Mexican farmers threatened by gmo
contamination
action group on erosion,
technology and concentration
Mexican maize
varieties, Oaxaca, Mexico.
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“Our seeds, our corn, are the
basis of the food sovereignty of our
communities. It's more than a food,
it's part of what we consider sacred,
of our history, of our present and
future.”
Pedro, indigenous community member in
Chihuahua, Mexico.
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Mexico is the center of origin of maize,
where the greatest diversity of this crop
is found. Since GM crops were first
commercialized in the United States , there
have been many concerns in neighboring
Mexico about the possible contamination of
Mexican corn. Corn varieties have been
developed by indigenous and local farmer
communities over thousands of years and
corn is one of the key reserves of genetic
material for plant breeding, the basis of
food security. Maize diversity is key for
farmer communities and plant breeders, and
is needed for improving the quality and
productivity of corn crops worldwide.
Mexico also hosts the world's most
important collection of endangered corn
seeds.
In 2001, the area in the US cultivated
with GM corn was over 20 million acres,
constituting over 50 percent of all corn
cultivated in the country. Many cases of
transboundary contamination have shown that
illegal GMOs can easily cross boundaries
and end up in other countries. StarLink
corn for instance ended up contaminating
the food supplies in Japan , South Korea ,
and Bolivia .
In 2001, Nature magazine reported that
traditional maize varieties in two Mexican
states, Oaxaca and Puebla , were
contaminated with DNA from genetically
modified maize. It is illegal to cultivate
GM maize in Mexico .
The suspected source of the
contamination is the United States , since
it exports large quantities of maize for
food and feed Mexican maize varieties,
Oaxaca , Mexico purposes to Mexico . It is
believed that Mexican farmers planted US GM
maize intended for food and feed without
knowing it was genetically modified.
Despite the seriousness of the
contamination, there still is no clear plan
of action to address this genetic
pollution, nor to prevent it from happening
again. Moreover, monitoring done by civil
society organizations in over 130 local
communities in Mexico found that
contamination occurred in nine states,
seven more than the initial research
showed. The organizations also claim to
have identified StarLink GM maize, which is
not authorized as food.
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Action Group on Erosion, Technology and
Concentration (ETC):
www.etc.org
