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  • From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lfl@intrex.net>
  • To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [permaculture] [Fwd: Contamination by GM maize in Mexico much worse than feared]
  • Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2003 12:04:06 -0700



-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Contamination by GM maize in Mexico much worse than feared
Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2003 15:03:52 +0200
From: wdl@XMINY.NL
Reply-To: Sustainable Agriculture Network Discussion Group
<SANET-MG@LISTS.IFAS.UFL.EDU>
To: SANET-MG@LISTS.IFAS.UFL.EDU

-----------------------
genet-news mailing list
-----------------------

For Inmediate Release

From:
Indigenous and farming communities in Oaxaca, Puebla, Chihuahua,
Veracruz CECCAM, CENAMI, ETC Group, CASIFOP, UNOSJO, AJAGI

Mexico City, Mexico
October 9, 2003

Contamination by genetically modified maize in Mexico much worse
than
feared

* Contamination has been found in cornfields in the states of
Chihuahua, Morelos, Durango, Mexico State, Puebla, Oaxaca, San Luis
Potosí, Tlaxcala and Veracruz

* Analyses show contamination with the genetically modified (GM)
variety Starlink, prohibited for human consumption in the United
States

* Some plants found to show presence of two, three and four different
GM types, all patented by transnational biotechnology corporations

* Mexican indigenous and farming communities demand a halt to corn
imports, continuation of the moratorium on sowing GM maize, and
rejection of the Bill on Biosafety currently before the Mexican
Congress.

Representatives of indigenous and farming communities from the states
of Oaxaca, Puebla, Chihuahua, Veracruz, and the Center for Studies on
Rural Change in Mexico (CECCAM), Center for Indigenous Missions,
(CENAMI), Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration
(ETC
Group), Center for Social Analysis, Information and Popular Training
(CASIFOP), Union of Organizations of the Sierra Juarez of Oaxaca
(UNOSJO), Jaliscan Association of Support for Indigenous Groups
(AJAGI) released the results of their own independent studies and
conclusions on the presence of transgenic contamination in nine
Mexican states: Chihuahua, Morelos, Durango, Mexico State, San Luis
Potosi, Puebla, Oaxaca, Tlaxcala and Veracruz. The analysis were
carried out on 2,000 plants (in 411 groups of samples), from 138
farming and indigenous communities. In 33 communities (24% of total
samples) from nine states, the tests found some presence of transgenes
in native corn. The results show percentages of contamination that run
from 1.5% to 33.3%, in a second round of analysis.

In the nine states that tested positive, genetic contamination was
found that coincides with the protein Bt-Cry9c, that identifies the
corn variety Starlink, patented by Aventis (Bayer), prohibited for
human consumption in the United States and nowadays taken off the
market. In these same states, other strains of Bacillus Thuringiensis
(Bt), used in creating transgenic Bt corn varieties by companies
including Monsanto and Novartis/Syngenta, were found, as well as
presence of the protein CP4-EPSPS patented by Monsanto and used to
create corn genetically modified to resist herbicides. The analyses
were carried out with commercial detection kits of the Agdia brand,
applying the DAS ELISA test. The first round of tests were done by the
members of the communities and organizations themselves, with the
technical assistance and support of biologists from the National
Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). The second round of tests
was
carried out by a company that distributes the kits in Mexico.

"Our analyses confirm the findings of contamination of native corn
that were released to the public previously by researchers Chapela and
Quist of the University of California at Berkeley, and by the National
Institute of Ecology (INE) and the National Council on Biodiversity
(CONABIO). Now we see that the contamination has spread at least to
the South, Central and Northern regions of the country," stated Ana de
Ita of CECCAM. She added, "This is just a small sample, but it
indicates the seriousness of the problem. If we're finding
contamination in random samples from indigenous and farming
communities far from urban centers and in communities that have
traditionally used their own seed, then the problem is much more
widespread. The presence of Starlink is especially serious because it
ends up in the corn these communities consume. The plants in several
communities that contain two, three and even four different transgenes
together indicates that the contamination has been around for years,
and that contaminated maize on small farms has been cross-pollinating
for generations to have incorporated all these different traits in its
genome."

Silvia Ribeiro of ETC Group warned that "Recent U.S. production of
corn genetically modified to produce substances ranging from plastics
and adhesives, to spermicides and abortifacients poses an even greater
risk of contamination. There have already been cases in Iowa and
Nebraska of accidental escape of corn modified to produce non-edible
substances. If we're already finding contamination in remote areas of
Mexico, where cultivation of GM corn is prohibited by law, how can we
guarantee that these other types won't spread as well?"

Ribeiro continued: "Like all GM products in the world, the proteins
detected are all under patent. The Monsanto corporation that accounts
for 90% of the world market in genetically modified agricultural
products already won a lawsuit against Canadian farmer Percy
Schmeiser
claiming unlicensed use of their patent, even though Schmeiser's
fields were inadvertently contaminated by Monsanto's GM canola. There
are currently 2,000 similar cases filed by Monsanto and other biotech
corporations against farmers in Canada and the U.S."

Elizabeth, a peasant from the state of Veracruz, declared: "The
companies themselves should be sued, for contamination. We publicly
declare their responsibility, and we will not permit any lawsuit filed
by them, in any part of Mexico, since they're the ones who have
damaged our corn with their genetically modified products."

Pedro, an indigenous community member in Chihuahua, echoed a view
expressed by many of the representatives of indigenous and farming
communities affected, stating that for them the contamination of their
corn is an attack on their most profound cultural roots and a threat
to their basic source of sustenance and autonomy. "Our seeds, our
corn, is the basis of the food sovereignty of our communities. It's
much more than a food, it's part of what we consider sacred, of our
history, our present and future."

Baldemar Mendoza, an indigenous farmer from Oaxaca, reported at the
news conference that deformed plants with GM traits have been found
in
Oaxaca and other states. "We have seen many deformities in corn, but
never like this. One deformed plant in Oaxaca that we saved tested
positive for three different transgenes. The old people of the
communities say they have never seen these kinds of deformities."

He also stated that government representatives came to his community
to tell him not to worry about contamination, because GM crops have
been available in some countries for five or six years and there is no
evidence that GM crops are harmful to health. "But we have our own
evidence," asserted Mendoza. "We have 10,000 years of evidence that
our maize is good for our health. To contaminate it with genetically
modified maize is a crime against all indigenous peoples and farming
communities who have been cultivating and improving maize over
millennia for the benefit of humankind."

Alvaro Salgado of CENAMI cited a Nahuatl poem that emphasizes the
role
of corn in Mexican communities: "It is our mother because it gives us
life; it gives us unity and identity, as children of the same family.
It makes us love our mother earth and not abandon her. It makes us
peoples. We share the maize with joy, but nobody has the right to use
it as its owner, maize can feed us all, but we cannot appropriate it.
We have a mutual relationship, that's why we defend it from foxes,
coyotes and rats. We don't want it to run out, because we exist thanks
to corn."

"Contamination isn't just one more problem", said Salgado. "It's an
aggression against Mexico's identity and its original inhabitants.
That is why the communities and organizations have decided to take
matters in their own hands. We won't let the same technicians and
institutions and companies that gave us chemicals and hybrid seeds
come along now to tell us not to worry and that the solution is their
seeds. We want our seeds and we are going to defend them and rescue
them."

Carlos Chavez of AJAGI further noted: "In the two years that the
government has known about the contamination, it hasn't done anything
to determine how far it has spread or to stop the sources of
contamination. With the exception of the studies done by INE-
CONABIO,
it hasn't released the results of governmental studies, like the ones
carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture (SAGARPA)." Chavez also
noted that Victor Villalobos, the Ministry's delegate in the
Intersecretarial Commission for Biosafety and Genetically Modified
Organisms (CIBIOGEM) stated publicly that "contamination in Oaxaca is
a natural laboratory" and called for lifting the moratorium on sowing
genetically modified maize in national territory.

"This would only help the five or six multinationals producing GM
corn." Chavez said. Meanwhile, the Senate approved a bill on Biosafety
with no discussion and with the support of all the political parties.
Instead of protecting Mexico's interests, this bill protects the
multinationals that contaminate us, and rejects the precautionary
principle although this should be the major priority in our country
since Mexico is a mega-diverse country and center of origin for corn
and other food crops. Out of respect for indigenous peoples, small
farmers and all Mexicans, this bill should not be approved in the
Chamber of Deputies, where it is currently under discussion. What we
need in Mexico is to say NO to genetically modified crops-they
contaminate native varieties, they make us dependent and we don't
need
them."

He added that, "Even international institutions like the
International Center for the Improvement of Maize and Wheat
(CIMMYT),
which has the largest public seed bank for maize in the world gathered
from small and indigenous farmers, have failed to publicly recognize
that contamination exists but at the same time it has projects to
develop GM maize and wheat. They are betraying what they say is their
mission: to serve poor farmers."

CECCAM's Ana de Ita summed up the demands of the organizations
and
communities involved in the study:

- Total rejection of genetically modified crops
- Rejection of the bill on biosafety before Congress, which would only
legalize genetic contamination - Hold the multinational producers of
GM products, particularly Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer, Dupont, Dow and
BASF, responsible for the contamination. We reject their lawsuits for
"unlicensed use of patents," that are in direct violation of farmers'
rights. - The Mexican government and the Ministry of Agriculture,
Livestock, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA) must make public all the
results of studies of contamination. - Maintain the moratorium on
cultivating and freeing GM maize into the environment - Immediate halt
to importations of GM corn, the most likely source of contamination -
Indigenous and farming communities, supported by the organizations
they choose, will take specific actions to stop and reverse GM
contamination. We invite all indigenous and farming communities to
join the movement to defend our maize.

Indigenous and farming communities in Chihuahua, Puebla, Oaxaca,
Tlaxcala, Veracruz and otehr states CECCAM (Center for Studies on
Rural Change in Mexico) CENAMI (National Center to Support
Indigenous
Missions) ETC Group (Action Group on Erosion, Technology and
Concentration) CASIFOP (Center for Social Analysis, Information and
Popular Training) UNOSJO (Union of Organizations of the Sierra Juarez
of Oaxaca) AJAGI (Jaliscan Association of Support for Indigenous
Groups)


**********************************************************************
*

Summary of results of the tests for genetic contamination of native
corn, Mexico 2003

**********************************************************************
*

The analysis were carried out on 2,000 plants (in 411 groups of
samples), from 138 farming and indigenous communities. In 33
communities (24% of total samples) from the states of Chihuahua,
Morelos, Durango, Mexico State, San Luis Potosi, Puebla, Oaxaca,
Tlaxcala and Veracruz, the tests found some presence of transgenes in
native corn.

All the communities that participated in this study practice
campesino, or small-scale agriculture, using family labor, and little
or no chemical inputs. The corn produced is destined primarily to
family consumption and is sown on plots of between one and two
hectares, using their own stores of saved native seed. Most of the
communities are located in regions far from urban centers. Each one of
the communities participating in the study defined the size of its
sample and the plants were selected at random, taken from the corners
and center of each plot.

In January 2003, 105 groups of leaves from 520 plants were analysed
from the states of Puebla, Veracruz, Chihuahua, San Luis Potosí,
Mexico State and Morelos. In August of 2003, additional samples from
the state of Tlaxcala were analyzed that also tested positive using
the same method described below.

Based on tests to determine the presence of endotoxins through the
DAS-ELISA technique, using commercial kits manufactured by Agdia,
with
a reader of optical density and a filter of 620 nm, the first test was
carried out to determine the presence or absence of five types of
proteins that are present in GM organisms. Four of these detect the
toxin Bacillus Thuringiensis: Bt-Cry 1Ab/1Ac, Bt-Cry9C, Bt-Cry 1C y Bt
Cry2a, and one detects herbicide-resistant CP4 EPSPS.

Of these 105 samples, gathered from 95 plots in 53 communities, 48.6
%
tested positive for transgenic proteins. 17% of the samples were
positive for three or more, 13% were positive for two or more, and
18.6% for one.

Of the total of samples analyzed, in 21% Cry 1a/1ac was detected,
among other things, and 26.67% tested positive for Cry9c (Starlink).
Another 34% were positive for CP4 EPSPS.

In July/August 2003 a second study was carried out on 306 samples,
made up of groups of leaves from 1,500 plants and using samples from
the corners and centers of fields located in 101 indigenous
communities in six Mexican states: Oaxaca, Puebla, Chihuahua,
Durango
and Veracruz.

The study sought to determine the presence of endotoxins through the
DAS-ELISA technique, and was done by the laboratory Fumigaciones y
Mantenimiento de Plantas S.C., using the Agdia commercial kits, with a
reader of optical density and filter of 620 nm, diagnosing the
presence or absence of three types of proteins indicators of the
presence or absence of the toxin Bt that produces insect-resistant
plants (Bt-Cry 1Ab/1Ac, Bt-Cry- 9C, Bt-Cry 1C) and one resistant to
herbicides (CP4 EPSPS). Of the 306 samples in total in this case-from
all the communities and points of sampling-32 samples (10.45%) tested
positive. 1% of the simples registered the protein Bt-Cry 1Ab/1Ac; 1%
of the samples registered the protein Bt-Cry 9C; 3.6% were positive
for resistance to herbicides CP4 EPSPS. 4.9% of the samples were
positive concomitantly for two or three different transgenes: 3.9% of
the samples for three types-two different types of Bt (Bt-Cry9C, Bt
Cry 1Ab/1Ac) and the herbicide resistant CP4 EPSPS; while 0.65% of
the
samples registered the presence of two transgenic characteristics: CP4
EPSPS and Bt-Cry 1Ab/1Ac. The remaining 0.33% was positive for CP4
EPSPS and Bt-Cry 9C.

In 18 of the 105 sample groups, between 1.5% and 33.3% of the
samples
registered positive results. Deformed plants have been found in the
states of Oaxaca and Chihuahua that have tested positive for the
presence of GM products.

Some commercial brands and companies that market GM products
containing transgenes found in Mexican maize:
Bt-Cry- 9C present in the maize Starlink of Aventis (owned by Bayer),
prohibited in the United States for human consumption; Bt-Cry 1Ab/1Ac,
present, among other commercial brands in the products YieldGard from
Monsanto, Knockout from Novartis (owned by Syngenta), and
NatureGard
from Mycogen; Bt-Cry1C in products from Mycogen y Ecogen. CP4
EPSPS
that identifies, for example, the GM maize resistant to herbicide
RoundUp Ready Corn from Monsanto, (resistant to the herbicide
glyphosate, known locally as Faena or Basta).

**********************************************************************
*

For further information, contact:
ETC Group in Mexico: (+52-55) 55 63 26 64), silvia@etcgroup.org
CECCAM (+52-55) 5661 1925 , ceccam@laneta.apc.org
CENAMI, cenamidad@terra.com.mx

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L.F.London
lfl@intrex.net
http://market-farming.com
http://www.ibiblio.org/ecolandtech





  • [permaculture] [Fwd: Contamination by GM maize in Mexico much worse than feared], Lawrence F. London, Jr., 10/13/2003

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