Corn is the staple crop of Mexico, consumed at the rate of nearly a pound per day per person, mostly as tortillas. So a court decision in August that repealed a ban on GMO corn resounded among activists and chefs, says Vice. “Corn, after all, is believed to have first been domesticated there,” writes Lisa Abend. “Landrace maize — those varieties that, through natural cross-pollination, have evolved to be perfectly suited to their environment — is at its most diverse in Mexico, and biotech crops, opponents argue, threaten those native breeds.” Elena Alvarez-Buylla, coordinator for an anti-GMO group, says GMO corn will cross-pollinate with native varieties and destroy their value.
A group of prominent chefs formed the Collective of Mexican Chefs in response to the court decision and sent a letter to the government saying GMO corn “is an attack on the diversity of our native maizes.” One of the chefs, Enrique Olvera, told Vice, “As part of the food chain, we have a right to say what kind of food we want to eat and to serve.”