Mexico Fights Over Controversial GMO Corn David Alire Garcia - Reuters
go to original November 14, 2013

Mexico's 'People of Corn': Al Jazeera's Adam Raney reports from Tlaxcala, Mexico. (AlJazeera)

MEXICO CITY - After pioneering the cultivation of corn thousands of years ago, Mexico must overcome the weight of history to give the go-ahead to allow genetically modified strains into its fields.

Religion, culture and science are competing for primacy in the debate on how acceptable corn produced by genetically modified organisms (GMO) is in a country where farmers first domesticated maize about 8,000 years ago.

Last month a federal judge in Mexico City created a stir by ordering a temporary halt to any new GMO corn permits, accepting a lawsuit brought by opponents of the crop.

It was widely interpreted as a definitive ban on the commercial use of GMO corn in Mexico, but experts say it will likely just delay any resolution into 2014 or beyond.

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