This is very important because Mexico is home to native varieties of corn (Zea mays)..--Tom ____________________________________ From: [log in to unmask] Reply-to: [log in to unmask] To: [log in to unmask] Sent: 10/12/2013 8:16:22 A.M. Central Daylight Time Subj: MEXICO: GM suspended!! http://www.foodfirst.org/en/GMO+corn+banned+in+Mexico Mexican judge rules that GMOs are imminent threat Monsanto and Pioneer must stop selling GM seeds in Mexico (edited) A federal judge has ordered Mexico's Secretary of Agriculture, and SEMARNAT (which is equivalent to the EPA) to immediately "suspend all activities involving the planting of transgenic corn in the country and end the granting of permission for experimental and pilot commercial plantings". Judge Verdugo wrote the opinion and cited "the risk of imminent harm to the environment" as the basis for the decision. The judge's ruling also ruled that multinationals like Monsanto and Pioneer are banned from the release of transgenic maize in the Mexican countryside" as long as collective action lawsuits initiated by citizens, farmers, scientists, and civil society organizations are working their way through the judicial system. The judge's decision reflects a commitment to respect the Precautionary Principle expressed in various international treaties and statements of human rights. This ruling marks a milestone in the long struggle of citizen demands for a GMO-free country. The class action lawsuit is supported by scientific evidence from studies that have documented the contamination of Mexico's native corn varieties by transgenes from GMO corn, principally the varieties introduced by Monsanto's Roundup ready lines and the herbicide-resistant varieties marketed by Pioneer and Bayer CropScience. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To get off the CONS-SPST-BIOTECH-FORUM list, send any message to: [log in to unmask] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/