Greenpeace activists intercepted a trainload of U.S. corn today
as it tried to enter Mexico, in response to new evidence that the
United States was dumping genetically engineered crops across the
border. The transport of this corn contravenes international
agreements, and undermines the diversity and health of Mexican corn
and the people who rely on it.
Activists suspended themselves from the train’s axles to hang
below the railway bridge over the Rio Grande – the Mexican-U.S.
border – while the Greenpeace Mexico office negotiated with the
Mexican Government for a ban on the U.S. dumping of genetically
engineered corn into Mexico.
Scientific analysis from an independent U.S. laboratory of U.S.
corn samples entering Mexico last fall showed that roughly one
third of the corn was genetically engineered. Corn imports from the
U.S. are thought to be responsible for widespread contamination of
traditional varieties of corn grown by peasants in the mountainous
regions of central Mexico. Much of the corn entering Mexico is
Monsanto’s Bt corn, engineered to produce a toxin that kills
insects, threatens native butterflies and moths and damages the
fertility of the soil. The long term impacts of engineered crops on
humans and the environment are currently not known.
“NAFTA opened up Mexico’s borders to massive imports of U.S.
corn — and now over 5 million tons of U.S. contaminated corn is
imported into Mexico every year,” said Doreen Stabinsky of
Greenpeace. “This contaminated corn poses unacceptable threats to
Mexico’s unique and valuable stores of biological diversity.
Moreover, the dumping of U.S. corn in Mexico has had significant
negative impacts on the agricultural sector, displacing millions of
peasants who are put out of work by cheap corn imports.”
In January 2003, over 100,000 Mexican peasants staged a protest
in Mexico City demanding an end to cheap corn imports. The U.S. is
using trade agreements such as NAFTA and the WTO to force Mexico to
accept contaminated corn, at the same time endangering the
environment and putting Mexican corn producers out of business.
“Against our will, Mexicans are
witnessing the destruction of our number one food source, as well
as the health and environment of the people who depend on it. This
is happening because governments around the world are allowing the
United States to determine global trade policy that benefits the
interests of biotech corporations over any other interests,” said
Liza Covantes, a campaigner from Greenpeace Mexico.
