The News Mexico
April 26, 2002
By Michael O'Boyle

Indigenous communities from Oaxaca and environmental groups asked a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) commission to study the ecological impact of genetically modified (GM) corn found growing in Oaxaca and Puebla.

Claiming the government is not acting quickly enough, representatives of 30 communities from the northern Oaxaca municipality of Ixtlan and various environmental groups, including Greenpeace, petitioned the Montreal-based NAFTA Commission on Environmental Cooperation (CEC) to investigate the case of GM "contamination" in the land where corn was first domesticated.

"This is the first case of genetic contamination in a crop's center of origin and diversity," said Greenpeace spokesperson Liza Covantes.

"Given the immobility of the federal government to resolve this fact, we feel it's necessary to turn to an international agency."

While two scientists from the University of California at Berkeley published last September controversial evidence of GM corn growing in the mountains of Oaxaca and Puebla, the government is split over the issue and has not defined a course of action.

Environment Secretary Victor Lichtinger called for immediate action after the report first surfaced, but the Agriculture Secretariat has claimed the presence of GM corn has not been proven.

Preliminary studies sponsored by the Environment Secretariat (Semarnat) produced results similar to those of the Berkeley team, indicating three to 13 percent of the corn tested showed signs of modified DNA. Semarnat is currently sponsoring further tests which will prove conclusively if GM corn is growing and breeding with native varieties.

There has been a moratorium on planting GM corn in Mexico since 1998, but a quarter of the six billion tons of corn imported every year from the United States is GM. While imports are intended for consumption, researchers admit it is highly probable the corn has found its way into the field.

"There is a lot of worry over the effects of transgenic corn on traditional varieties," Miguel Ramirez, a campesino leader from Oaxaca, said in a statement.

Ramirez and other petitioners want the CEC to commission a study and decide if the GM corn presents a serious threat to native corn varieties.

Some researchers warn GM plants could have unpredictable effects on other organisms and possibly displace native varieties if uncontrolled. The CEC does not have the power to force action. It may commission a study and make policy recommendations to NAFTA countries.

Covantes said members of the commission had expressed interest in the issue before, and believed they would accept the petition.