Mexico–Global Center of Crop Origination Must Be Protected

Mexico is unlike many other places on earth, in that it is globally recognized as a Vavilov Center, a center of crop evolution and origin. Some of the foods the entire world enjoys came from the fertile Tehuacan Valley or other rich agricultural...

April 1, 2014 | Source: Natural Society | by Christina Sarich

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Mexico is unlike many other places on earth, in that it is globally recognized as a Vavilov Center, a center of crop evolution and origin. Some of the foods the entire world enjoys came from the fertile Tehuacan Valley or other rich agricultural fields in this country. If GMO were allowed to ravage these age-old crops, some of the world’s food heritage would be robbed from us all. It is due to the peculiarity of this region of the world that experts are now flocking to support a non-GMO agricultural paradigm.

Mexico’s agricultural biodiversity is beyond rich. It isn’t just the non-GMO corn tortilla we would lose by allowing biotech to get its hands on the land there. Plant scientists have discovered more than 60 varieties of maize in Mexico – the equivalent of a natural genetic treasure chest, which could be completely spoiled if companies like Monsanto, Dow Chemical, Dupont, Syngenta, etc. were to get their grubby little hands on Mexico’s agricultural real estate. Even extreme weather situations could be aided by so many types of maize crops, since they thrive in various conditions – from wet to dry, hot or cold.

It is due to Mexico’s agricultural biodiversity that many experts are now coming together to help inform a general public that is still very much ignorant about genetically modified foods in their area. Mexico’s agricultural history and genetic biodiversity hang in the balance.      

Other than some media attention in 2013 during a court battle to ban GM maize, swiftly passed by a Mexican judge who believed the cultivation of a GM crop was a threat to farming heritage and ecosystem viability, the masses are still largely unaware of many issues surrounding GMO.