Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 4 • Number 21 • 19th November 2004

CEC REPORT ON GM MAIZE IN MEXICO SPARKS CONTROVERSY

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CEC REPORT ON GM MAIZE IN MEXICO SPARKS CONTROVERSY

The North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) on 8 November released a controversial report entitled "Maize and Biodiversity: The Effects of Transgenic Maize in Mexico". The report examines likely effects of current and future uses of transgenic maize, as compared to non-transgenic maize production, on the genetic diversity of landraces and wild relatives of maize, agricultural and natural biodiversity, human health, and social values and cultural identity. The report was sharply criticised by the US government as "fundamentally flawed and unscientific", while civil society groups hailed the findings.

The CEC is an independent body established by Canada, Mexico and the US under the 1994 North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), a side agreement under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The NAAEC seeks to foster conservation, protection and enhancement of the North American environment in the context of increasing trade and social links among the countries under NAFTA. The CEC undertook the study in response to concerns over potentially negative effects of transgenic varieties on land races in Mexico, following allegations that native varieties of corn grown in remote regions of Mexico had been contaminated by transgenic DNA (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 6 December 2001.

CEC report recommends import measures for GM maize

The report, which was prepared independently and using an extensive public consultation process, concludes that gene flow between domestic varieties of maize and transgenic maize has been demonstrated "experimentally and descriptively" to occur despite the Mexican moratorium on planting transgenic maize — most likely through grain imports from the US. Nonetheless, the report states that "there is no reason to expect that a transgene [i.e. a genetically modified organism (GMO)] would have any greater or less effect on the genetic diversity of landraces than other genes from similarly used modern cultivars," thus implying that from a scientific point of view, transgenic maize does not threaten genetic diversity more than other methods of modern agriculture such as hybridisation.

At the same time, the report stresses the cultural, symbolic and spiritual values of maize for most Mexicans (in particular the campesinos, or small-holder farmers). "That sense of harm is independent of its scientifically studied potential or actual impact upon human health, genetic diversity, and the environment," the report adds. Based on these findings, and taking into account the lack of public education on the means of contamination and the sentiments expressed in the consultations, the report recommends that the "Mexican government should strengthen the moratorium on commercial planting of transgenic maize by minimizing the import of living transgenic maize grain from countries that grow transgenic maize commercially", potentially by milling transgenic grain at the point of entry. Mexico currently imports some six million tons of maize from the US, of which approximately 30 percent is thought to be transgenic.

Moreover, the report recommends that the parties to the NAAEC "should adopt policies to reduce the risks identified to a level ‘as low as is reasonably achievable’". This could be achieved by implementing a requirement that maize imported from the US be labelled as potentially containing GM maize or else be certified as GM-free, creating programmes to educate farmers to avoid planting seeds that may contain GM maize and implementing procedures to ensure involvement of smallholder farmers in the development of new Mexican biotechnology policies. Other recommendations include the improvement of regulatory agencies in Mexico and the encouragement of regulatory harmonisation on biosafety risks between the three North American countries, along with efforts to provide both in situ and ex situ conservation of the genetic diversity of maize.

US sharply criticises report…

In response to the report, the US government said they were "deeply disappointed," complaining that "no economic analysis of their recommendations was conducted, and that many of these recommendations are based solely on socio-cultural considerations" while "failing to consider the potential benefits of biotechnology". Furthermore, they argued that "implementing many of the report’s recommendations would cause economic harm to farmers and consumers in all NAFTA countries and restrict international trade". For example, the US suggested, "requiring US corn exports to Mexico to be milled at the border would increase the cost of US corn significantly, negatively affecting Mexico’s livestock producers and consumers," while doing nothing to preserve maize biodiversity.

Canada, on the other hand, described the scientific findings as "balanced and consistent," but noted that "some of the report’s recommendations do not appear to be supported by the scientific evidence presented in the key findings". The government said that in decisions on importing transgenic maize, the sovereign right of a country to set its own level of protection — using its own scientific assessment and regulatory system — should be respected.

Greenpeace, on the other hand, hailed the report’s findings (which were leaked in mid-October). "It is highly significant that another trade body has now confirmed that there are unique risks to genetically engineered organisms," said Doreen Stabinsky, genetic engineering campaigner for Greenpeace International, in reference to the current WTO case on GMOs. "There is scientific backing for a precautionary approach on genetic engineering," she added.

Background

The report is the result of a 2002 petition under Article 13 of the NAAEC from 21 indigenous communities in Oaxaca, Mexico, that asked the CEC to prepare a report on the potential direct and indirect environmental impacts on biodiversity caused by the release of genetically engineered maize in Oaxaca. In 2001 and 2002, Mexican government officials found that maize in the area — considered to be a centre of origin of maize globally — was contaminated by transgenic ("genetically modified") traits (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 19 March 2004). The three countries have been quick to clarify that the report was prepared independently and does not constitute endorsement by the council of the CEC or the governments of Mexico, Canada or the US.

ICTSD reporting; "U.S. Calls NAFTA Environmental Report ‘Flawed, Unscientific,’" USTR, 8 November 2004.