Dear List members,
We are fighting to keep the GE moratorium on in
New Zealand. It should should remain in place until we can be confident that
there will be no harm to the environment or to people. We need more
conformation on this Mexico experience because our Minister of Research,
Science and Technology in New Zealand and others are not convinced that
there has been GE contamination in Mexico. He replies with the following.
Many thanks for the posting and any more that may follow.
Peter
Dear Peter,
Thank you for your e-mail regarding the possible presence of genetically
modified corn in Mexico, and your concerns about the release of genetically
modified organisms in New Zealand.
There has been widespread scientific questioning of the initial study into
whether genetically modified corn is present in Mexico and, in particular,
the extent and implications of any contamination of traditional corn
landraces. It is worth noting that the Mexican Government has not yet made
any formal statements confirming that genetically modified corn is in fact
present in Mexico. I understand that the results of a subsequent study
into this may be published soon.
Yours sincerely
Pete Hodgson
MINISTER OF RESEARCH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
----- Original Message -----
From: jsherry <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Bdnow <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Wednesday, June 12, 2002 11:25 AM
Subject: Fw: [globalnews] GM contamination spreads in Mexico
>
> BBC News
>
> Sunday, 9 June, 2002, 13:09 GMT 14:09 UK
> GM contamination spreads in Mexico
>
>
> Scientists fear crop varieties will be dramatically reduced
>
>
>
> By Nick Miles
> BBC correspondent in Mexico
>
>
> Political leaders and academics begin a three day meeting in Rome on
Monday
> to discuss issues surrounding global food security.
> The United Nations World Food Summit will be looking at the spread of
> genetically modified crop strains as well as the immediate problem of
famine
> in parts of southern Africa.
>
>
>
> Our best guess is that the Mexican corn harvests have been
> contaminated by imported corn from the United States
>
> Juan Martin
> Laboratory manager
> Recent reports from Mexico suggest that despite a moratorium on planting
GM
> corn strains, wild varieties have become contaminated by laboratory
> developed plants.
>
> The most heavily contaminated area is in Oaxaca, where up to a quarter of
> corn samples have tested positive for GM.
>
> GM contamination
>
> The area is home to thousands of small subsistence farmers. High up in the
> central mountains of the state one such farmer, Olga Maldonado, is weeding
> her tiny plantation of corn. It's just forty metres square and barely
> provides enough food for her and her family.
>
> "Corn is our way of life," she told me, as she worked under the harsh
> tropical sun. "Most of what we eat like tortillas and thick soups come
from
> the crop."
>
>
> Research has yet to prove GM foods are harmful
>
> But six months ago Olga got a shock. Tests showed that her field had been
> contaminated with genetically modified corn. Now she says she's worried
> about the possible effects on the heath of her children.
>
> "I'm concerned because our children eat corn all the time. We don't know
> whether it's safe to eat or not. The government has told us nothing about
> these GM plants. Absolutely nothing."
>
> Just 16 kilometres away down a dirt track in the incongruous setting of
> rural Mexico, white coated workers at a hi-tech laboratory are testing
> samples of corn from across the country. The hum of electrical stirrers
> fills the air as the corn goes though the rigorous testing procedures.
>
> This privately funded work has found widespread GM contamination in corn
> samples from across Mexico.
>
> "Despite the moratorium on GM crop growing four years ago, many GM strains
> have slipped through the net," says Juan Martin, who's in charge at the
lab.
>
>
>
> We've had a number of different campaigns aimed at telling farmers
not
> to use imported corn as seed
>
> Victor Arambula, Mexican agriculture spokesman
> "Our best guess is that the Mexican corn harvests have been contaminated
by
> imported corn from the United States," he says.
>
> "That corn was supposed to be for human consumption but farmers weren't
> aware of that and they sowed it in their fields."
>
> Genie released
>
> It's difficult to assess the Mexican Government's stance on the issue.
State
> and federal governments seem to contradict each other on the significance
> and even the very existence of GM contamination.
>
>
> Halberg fears food security will be affected
>
> "If there is GM contamination then it's not because of any government
> failure," says Victor Arambula, spokesman for the Mexican agriculture
> ministry.
>
> "We've had a number of different campaigns aimed at telling farmers not to
> use imported corn as seed.
>
> "Over the last four years, we've made it perfectly clear to farmers that
> this contamination might happen."
>
> However it happened, the GM genie is now out of the bottle. And many
people
> are worried.
>
> Whilst there is no universally accepted research proving any health risks
> from eating GM crops, environmentalists say that many GM strains encourage
> pests to become tolerant to insecticides.
>
> "There will also be a drastic reduction in the variety of corn strains in
> Mexico," Boone Hallberg told me. Mr Hallberg, a sprightly 79-year-old US
> educated botanist, has been working with Mexican corn growers for almost
> four decades.
>
>
> Maldonado's field has been contaminated
>
> "Until now, when there's been a virus in other parts of the world, people
> have been able to come here to find strains resistant to the virus," he
> tells me as we walk through his organic corn fields.
>
> "GM contamination will change all that. The thousands of varieties here
will
> be lost forever, threatening food security around the world."
>
> Meanwhile for small farmers like Olga the concerns are more immediate.
Every
> mealtime is now a worrying time for her. She has to feed her children corn
> tortillas made from her now genetically modified crops by a farmer who
> unwittingly tainted her own land.
>
> "I feel misled by the government," she says as she ladles some steaming
corn
> drink into a bowl. "As usual in Mexico the needs of the farmers here have
> been overlooked".
>
>
>
> The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites
>
> ...............................................
> Be the change
> you want to see in the world.
> -- Mahatma Gandhi
>
>
>
