Chapela on Mexico's 'Monsanto Law'

Add your voice to the global protest over the treatment of Dr Chapela

The proposed legislation about to be passed by the Chamber of Representatives might well be re-titled: "The Law for Genetic Colonisation for the 21st Century" or "The Law for the Promotion and Gratification of the New Genetic Colonies". The legislation only succeeds in ensuring the interests of a tiny elite within Mexico which in turn represents the narrow interests of political and economic powers at home and abroad.

The implications of GM technology are profound and the effects of GMOs unpredictable. The government tells us that it knows of no damage caused by the release of transgenics, but this might well be a cause for alarm rather than complacency. No evidence exists simply because no attention has been paid to the obvious problems of genetic manipulation. Any research expressing reservations in respect of transgenics is routinely discredited. Those studies that purport to find no evidence of risks from transgenics are invariably funded by the industry itself.

Any opposition to the dogmatic principles of the science at the core of this legislation is stifled. The dangers of genetic contamination are barely mentioned. Similarly watered down is any attempt to enforce labelling and public information about transgenic products, and the legislation has effectively excluded public representation in the decision-making process.

Many countries have rejected GMOs outright or introduced strict controls Even in the US, opposition to GMOs is growing. In the midst of this climate of opposition we might wonder why the Mexican government is so keen to rush through this piece of legislation.

It is obviously in the interests of those who have ploughed millions of dollars into the research, without seeing any benefits. Under the aegis of the US State Department, the big companies are poised to cash in on the introduction of GMOs in Mexico. Monsanto has declared its intention to claim property rights on transgenic maize found in Chiapas with no consideration for the rights of small landowners to save their seed and avoid genetic contamination of their crops.

Mexico, the land where maize originated, is set to become the centre of a struggle to foist transgenics onto the market by way of multinationals such as Monsanto, Syngenta (Novartis), Dupont and the Mexican company Seminis/Savia. Mexico, the repository of genetic riches, could become the dumping ground for the transgenic products no one wants.

The Mexican government must reject the legislation to protect our national interests. It must reject the imposition of alien political and economic interests.

"Land, Liberty and Genetic Independence"

Ignacio H. Chapela

Berkeley, California, 13 December 2004