[Pirateninfo] Update: Mais-Kontamination in Mexiko

[Silke Pohl]

Für die Info-Liste,Liebe Grüße,Peter.------- Forwarded message follows -------To:             	<mexiconews@globalexchange.org>(Mexico News email List)Date sent:      	Thu, 5 Dec 2002 18:03:17 -0800Subject:        	The Crisis in the Mexican Countryside: Updates on Three	Critical IssuesFrom:           	Mexico Program <mexico@globalexchange.org>Dear Friends,The crisis surrounding the GE corn crisis in Mexico has taken stillmore turns since our recent report back in October titled 'GeneticallyEngineered (GE) Corn Contamination - One Year Later'. Please findbelow reports on three critical issues that effect corn farming andagricultural production in Mexico.1) Nature journal corn contamination saga continues2) NAFTA body to study effects of GE contamination: conflict ofinterest among members of the Advisory Group 3) The North AmericanFree Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the final blow against Mexicanfarmers 4) 'Nature Refuses to Publish Study of GMOs', La Jornada,Angelica Enciso L. and
  Andres T. Morales, October 22, 2002 5) NAFTAEquals Death, Say Peasant Farmers, IPS, Diego Cevallos, December 3,2002--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Nature journal corncontamination saga continuesAs you may remember, in the November 2001 edition, the scientificjournal Nature published a groundbreaking study by two University ofCalifornia - Berkeley researchers, demonstrating the presence ofgenetic contamination of native Mexican corn varieties. The report washeavily attacked by both the biotech industry and pro-biotechacademics, which forced Nature to yield, and eventually retract thereport in April 2002. Not one criticism however, denied the existenceof genetically contaminated corn in Mexico. For background on thisissue, see:http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/mexico/biodiversity/ andhttp://www.foodfirst.org/pubs/backgrdrs/2002/sp02v8n2.htmlIn the latest development, uncovered this 
 October, Nature refused topublish a study by the Mexican National Ecology Institute (INE), thatconfirms the genetic contamination of native Mexican corn varieties.Dr. Exequiel Escurra, president of the INE explained that Nature'speer reviewers of the INE’s report provided two, contradictoryexplanations for its rejection. The first, stating that thecontamination was too obvious to bother publishing, while the secondreviewer claimed that the INE’s investigation was methodologicallyflawed.As a result, civil society organizations like Greenpeace, UNORCA,CECCAM and Global Exchange petitioned Dr. Escurra to publish the INE’sstudy for independent peer review in a joint letter.For more information about the recent news, see article below.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) NAFTA body to studyeffects of GE contamination: conflict of interest among members of theAdvisory GroupOn October 7 the Commissi
 on on Environmental Cooperation (CEC) namedmembers to a 16 person Advisory Group to investigate the GE corncontamination in Mexico. The CEC is the body established under theNorth American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), to promote environmentalcooperation between NAFTA countries, and implement the North AmericanAgreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC). The formal request toinvestigate the contamination was presented to the CEC by indigenous,campesinos, and other civil society organizations on April 24. TheSecretariat of the CEC notified NAFTA member countries on June 20ththat the Commission would study the impacts of Genetically Engineeredcorn on native species, as well as carry out a nationwide genetictesting project of native corn samples for contamination. The AdvisoryGroup will guide the CEC Secretariat's corn investigation and willparticipate in the development of the special report to the CEC’sCouncil.While the CEC’s acceptance to review the case represents an impo
 rtantinstitutional step forward to investigate the contamination of nativeMexican corn, the Commission’s recent naming of the Advisory Group forthe corn case marked a serious reversal. Included in the AdvisoryGroup are several individuals that represent strong interests for thebiotechnology industry creating clear cases of conflict of interestand rendering them unacceptable members of the Group.For example, named member to the Group, José Luis Solleiro Rebolledois the President of AgroBIO, a biotechnology lobby group thatrepresents corporations like Monsanto, Dupont, Aventis and Syngenta inMexico. Two of AgroBIO’s lobbying efforts focus on eliminatingMexico’s moratorium on the commercial cultivation of GM crops andlimiting national legislative initiatives on GM product labeling andBiosafety laws. Other Advisory Group members, like Peter H. Raven andLuis Rafael Herrera-Estrella, represent strong biotech interests, likeMonsanto and Grupo Pulsar, respectively.Greenpeace Mexico 
 and Cemda (Mexican Environmental Law Center) havedrafted a letter to the CEC Secretariat to protest the AdvisoryGroup’s pro-biotech composition, demanding the removal of Group with aconflict of interest, and replace them with independent scientist withexperience in corn issues.This letter can be viewed and signed at:http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/mexico/biodiversity/actionFax120502. html or in Spanish at: www.laneta.apc.org/biodiversidad--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) The North AmericanFree Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the final blow against MexicanfarmersJanuary 1, 2003 is a crucial date for the further implementation ofNAFTA regulations. All agriculture products, excluding corn, beans andpowdered milk will be traded amongst member countries (Canada, the USand Mexico) without tariffs. Mexican farmers, already suffering fromfloods of cheap food imports and the elimination farm su
 bsidies, areprotesting this 'next step of implementation' as the final blowagainst the Mexican farm. The elimination on all agriculture tariffsis even more serious in light of the United States’ recent Farm Billsubsidy program, passed on May 13, to the agricultural sector in theUnited States. The Farm Bill, which dolls out subsidies to corporateagri-business giants like Cargill and ADM as well as small farmers inthe US, places Mexican producers at an unfair disadvantage as they areforced to compete with US agribusiness. The US Farm Bill has beenstrongly attacked as illegal under World Trade Organization laws forproviding protectionist support to US agri-business corporations.Late last month, President Vicente Fox and Agriculture Minister JavierUsabiaga have announced an agriculture “armor” subsidy program forproducers in Mexico. Several campesinos organizations have correctlypointed out that the new series of subsidies were already included inlast year’s budget, and do not r
 epresent additional financial support.On average, Mexican agriculture producers will receive $720 dollarscompared to $20,803 for US producers. For more information, seearticle below.Campesino and other civil society organizations are demanding amoratorium on the elimination of agriculture tariffs, claiming it willprovoke increased migration and social unrest. In the interim,campesino organizations are mobilizing their grassroots members,blocking highways, and lobbying the Mexican Congress.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) Nature Refuses toPublish Study of GMOsLa JornadaAngelica Enciso L. and Andres T. MoralesOctober 22, 2002Although Mexican researchers have proven the existence of geneticallymodified corn in traditional Oaxacan fields, the scientific magazineNature will not publish studies from the INE (National EcologyInstitute). Exequial Ezcurra, president of the INE, explained thatthis 
 is because the specialists who analyzed the reports have opposingviewpoints.Nearly a year after Mexican investigator Ignacio Chapela revealed forthe first time, in Nature, that genetically modified corn was found inplantings in Oaxaca’s northern mountains, no progress has been made inthis matter.The INE hoped that results from the Ecology Center at the NationalAutonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and Cinvestav of Irapuato wouldbe published in Nature. The debate on the matter originated in themagazinewhich also published analysis critical of Chapela’s discovery.Ezcurra stated that Nature sent the document to two specialists foranalysis. They rejected it. One considered the result to be “ soobvious” that it didn’t merit publication in a top journal. The otherconcluded that the report was “ so surprising and difficult tobelieve” that more information should be gathered before it waspublished.Faced with this situation, Ezcurra says that the technical aspectsthat have been ques
 tioned will be resolved and that he will try topublish the findings in another magazine or simply make them known byplacing them on the INE’s website.He added that the arguments put forward by Nature’s analysts areideological, not scientific.“Since the subject is being so hotly debated, scientific magazines arelooking at it under a microscope. Our data suggests that GMOs arethere.”Ezcurra mentioned thatthere are many negative aspects to stopping theexport to Mexico of genetically modified corn now being proposed insome sectors. “ Our food dependence is so great that to cut cornimports could put us in a serious situation regarding our foodsupply.”(...)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) NAFTA Equals Death,Say Peasant FarmersIPSDiego CevallosDecember 3, 2002MEXICO CITY - More than 2,000 peasant farmers from throughout Mexicostaged a protest Tuesday in the capital to demand a freeze on theagric
 ultural provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA), which they blame for most of their economic and social woes.But their demands do not appear to have much chance of winning thedesired response from the government."I have nothing. I am here out of desperation because I am poorer thanI have ever been," said Francisco Martínez, an elderly farmer who tookpart in Tuesday's march in Mexico City, carrying a sign that read"NAFTA Equals Death".Under the slogan "the countryside can endure no more", farmers from 24of Mexico's 32 states marched in Mexico City to the Congress buildingto present their demands and later staged protests outside the U.S.and French embassies.UNORCA, the national union of some 30 regional peasant groups,organized the demonstrations with the aim of preventing theagricultural trade liberalization measures -- agreed under NAFTA,which comprises Canada, Mexico and the United States -- from takingeffect in January.The new phase of liberalization 
 entails the complete elimination oftariffs on 21 farm products, including potatoes, wheat, apples,onions, coffee, chicken and veal.The NAFTA mechanism, which UNORCA describes as "toxic to the Mexicancountryside," establishes three steps towards liberalizing the farmand livestock sector. The first occurred in 1994 when the three-nationtreaty entered into force, the second is slated for January, and thethird in 2008.In 1993, when NAFTA was still being negotiated, the government ofCarlos Salinas, then president of Mexico (1988-1994), agreed to theprocess of a gradual elimination of agricultural tariffs with thesupport of the country's leading farm organizations.Now, nearly a decade later, they are all complaining.Recognizing the difficulties that Mexican farmers face with thedeepening of trade liberalization, President Vicente Fox announced inNovember that the government would provide support for rural producersto the tune of 10 billion dollars in 2003, or 7.7 percent more aidt
 han this year.Fox stated last month that he is very concerned about how the tradeliberalization process is unfolding, "in light of the U.S. subsidiesto its agricultural production."#############################################################This message is sent to you because you are subscribed to  the mailing list <mexiconews@globalexchange.org>.To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <mexiconews-off@globalexchange.org>To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to<mexiconews-digest@globalexchange.org> To switch to the INDEX mode,E-mail to <mexiconews-index@globalexchange.org> Send administrativequeries to  <mexiconews-request@globalexchange.org>------- End of forwarded message -------



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