Source: Commission for Environmental Cooperation

The Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) today released Maize and Biodiversity: The Effects of Transgenic Maize in Mexico.

The CEC was petitioned in 2001 to investigate the effects of transgenic maize in Mexico under Article 13 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, a side accord to NAFTA. The Article stipulates that the Secretariat may prepare a report for the Council on any matter within the scope of the annual program.

The independent report, prepared by the Secretariat, includes a series of key findings and recommendations from a panel of 16 international experts to the organization's governing Council, the environment ministers of Canada, Mexico and the United States.

The report does not represent the views of the governments of Canada, Mexico or the United States.

Copies of the report are available online at www.cec.org/maize.

PDF versions:

Maize and Biodiversity: The Effects of Transgenic Maize in Mexico
http://www.cec.org/files/PDF//Maize-and-Biodiversity_en.pdf

Maíz y biodiversidad: los efectos del maíz transgénico en México: conclusiones y recomendaciones: http://www.cec.org/files/PDF//Maize-and-Biodiversity_es.pdf

Le maïs et la biodiversité : Les effets du maïs transgénique au Mexique : Principales conclusions et recommandations
http://www.cec.org/files/PDF//Maize-and-Biodiversity_fr.pdf

Columbus, Ohio
November 8, 2004

Source:  The Ohio State University
 

Genetically engineered corn poses no immediate threat to Mexican crops, report says

Genetically modified (GM) corn won't threaten native corn species in Mexico, according to a new report issued by the North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA).

In a country whose culture and identity revolve heavily around corn, or maize – the crop was first developed here thousands of years ago – the thought of imported GM varieties contaminating indigenous plants frightens many citizens, said Allison Snow, a co-author of the report and a professor of evolution, ecology and organismal biology at Ohio State University.

Because of that fear, Mexico placed a moratorium on planting GM corn in 1998.

However, an estimated 30 percent of the corn that Mexico imports from the United States may be genetically modified, Snow said. The United States does not separate GM corn from non-GM corn, making it impossible for Mexican farmers to know if the grain they receive is genetically engineered or not.

"Reliable unpublished data suggest that it is extremely likely that some GM corn is already growing in Mexico, whether it was intentional or not," said Snow, who is also an expert on plant-to-plant transmission of GM genes.

"What no one knows, however, is how common this has become," she continued. "Though GM seeds imported as grain from the United States would probably result in poor yields, farmers may try to plant these seeds in times of need, and the seeds could also be considered a new source of genetic variation for plant breeding practices."

Snow was part of the Maize Advisory Group, a 16-member group established by the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). The CEC oversees the environmental provisions of NAFTA. Her colleagues included experts from Mexico, Canada, the United States and England. The advisory group spent two years studying the potential effects of transgenic – or GM – corn in Mexico.

Concerns over gene flow from transgenic corn to native Mexican varieties prompted the report, released today, called "Maize and biodiversity: Effects of transgenic maize in Mexico."

"Even though many kinds of transgenic corn have been approved in the United States, where it's a part of nearly everyone's diet, the effects of GM corn in Mexico have yet to be evaluated and determined," Snow said. "But transgenic maize from the United States can easily enter Mexico through the massive amounts of GM grain the country imports from the United States."

While the group concluded that genetically engineered corn currently poses no threat to Mexico's native corn varieties, the advisory group cautions that Mexico remain vigilant when importing and cultivating corn from the United States. The group outlines several recommendations concerning the handling of transgenic corn, including:

• To avoid undermining its current moratorium, Mexico should label all corn imported from the United States as possibly containing GM seed, or grind the corn when it's imported. Grinding would prevent the imported seeds from being planted.
• Conducting more research to learn which transgenes have been introduced in the local varieties of Mexican corn and how common they are.
• Determining to what degree the genes, including the transgenes, of modern corn plants have been introduced into traditional Mexican crops. Also, evaluate and develop ways to eliminate transgenes from native corn, if Mexico desires to do so.
• Requiring regulatory agencies in the United States, Canada and Mexico to devise methods to detect and monitor the spread of specific transgenes, as well as the products of those transgenes.
• Conducting more studies to determine how transgene accumulation through gene flow affects the fitness and yield of the plants receiving these transgenes.
• Educating Mexican citizens about possible benefits and risks of GM corn.
• Encouraging better international coordination of regulatory policies, so GM crops that are released in our country are also evaluated for safety in other countries that import viable GM seeds.

Report in PDF format: http://www.cec.org/files/PDF//Maize-and-Biodiversity_en.pdf

Washington, DC
November 8, 2004

U.S. calls NAFTA environmental report “flawed, unscientific”

The United States issued the following Administration statement regarding the Secretariat of the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) report on genetically modified maize (corn) “Maize and Biodiversity: The Effects of Transgenic Maize in Mexico” released today. The Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Trade Representative issued this joint statement.

“This report is fundamentally flawed and unscientific; key recommendations are not based on sound science, and are contradicted by the report’s own scientific findings. The authors acknowledge that no economic analysis of their recommendations was conducted, and that many of these recommendations are based solely on socio-cultural considerations.

“While the report’s authors recommend that biotech maize be treated differently from other modern maize hybrids, science tells us the opposite. In fact, the findings of this report echo the prevailing science, supporting our view that biotech maize will have no greater or lesser effect on maize genetic diversity than other modern maize hybrids.

“The report also fails to consider the potential benefits of biotechnology. As the national science academies of Mexico, the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil, China and India noted in a joint report, ‘GM technology should be used to increase the production of main food staples, improve the efficiency of production, reduce the environmental impact of agriculture and provide access to food for small-scale farmers.’ Biotechnology offers the world enormous opportunities to combat hunger and protect the environment.

“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, requiring U.S. corn exports to Mexico to be milled at the border would increase the cost of U.S. corn significantly, negatively affecting Mexico’s livestock producers and consumers. Milling corn before transport also raises quality concerns and increases shipping costs, exacerbating the problem. Perhaps most troubling, the report itself acknowledges that this and other recommendations would do nothing to preserve maize biodiversity.

“We are disappointed that this report was leaked before the United States, Canada or Mexico had a full opportunity to review it, and that a member of the Advisory Group spoke publicly about the report before its official release. The final report was delivered to the Parties on Sept. 14. We take these issues seriously and have been using the designated 60-day review guideline to develop a thoughtful response which would ensure that the public is fully informed of the nature of the recommendations in this report. Some have suggested the United States sought to delay or obstruct its release. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Rather the United States and other Parties were simply adhering to the review procedures associated with reports of this nature. While we disagree with many aspects of the report, we believe that our substantive response will set the record straight on this issue.”

Comprehensive U.S. comments on the report will be appended to the report upon its release. The full report is available on the CEC Web site at http://www.cec.org/pubs_docs/documents/index.cfm?varlan=english&ID=1647

Montreal, Canada
November 9, 2004

Report on the effects of genetically modified maize in Mexico

The long awaited report from the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) was released yesterday, Maize and Biodiversity: The Effects of Transgenic Maize in Mexico. Checkbiotech brings you views from the CEC press release, AgBioView and Dr. Klaus Amman, from the University of Berne, along with a link to the full report.

The CEC was petitioned in 2001 to investigate the effects of transgenic maize in Mexico under Article 13 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, a side accord to NAFTA. The Article stipulates that the Secretariat may prepare a report for the Council on any matter within the scope of the annual program.

The independent report, prepared by the Secretariat, includes a series of key findings and recommendations from a panel of 16 international experts to the organization's governing Council, the environment ministers of Canada, Mexico and the United States.

The report does not represent the views of the governments of Canada, Mexico or the United States.

The key findings and recommendations from the report includes a series of unanimous recommendations from a 16-member, international panel of experts. This advisory group includes a former Monsanto executive, the chair of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Canadian and British academics and an esteemed member of the US National Academy of Sciences. The recommendations are directed at the three North American governments and contain specific actions related to the management of transgenic corn imports to Mexico. These include recommended steps to reduce the chance that unapproved maize grain will be planted in Mexico through policy development, education, labeling and milling of maize intended for livestock feed.

The report was initiated in 2002 following a claim that genetically modified material had been found amongst traditional Mexican varieties of maize despite a moratorium on its planting. The Mexican government confirmed earlier this year that that 7.6 percent of plants tested in 2001 had traces of GM material.

The report also says that "Regulatory agencies of the three countries should develop and implement better methods for detecting and monitoring the spread of specific transgenes. . . [and that] the modification of maize to produce pharmaceuticals and certain industrial compounds that are incompatible with food and feed should be prohibited in accordance with Mexican Government intentions, and serious consideration should be given to banning such use for maize in other countries."

Conclusions regarding gene flow and biodiversity are drawn in a very reasonable way. It is especially rewarding to see that socio-cultural matters have been given detailed consideration.

Overall, the report is giving a very clear picture about the effects (or better no-effects) of GM maize on biodiversity in Mexico. Still, several areas of poor or lacking knowledge have been identified and need attention.

The report remains remarkably vague in transgene flow statements: From the circumstances described it seems very likely that transgenes will occur in small amounts, and it is very unlikely that it will be possible to remove them later.

Dr. Klaus Amman, Director of the Botanical Gardens at the University of Berne, Switzerland also reviewed the report and had the following comments:

Conclusions related to biodiversity:

1. There is no evidence to suggest that the patterns of inheritance of transgenes in Mexican maize or teosintes differ from their behavior in other organisms, or from the behavior of genes and genetic elements, in general.

2. Neither negative nor positive effects of transgenic maize on the plants and animals occurring with them in Mexican maize fields, or milpas, have been reported; however, specific studies have still to be conducted.

3. The biological characteristics of maize and the teosintes are such that they appear very unlikely to spread into neighboring communities, whether they are transgenic or not. However, the effects of GM maize on target and nontarget insects moving between maize fields in Mexico and adjacent natural communities are unknown.

4. Agriculture, however practiced, reduces the overall level of biodiversity from its pristine condition. It is an open question whether productive, concentrated agriculture affects biodiversity more than dispersed, less intensive and less productive systems.

Conclusions related to gene flow

1. Gene flow between landraces of maize—as well as between landraces and modern varieties—has been demonstrated to occur experimentally and descriptively. All strains of maize, Zea mays subsp. mays, are interfertile and produce fertile progeny.

2. Descriptive studies have demonstrated that gene flow between maize and teosinte occurs, but it is not known how long maize genes persist in teosinte populations after hybridization has occurred in the field. The rate at which crop genes enter teosinte populations may be limited by partial genetic barriers and subsequently by the relative fitness of the hybrids.

3. Gene flow is important in the dynamic process of on-farm (in situ) management of maize genetic resources in Mexico. Mexican farmers often trade seeds, sow mixtures of seeds from different sources, including the occasional modern hybrid variety, and often allow and intend, cross-pollination between different strains to occur when they grow close together. Despite gene flow, farmers are able to select and perpetuate different landraces and cultivars.

Conclusions related to socio-economic matters:

Among numerous other conclusions here No. 4 and 5, which seem to me of utmost importance, if one is determined to save the landraces:

4. Campesinos should be supported in their efforts to protect and preserve the unique biodiversity in Mexican landrace maize. This may involve direct payments to farmers who are willing to sustain their traditional farming operations and adopt breeding practices that preserve landraces in a way that prevents or minimizes the introgression of genes from other sources and localities.

5. A quality assured landrace seed program should be developed. Campesino farmers may submit their own seed and any other materials they intend to use for breeding to labs for investigation of the presence of any GM traits. This measure may also require regional registration of campesino breeders and the development of a management system (which could provide a basis for campesinos protecting their traditional knowledge, creating the base for a differentiated food product). If effective, this would both limit introgression of new transgenes and detect and also allow for the removal of any transgenes currently in campesino seeds.

See also the report of a PEW initiative conference from September 2003
http://pewagbiotech.org/events/0929/Proceedings-English.pdf

The full report can be downloaded at:
http://www.cec.org/pubs_docs/documents/index.cfm?varlan=english&ID=1647

The CEC Secretariat report is also available in Spanish and French. For more information or assistance in contacting members of the advisory group, please contact Spencer Tripp at (514) 350-4331