“The history of the current dispute between Mexico and the U.S. over genetically modified corn has roots much deeper than the presidential decree that set it off,” writes Lourdes Medrano in FERN’s latest story. “Opposition to GMO crops in Mexico has simmered for twenty years, born of worries that ancient landrace varieties of corn that are central to the country’s social, cultural and economic well-being would be lost.
“In late 2020, when Mexican President López Obrador mandated the phase-out of GMO corn by 2024, he was in part fulfilling a campaign promise to those opponents. The president vowed to replace GMO corn with “sustainable and culturally appropriate” alternatives. But the decree, which also would ban the use of the controversial weedkiller glyphosate, alarmed U.S. farmers, who grow mainly GMO corn and sell much of it to Mexico. They and their allies in Congress urged the Biden administration to hold Mexico accountable under United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
“Even if an agreement is reached, the kerfuffle makes clear the differences in how GMO corn is treated in both countries. The U.S. has embraced it since the mid-1990s, and more than 90 percent of the crop grows from seeds modified through biotechnology. Most of that corn is used to produce ethanol and animal feed, with some also used as an ingredient in processed food and beverages. Mexico, meanwhile, predominantly produces non-GMO corn for human consumption, most notably for the ubiquitous tortilla. Imports of yellow corn, primarily from the U.S., have risen sharply in the last two decades to feed the country’s growing livestock and poultry industries. But the current administration has launched policy initiatives aimed at increasing domestic corn production, including direct payments to support small- and medium-scale farmers.”