Agriculture

In a decisive move to protect Mexico’s agricultural heritage and biodiversity, President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that Congress will deliberate a ban on the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) corn in February 2025. The initiative, grounded in ecological and cultural preservation, comes on the heels of a critical resolution by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) panel on GM corn regulations.

A trade dispute panel under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement ruled on Friday that Mexico violated the trade accord with its ban on genetically modified corn for human consumption. The decision was a win for the agribusiness industry and the Biden administration, which called for the panel in August of last year after negotiations with the Mexican government failed.

The National Council of Human Sciences, Technology and Humanities (CONAHCYT) has a wide, deep and well documented dossier that demonstrates the risks to health and biodiversity of genetically modified corn and its associated herbicide, glyphosate. However, the U.S. government has dismissed this evidence in its trade dispute against Mexico, accusing it of unfair practices since the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Trade Agreement (T-MEC) by refusing to use these corn products in mass production for staple foods such as tortillas, among other dishes.

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For the past 11 years, Vía Orgánica has been fighting to protect the 64 native corn varieties and hundreds of local strains in Mexico. We invite you to support this vital struggle through your donation. Every contribution helps sustain our efforts to protect ancestral resources, food sovereignty, and the right to preserve the culinary traditions of Mexican cuisine, which UNESCO has recognized as Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

As a worldwide network of 600 partners in 80 countries on every arable continent, Regeneration International will multiply the number of certified farmers and acreage by using financial and agronomic incentives to encourage and motivate producers to adopt the best organic, regenerative, and agroecological practices. Our network building is designed to be scalable. We expect it to multiply, especially in the Global South, as farmers and land managers learn the benefits of adopting agroecological, regenerative, and organic best management practices, verifying them, and then getting paid for them. The first pilot projects have started and will become catalysts for change in their communities.

We conclude yet another great year, where we achieved so much, even though the odds were against most agricultural practices. It is safe to say,  this was probably the toughest year for the agricultural movement on the continent. In the same breath, I am inviting you to a space of celebration. The regenerative agriculture and agroecology movements are gaining traction in the face of the above mentioned issues.

The current mainstream narrative is that climate change is caused by carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuels and methane emissions from farm animals. The solution is to reduce fossil use, scale up renewable energy, and eat less, preferably no, meat. Read here for more information.

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