A longstanding feud looks set to come to a head in Mexico, as government officials have recently made announcements on the commercialisation of acutely controversial genetically modified maize varieties in the country. There is fierce resistance to the widespread introduction of GM corn, which is already grown in parts of Mexico; some farmers believe the transgenic corn would threaten traditional varieties and their own independence.

 image expired

The announcement follows a testing year for Mexican farmers; a freeze early on in the year gave way to drought, hampering corn production. "This technology is especially important to us when we view it in the context of a year like the one we just suffered through," S. Ruiz-Funes told senators.

However, food policy and small farmers’ bodies in Mexico have vehemently opposed the roll-out. A group of scientists urged the federal government to place a moratorium on the production of GM maize in the country with a view to protecting native varieties of the plant. The group, from the Ecology Institute at Mexico’s National Autonomous University, said traditional varieties were under threat of contamination from transgenic crops.

Elena Álvarez Buylla, of the Ecology Institute, called on the government to declare Mexico a protected area in terms of maize production. Corn production in Mexico, which has a heritage stretching back to the days of the Mayan Empire, is deeply rooted in tradition. Many Mexicans claim traditional varieties of corn form an integral part of their society’s food sovereignty; their right to define their own food and agriculture systems, in contrast to having food largely subject to international market forces.

Ms Buylla stated that Mexican maize had already been affected by cross-pollination from transgenic crops and that computer modelling showed that further contamination could permanently threaten Mexico’s diversity. She said similar patterns had been seen with GM cotton, traits from which have been found in the wild in Southern Mexico.

GM critics within the country fear that, as well as posing an environmental risk, the new crops could lock farmers into bondage to multinational agribusinesses, as seed would have to be bought each year from large seed companies. Antonio Turrén, of the National Forestry and Fisheries Research Institute, opined,"The most important reason we have to protect native varieties is that they possess specific characteristics to face climate change and other environmental changes."

France remains defiant in face of ECJ ruling

In France, where a European Court ruling saw a ban on GM maize overturned last month, the minister of agriculture has promised the country would find other ways of preventing planting of GM crops; public feeling in France is strongly anti-GM

Last month, the European Court of Justice, Europe’s highest legal authority, ruled that the French ban on Monsanto’s MON810 maize was illegal, following pressure from Monsanto. However, agriculture minister Bruno LeMaire said he would examine all avenues of resisting cultivation of the corn as, "There are still too many uncertainties about the environmental consequences" of growing the transgenic maize. Several other European countries, including Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Greece, have also banned the maize.

Tweet