private sector to make good money.

Suggestions
Future research can be done on the economy of the countries and how food impacts it.
Comparison can be done specifically on the food industry. For this, revenue on food per year
must be determined then, compared. Revenue is calculated as the difference between the total
sale of any type of food (raw food, crop to farmers, processed food, and so on) and cost incurred.
A comparison on the country's household incomes and if households with higher incomes tend to
eat healthier and if households with low-income will eat unhealthy. If so, maybe the country can
make healthier food affordable.
For Mexico and United States, more research can be done on obesity as they rank high in
obesity. Therefore, the actions taken by respective governments can be studied. The health care
programs of different countries, their provisions and implementations and these can be compared
to Canadas private sector and public sector issues are going on. Research if any other countries
like Mexico, the United States, and India have looked into Canadas healthcare system and
wanted to follow it. Since it seems like many people from all over the world think Canada has a
good healthcare system. In this way people suffering poverty can get access to affordable health
care. They will not suffer debt because of health expenditures. United States has already made
necessary amendments in health care by introducing by Obama Care.
As we compared four countries Mexico, India, United States and Canada, we got to know
a lot of cultural differences between them. Therefore, future research can be done on many other
developed or developing countries using Hofstedes model. Possibly compare two developing

countries and two developed countries and view the differences between them. Also, values can
be compared by the Rokeach Survey and results can be interpreted. Research which countries
that have stronger values and countries that have weaker values and compare them.

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