Mexico's Culture, Religion Cause Divide on GM Corn David Alire Garcia - Reuters
go to original November 28, 2013

A corn farmer places corn cobs on the ground during a protest against the growing of transgenic or genetically modified corn in Mexico City in this January 23, 2013 file photo. (Reuters/Bernardo Montoya)

MEXICO CITY — After pioneering the cultivation of corn thousands of years ago, Mexico must overcome the weight of history if it is to give the go-ahead to allow genetically modified strains.

Religion, culture and science are competing in the debate over how acceptable GM corn is in a country where farmers first domesticated the crop about 8,000 years ago.

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

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

With Mexican output falling short of demand, GM backers are keen to open the door to firms such as Monsanto, which have applications pending to plant some 6.2 million acres of GM corn.

The agriculture ministry must first finish designating the “centres of origin” where GM corn farming would be banned, and set other safety regulations before permits can be issued.

And it must also wait until the legal wrangling has been settled since the federal judge sided with opponents, finding that GM corn has already been planted illegally in Mexico.

Read the rest at Reuters

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!