The Introduction of Transgenic Plants in Mexico and India
Transgenic plants are a new technology and their introduction to agricultural communities in developing countries might be accompanied by complex effects which must be maximally anticipated in order to prevent negative effects on vulnerable small farmers.
The use of GMOs in Mexico has been characterized by relatively fast adoption. Thus, in a ten year period after the NAFTA agreement (1995 – 2005), 31 transgenic varieties for a series of very common crop plants such as soybean, potatoes, cotton, etc have been approved for use (The Evidence From NAFTA, 2009). As growth was unimpeded, by 2008, Mexico was ranked 13th in the world according to the surface of cultivated transgenic crops. Farmers that are able to invest in cultivating transgenics are consequently more competitive, but many small farmers cannot afford this. Thus, traditional rural communities have remained largely unable to compete. In fact, NAFTA implementation, along with the introduction of transgenic varieties, has been associated with a period of massive job loss (two million people) and migration from countryside to cities. Even a bigger effect than this has the fact that, once self-sufficient, Mexico imports now a third of its corn from the US (it is cheap, transgenic, and subsidized) (Vargas-Parada, 2017). The same applies to other imported basic grains such as soybean.
The NAFTA agreement, despite having a very positive impact on the per capita food consumption in Canada and USA between 1985 and 2003, has not improved at all the situation in Mexico. Currently, the overall per capita calorie consumption, but also protein and fat consumption are significantly lower than in the first two countries, with vegetal consumption being roughly on par. Part of the blame is on the lower purchasing power of the Mexicans, which is aggravated by food exports (vegetables, fruits) to USA/Canada, this being responsible for creating more scarcity on the internal market. The food crisis in 2008 was also a detrimental factor leading to high prices.
Last but not least, there is significant concern among the Mexicans with regard to the potential risk of transgenic corn on the local biodiversity of this species, which is central for the identity of this nation (Vargas-Parada, 2017). Mexican farmers have the additional concern that they could be sued by Monsanto in case transgenic material that has accidently been propagated can be found in their crops. In 2005 the government has adopted the Law for Biosecurity of Genetically Modified Organisms, aiming to protect centers of biodiversity and to create the mechanisms for local communities to create zones free of transgenics, but the efficiency of the law is debatable. Opposition to GMOs in Mexican society has determined action from certain activist groups. Thus, due to their actions, in September 2013, experimental and commercial planting of genetically engineered corn has been put on hold, by a court decision (Vargas-Parada, 2017) (this decision was overturned in 2015, but revalidated in 2016).
The Indian example, by contrast, describes the resistance generated by the 2003 decision …
