GMO Corn Faces Hurdles in Mexico

http://www.biosafety-info.net/article.php?aid=1085 September 10, 2014

THIRD WORLD NETWORK BIOSAFETY INFORMATION SERVICE Dear Friends and Colleagues  GM maize face hurdles in Mexico  In April this year, a Mexican court upheld an injunction issued in October 2013 against the further testing or commercialization of genetically modified (GM) maize in the country citing "the risk of imminent harm to the environment" (Item 1). In 2009, the Mexican government approved applications by Monsanto and other corporations to conduct experimental trials on GM maize in six northern states. The government was on the verge of granting approval for the large-scale commercial planting of GM maize in these states when the injunction was issued last year.  The court order was the result of a class action suit filed by 53 citizen plaintiffs, including farmers, environmentalists, and consumers on the grounds that the approval of permits for planting GM maize had violated Mexico’s biosecurity law of 2005. The law provides for the special protection of maize and stipulates that GM maize is not to be sown in proximity to any area known to be a "center of origin" for maize.  Scientists from the National Commission on Biodiversity (CONABIO) have pointed out in a recent paper (Item 2) that Mexico is a center of origin and diversity for maize and other crops.  They warn that given the “agricultural, cultural, and historical contexts that surround maize production in Mexico,it will be very difficult (if not impossible) to control gene flow if commercial releases (of GM crops) take place, and this could threaten food security for all those that depend on its production through landraces”.  With best wishes  Third World Network 131 Jalan Macalister 10400 Penang Malaysia Email: twnet@po.jaring.my Website: http://www.biosafety-info.net/ and http://www.twn.my/ To unsubscribe: reply ‘unsubscribe’ to news@biosafety-info.net To subscribe to other TWN information services: www.twnnews.net Item 1  Monsanto Meets its Match in the Birthplace of Maize Timothy A. Wise  http://triplecrisis.com/monsanto-meets-its-match-in-the-birthplace-of-maize?utm_source=GDAE+Subscribers&utm_campaign=591b2a7943-TW_Monsanto_5_12_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_72d4918ff9-591b2a7943-49679729 Item 2 How Much Can GMO and Non-GMO Cultivars Coexist In A Megadiverse Country?  Caroline Burgeff, Elleli Huerta, Francisca Acevedo, and José Sarukhán Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (CONABIO) http://www.agbioforum.org/v17n1/v17n1a10-burgeff.htm