Mexicans have the right to make up their own minds about GM crops

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Subject:Mexicans have the right to make up their own minds about GM crops

" GM WATCH " <info

Wed, 10 Nov 2004 08:56:28 GMT

 

 

Mexicans have the right to make up their own minds about GM crops

http://www.gmwatch.org

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" How would Americans feel if we started getting living transgenic seeds

that had been judged to be safe by the Cuban government but not the

American government? " asked Norman C. Ellstrand, a University of

California at Riverside geneticist and member of the NAFTA-appointed

panel. " We

would be outraged, and so are many Mexicans. Like us, they have the

right to make up their own minds about genetically modified crops. "

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U.S. Genetically Modified Corn Is Assailed

NAFTA Report Calls Grain a Threat to Mexico; Administration Disputes

Study

By Marc Kaufman

Washington Post Staff Writer

Washing, November 10, 2004

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37992-2004Nov9.html

 

A scientific panel of international experts has concluded that the

unintended spread of U.S. genetically modified corn in Mexico -- where

the

species originated and modified plants are not allowed -- poses a

potential threat that should be limited or stopped. But the United States

yesterday attacked the report and its conclusions as unscientific, and

made clear it did not intend to accept the recommendations.

 

The report, written by a group convened under the North American Free

Trade Agreement, rejected the U.S. position that the modified corn is,

in effect, no different than conventionally bred corn hybrids. It said

that because the Mexican government has never examined or approved the

use of transgenic crops, their presence in the country is an inherent

problem.

 

" How would Americans feel if we started getting living transgenic seeds

that had been judged to be safe by the Cuban government but not the

American government? " asked Norman C. Ellstrand, a University of

California at Riverside geneticist and member of the NAFTA-appointed

panel. " We

would be outraged, and so are many Mexicans. Like us, they have the

right to make up their own minds about genetically modified crops. "

 

The Mexican government embraced the NAFTA report and said it expected

to implement many of its recommendations.

 

The report, only the fifth in the treaty organization's history, was

requested by Mexican farmers and officials in 2002 after researchers

found that some forms of genetically modified corn were present in Mexico

and were being naturally spread by cross-pollination. One variety

contained genetically modified bacteria that protect the plant from

certain

insects, and another protects the plant if a particular kind of

otherwise deadly weed killer is used on the fields.

 

Although it remains uncertain how the modified corn got into Mexican

fields, the report concluded that the large-scale importation of U.S.

corn was the likely cause. The Mexican government distributes massive

amounts of U.S. corn for grinding into cornmeal and flour, but some

farmers are believed to have planted the corn instead. Once planted, the

genetically modified corn spread naturally in fields over the seasons.

 

Genetically modified corn can be legally used as food in Mexico but

cannot be planted and grown, except in small test plots recently approved

by the government.

 

The NAFTA report concluded that the modified corn does not pose a

health risk, but it did say that the environmental consequences are less

well understood. It also raised the possibility of the spread of

potentially more hazardous types of modified corn -- such as varieties

grown in

the United States to produce pharmaceuticals and industrial products.

 

" If those types of corn ever made it to Mexico and got planted, then

yes, there would be a health and safety problem that would be very hard

to solve, " Ellstrand said.

 

The U.S. rejection of the NAFTA report was broad and pointed.

 

" This report is fundamentally flawed and unscientific; key

recommendations are not based on sound science and are contradicted by

the report's

own scientific findings, " the Environmental Protection Agency and the

U.S. Trade Representative said in a joint statement. " Implementing many

of the report's recommendations would cause economic harm to farmers

and consumers of all NAFTA countries and restrict international trade. "

 

The U.S. statement specifically criticized one recommendation -- that

all U.S. corn coming into Mexico be milled at or near the border so it

cannot be planted. That practice, it says, " would increase the cost of

U.S. corn significantly, negatively affecting Mexico's livestock

producers and consumers. "

 

The NAFTA report and the U.S. response are also far apart on what

constitutes a scientific assessment of the issue. The report included

information about the attitudes of Mexican farmers to the genetically

modified corn, saying many find it frightening and a threat to their

staple

food, while American officials said those views have no place in a

scientific study.

 

In support of their formal critique, the U.S. agencies cited the

report's conclusion that " scientific investigations and analyses over the

past 25 years have shown that the process of transferring a gene from one

organism to another does not pose any intrinsic threat over the short

or long term, either to health, biodiversity or the environment. "

 

The NAFTA report went on, however, to conclude that the specific

characteristics of any newly created organism need to be examined --

making

the case that the benefits and dangers of any genetically modified plant

can be determined only by testing in the locales where it will be

used. In the United States, the EPA, the Agriculture Department and

sometimes the Food and Drug Administration must approve genetically

modified

plants before they can be introduced.

 

The National Corn Growers Association also sharply criticized the

panel's conclusions. " The report needlessly raises concerns where

there are

none about a technology that is proven safe and already greatly

benefits the environment and farmers around the world, " NCGA President

Leon

Corzine said.

 

A copy of the NAFTA report was leaked last month to the environmental

group Greenpeace, which distributed it in Mexico. The report was

released Monday.

 

After the initial release, Mexico's equivalent of the EPA, Semarnat,

said in a statement: " There is no doubt that the recommendations in the

official document will be beneficial for Mexico and its environment. . .

.. Semarnat is awaiting the official publication of this report and is

confident that the majority of the recommendations made will be

implemented. "

 

 

 

 

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