National Campaign: Without corn there is no country/ Press release/ August 18, 2010

• Biotechnology corporations in the category, AgroBio pressure the government.
• They seek contamination of the genetic heap of corn in its center of origin.

The aspiration of biotechnological corporations to obtain permits to plant pilot genetically modified corn in Mexico is a violation of the Law of Biosecurity and Genetically Modified Organisms (LBOGM).

In accordance with the LBOGM, before being able to plant genetically modified seeds at the pilot scale, the results of the experimental planting must be informed.  Article 46 of this law, establishes that the titleholder of the permit [for experimental planting] must inform the Secretary that issued the permit of the results of these plantings through a report.  The characteristics of this report will be established by an official Mexican regulation, which has not yet been issued and is still in the process of discussion under the name of “Official Mexican regulation that establishes the characteristics and content of the results reports for the experimental and pilot programs activity of genetically modified organisms in relation with the possible risks to the environment and biodiversity.”

“Diverse civil organizations have reported the illegality of issuing permits for the experimental planting of genetically modified corn in Mexico, which effectively reduces the Regimen of the Special Protection of Corn to a mere informative transaction.  Now, the corporations seek to blackmail the government one more time and obligate them to permit them the illegal planting in the pilot phase of genetically modified corn to a large scale without measuring the consequences,” said Cati Marielle of the Group of Environmental Studies, A.C.

“The law is very clear: without regulations there cannot be reports and without reports they cannot issue permits for the pilot planting.  What the corporations use as results of the experimental planting will not be valid given the fact that they will not complete with the requirements that are described in the law,” said Adelita San Vicente of Seeds of Life, A.C.

“The urgency to achieve business in Mexico brings the AgroBio corporations to illegally pressure the Mexican government, threatening to break their investments in the country.  Corporations like Monsanto, Bayer, and Syngenta, among others, seek to guarantee the expansion of their genetic footprint in Mexican corn so that these patented genes contaminate a large part of the corn that is cultivated in our country.  These corporations can then charge for these genes,” concluded San Vicente.

In the public consultation of applications that appear in the Sanasica webpage, applications for permits in the pilot phase are not registered.  http://www.senasica.gob.mx/?id=1344

“The Mexican government is obligated to comply with the law to preserve our principle food crop.  Biosecurity and the law are not for sale, nor can they be the subjects of negotiations.  We demand the Mexican government to stop accepting blackmail by the biotechnological corporations and to not allow them to interpret the LBOGM to their convenience for accelerating the uncontrollable expansion of their patented genes in our territory,” demanded the social organizations.