- Archived campaign -
GM Contamination - Case Study: Corn in Mexico
The Answer To World Hunger & Poverty? Public Forum 2005
Despite a government moratorium on planting GM crops, remote areas of Mexico are now contaminated with GM varieties resulting in the pollution of the world’s center of origin of corn.
T
his is a grave threat to the protection of agricultural biodiversity, as well as for indigenous communities that depend on their own traditional varieties of corn and whose cultures are intimately tied to the its production.
Contaminated GM corn was found in communities that traditionally save and plant their own seed.
Corn plants in several communities were found contaminated with two, three and even four different transgenes. This indicates that the contamination has been taking place for years, and that contaminated corn on small farms has been cross-pollinating for generations.
Contamination includes the infamous GM Starlink corn that was never approved for human consumption but contaminated the food supply in the US regardless.
WHY DOES CONTAMINATION MATTER? |
Biodiversity: Mexico is the center of origin and diversity of corn. This means that Mexico is home to the biodiversity that supports corn cultivation around the world. The genetic contamination of Mexican native corn varieties threatens diversity in one of the world's most important basic crops, and consequently food security in the Americas. Such biological diversity helps farmers find solutions to pest and disease problems that can devastate crops.
Human Health: Mexican corn was found contaminated with Starlink which was not approved for human consumption. This is especially dangerous for farming communities in Mexico because it is now in the corn that families grow to feed themselves and that they eat as a staple, in unprocessed form. Subsistence farmers are now worried about the health of their children. There are even more dramatic threats to come as corporations in the US are field-testing corn that is modified to produce non-edible substances including pharmaceuticals, plastics and adhesives. There have already been cases of accidental escape of pharmaceutical corn in Iowa and Nebraska. |
Suppression of Science:
Dr. Ignacio Chapela who first identified corn contamination in Mexico published his study in Nature magazine. After intense industry pressure, the magazine later withdrew its support for the article. This was an unprecedented move.
Dr. Chapela’s scientific methodology was criticized, his reputation was attacked and he was ultimately denied tenure at the University of California-Berkeley. His findings were validated by subsequent studies by the communities themselves as well as the Mexican government. |
Farmers and Indigenous Culture: The spread of GM corn in the place where maize was first cultivated over 5,000 years ago is contaminating wild and domesticated varieties. It will forever alter the traditional crop that is interwoven throughout the history and culture of indigenous peoples in the area. |
