THIRD WORLD NETWORK BIOSAFETY INFORMATION SERVICE


Dear Friends and colleagues,

RE: Mexico Refuses to Allow Field Trials of GM Maize

On Oct. 16, Mexico's National Service for Agro-Food Safety and Quality refused -- for the third time since 2005 -- requests from the multinational agribusiness giants Monsanto, Dow Agrosciences and Pioneer for conducting experimental cultivation of GM maize seeds in the country.

However, the door remains open to shipments of GM maize from the US, in the form of unlabeled grain imports. Of the total six million tonnes of maize imported from the US, one-third is said to be transgenic.

This leaves the country, a centre of origin and diversity of maize, in danger of being further contaminated by GM maize. In 2001, traces of transgenic maize were found in certain parts of rural Mexico.



With best wishes,


Chee Yoke Heong
Third World Network
131 Jalan Macalister,
10400 Penang,
Malaysia
Email: twnet@po.jaring.my
Website: www.biosafety-info.net and www.twnside.org.sg