In the post on UCCS's (Mexico's Union of Scientists Committed to Society) Statement protesting the approval of experimental plots for GM seeds, the arguments were buried in a rather long post. Below, I lay them out in a somewhat terser form. These arguments are not intended to be inclusive, but rather the are arguments which address Mexico's unique place as the birthplace of maize and the home of its diverse heirs.
- Experimental evidence produced in Mexico 15 years ago is justification for continued moratorium on GM plantings.
- Given the proven capacity of maize germ plasm (genetic resources stored in a seed) to disperse into the environment by means of pollen or seed-flow, we can be certain that the release of GM seeds into the environment will lead to the spread of transgenic materials throughout Mexican territory.
- After a quarter of a century of experimental releases and more than a decade of commercial distribution of transgenic maize, there is much evidence that the benefits of GM seeds do not compensate for the risks their use poses.
- Many governments in the word have stopped planting and even stopped the importation of transgenic maize materials.
- Risk of GM seed release may escalate where the seeds are planted as well as at centers of crop diversification. In these locations, transgenes will inevitable become inserted in a number of different varieties with diverse genes and backgrounds.
- Of special concern is the fact that maize is currently being used as a "bioreactor", that is as a biological factory planted in the field not to yield food but to use for making industrial products such as plastics, industrial oils, biofuels and pharmaceuticals. It is expected that the genetic materials for GM seeds created to produce corn for these purposes will permeate the human food chain. [This will affect the nature of corn used for food.] This is a risk of enormous consequence for Mexican and world human populations.
- Accidental mixing of non-transgenic seed with bioreactor GM maize from experimental ad commercial plantings has already occurred in seed storage silos in the US.
- There is much concern over the consequences of patented GM seeds penetrating the maize cultivated by most farmers in Mexico. This opens the way to large and expensive liabilities that use, trade or exchange maize seeds or grain containing them. [This refers to the fact that Monsanto aggressively seeks out any evidence of its GM germ plasm everywhere and wields patent law to sue farmers large and small in whose crops they find even traces of their GM material. This is frequently GM material that got into seeds and crops by accidental spread.]
- There is increased possibility of GM seed contamination of the Mexican teosinte, the wild relative and ancestor of maize. This threatens negative impacts to species' gene pool and the management of teosinte.
- Unlike chemical pollution, mixing maize germ plasm with GM germ plasm threatens irreversible change. This threatens Mexico's heritage which is stewarded by Mexico's indigenous people and farmers.
- GM seed pollution -- the mingling of GM seed material with non-GM seed material is invisible. That is, there is no visible difference between GM and non-GM maize varieties even though they hold extremely different physiological properties. Thus, the responsibilities of producers, regulators, farmers and food processors to protect the environment and the public is much greater than it is for other kinds of pollution.
- Given the complex structure of the native maize seed populations and the fact that genes travel via pollen, a reliable seed-tracing system for segregating GM and non-GM maize lines at an acceptable level is not only not available, but not possible. This makes it impossible for farmers, food-processors and consumers to ensure that their stocks remain free of unwanted transgenic elements.
- Despite the increased burden of responsibility that producers of transgenic lines and regulators hsould bear, the introduction of GM germ plasm into Mexico is being done with only partial or no consultation and the details of the materials introduced are being kept secret to protect business interests.
- There is no infrastructure available in Mexico or anywhere else, for that matter, that would be competent to review proposed releases and to monitor the panoply of potential damages such releases might cause.
As I said, these are the arguments directed toward the Mexican government with a particular emphasis on protecting Mexico's rich inheritance and tradition. It is written in the context of a group which stresses ethical responsibility in using science and technology. Ethics are largely absent in the mix of corporate interest and science and technology in the US, and many people make no apologies for that. I would argue that it is a critical absence. Mistrust of science and technology is growing in the US because no one trusts what corporations and their scientists and even scientists in universities where they may receive money from corporations tell us. Innovations should be handled in a manner that protects the planet instead of in a manner that regards it as fertile ground for harvesting yet more money and power.