NGOs Appeal to NAFTA Over Mexican GM Maize Issue
A group of Mexican NGOs, supported by Greenpeace, are to appeal to the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) under the
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The groups say they want an assessment of damage they say was caused by the
contamination from genetically engineered (GE) maize in the Centre of Origin and Diversity of Maize, which the Mexican government
reported six months ago. The presence of GM contamination in maize was the subject of a Nature paper, which the journal has now
effectively disowned over complaints about the paper's methodology.
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation of NAFTA has a mandate to represent the environmental interest of the signatory countries,
Canada, the US and Mexico. This includes the protection of their shared natural resources and enhancement of their joint efforts to solve
environmental problems. The appeal relates to the Article 13 in the North American Environmental Co-operation Agreement. The appeal
will be formally issued on Wednesday, 24th April.
The appeal requested the Commission for Environmental Cooperation to review the impact of the genetic contamination on maize and
ecosystem biodiversity, to explain how the indigenous varieties have been contaminated with genes of GE varieties, and to include
recommendations to avoid the further spread of contamination.
