| |
|
Published in Summer 2004
|
Oaxaca hosts public consultation on maize report
|
| |
|
|
|
© Marco Ugarte / CEC
A participant at the symposium in Oaxaca presents tortillas made from locally grown corn to members of the advisory group. |
With a near capacity crowd of 400 people, the public symposium, held on 11 March in Oaxaca, Mexico, provided ample response to the CEC's draft report on Maize and Biodiversity: The Effects of Transgenic Maize in Mexico.
The Hotel Victoria conference room was packed maize farmers, nongovernmental organizations, industry representatives, government officials and indigenous peoples that day, eager to voice their opinions on the report and genetically modified (GM) food issues.
"The response was tremendous," says Hans Herrmann, head of the Conservation of Biodiversity program at the CEC and moderator of the symposium. "We had to juggle the agenda to accommodate the number of people who wanted to comment on the report and transgenic maize issues."
The 16-member Maize and Biodiversity Advisory Group that is overseeing the production of the report was also on hand to collect comments from the audience as they began to prepare their recommendations for the CEC Council, the environment ministers of North America.
The final report, containing key findings and recommendations, will address the effects of GM maize on the genetic diversity of landraces and wild relatives of maize, agricultural and natural biodiversity, human health, social values and cultural identity, and economic impacts.
A ban on GM maize planting has been in place in Mexico since 1998; however, it is believed that transgenic seed may have been purchased at government-sponsored DICONSA stores and unwittingly planted by several farmers.
The Mexican government confirmed at the symposium that 7.6 percent of maize plants tested in 2001 showed traces of GM material.
|
Top
