Fight Against GM Corn Enters the Mexican Courtroom Alfredo Acedo - CIP Americas
go to original May 4, 2014

Genetically modified crops have a large share of critics. Genetically modified organisms or (GMO) are crops that have been engineered to resist pests, less vulnerable to disease and even contain more nutrients. Countries still deciding the legalization of GMOs include Mexico. CCTV's Frank Contreras has more on this story. (CCTV/PerdueTyler)

The fight against genetically modified corn in Mexico began in the communities, leaped to the streets, spread to the printed page and now is being carried on in the courtroom. It is an uneven dispute in which the federal government has sided with the transnational corporation and against the majority of Mexican farmers and consumers. But in the latest battle the public good gained ground, under a strategy that combines effective mobilization with informational campaigns and legal cases.

The debate over GM corn isn’t an argument between fanatical followers and stubborn opponents, but rather a war of interests in which one side seeking maximum profits plays outside the rules. They hide information, smear researchers, activists and judges, take action to discredit serious studies and resort to misinformation. The other side, comprised of peasant farmers and consumers, has taken up the task of defending traditional knowledge, campesino autonomy, access to decent work and sustainable agriculture.

Recently, the Union of Concerned Scientists has been the most active in the defense of Mexican corn, although the GM invasion isn’t a scientific problem in essence. According to researcher Elena Álvarez-Buylla there is no longer a scientific debate given “the obsolescence of the gene paradigm” that posits that a gene behaves the same in a foreign organism as it does in its original organism. This has been promoted by genetic engineering at the service of the transnational corporations. It is a model that has failed to hold up although the corporations continue to use the label of “science” to justify it.

... Meanwhile, in every region of the country indigenous and peasant communities continue to resist the GM corn invasion and sow their native seed.

Read the rest at CIP Americas

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