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TRANSGENIC CONTAMINATION OF LANDRACES OF CORN, ONE OF THE THREE MOST IMPORTANT AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS OF THE WORLD

The Mexican government, by means of the Commission for Genetically Modified

Organisms and Biosecurity, has announced that there is scientific research that shows contamination of corn landraces (indigenous varieties) from the Mexican State of Oaxaca (world center of origin and diversity of corn), with Transgenic varieties imported from the United States.

During several years, the Mexican Gov. has authorized the importation of millions of tons of transgenic corn from the USA as grain for food and industry purposes, pretending to have restricted its use as seed. During more than three years, Greenpeace has been alerting Mexican Gov. about the high risk of transgenic contamination of the landraces and wild relatives of the most important grain of the American Continent. As a response, the authorities, together with the transgenic companies, have denied the risk of contamination, arguing that it would be impossible to occur. Now the contamination is there, and this implies an important risk for food security and without any doubt an important environmental impact over agricultural and wild ecosystems related with corn.

With this irresponsible contamination, the Mexican Gov. is incurring in violation of international agreements, mainly the Biological Diversity Convention and the Cartagena Protocol, signed by the Mexican Gov., and is putting in risk the whole genetic structure of the corn populations. 

Corn have been domesticated by Mexican Indigenous communities during several thousands of years, and embraces a deep cultural, nutritional and economic meaning for them. After three years of presence of transgenic corn the whole species is at high risk.

Greenpeace is urging the Mexican Gov. to develop an emergency plan for coping

with this contingency, including:

·       the assessment of the magnitude of the contamination and the involved

        transgenic varieties

·       the responsibilities of authorities that permitted the contamination to occur

        by neglecting the risk or refusing to implement effective measures to avoid

        it a de-contamination plan

·       immediate stop to the importation of trangenic corn

·       ratification of the Cartagena Protocol

·       establishment of regulation and legislation to guarantee that this

        contamination will not occur again

·       the filing of legal action over transgenic companies responsible of the

        production and disemination of transgenetic organisms

·       inform immediatly to the country members of the Cartagena Protocol, and

        countries that could be facing the same risk

for more information, please contact 

Raul Benet Keil

Executive Director

Greenpeace Mexico

Lead C7

raul.benet@mx.greenpeace.org

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