Of all the things that happened in 2020, a grenade was dropped on December 31 of that year when Mexicos government published a decree aimed at phasing out GM corn and glyphosate use in the country. Two days later, Mexicos president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, made good on his campaign promise when he announced the country would end the import of genetically modified corn for human consumption by 2024. That decision is now impacting U.S. farmers ability to utilize and adopt technology key to addressing pests which will hurt not only U.S. farmers, but also bring higher prices to Mexico consumers.
Mexicos proposed GM corn ban, expected to take effect in 2024, has the potential to increase the countrys food insecurity, add $4.4 billion to its corn import costs, and impose fundamental and costly changes on the U.S. and Canadian farming and grain handling sectors, according to a report published by World Perspectives, Inc., and commissioned by CropLife America.
Chris Edgington, Iowa corn farmer and president of the National Corn Growers Association, says farmers are already seeing a slowed approval of biotech traits in Mexico. Some companies are reluctant to push unapproved traits in Mexicoif the country could potentially turn product away if its mistakenly mixed with approved traits.
Logistically, the U.S. is Mexicos prime supplier of corn, however, they arent adopting biotechnology traits widely needed and accepted by U.S. farmers. Edgington explains if Mexico only allows the import of GM traits theyre currently accepting, within a few years those traits will no longer be on the market and Mexico may not have any approved corn events available to import. Some U.S. crop technology providers are moving towards technology including RNA and AI, which Mexico has not approved, and doing so because the companies recognize these traits are better for corn producers.
Were probably not going to change the trait train, Edgington says of the need for growers to access more traits to deal with Mother Nature, pests and continue to adapt. We need new technology, he says.
If the grenade goes off when he walks out the door at the end of 2023, the price to the consumers is going to be pretty large, says Edgington.
President Joe Biden, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai have all pointed out the issue in recent discussions with their counterparts. Ted McKinney, chief executive officer of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, says state governments have tried to communicate the negative effects of this policy within discussions with those at the state-level in Mexico.
I would say we're entering a new phase and you should watch this, McKinney says. Up to this point. I think there have been a general feeling that okay, yellow corn is moving and starts and stops with white corn, but that trade by and large is okay. I'm now hearing the traits are not being introduced into corn, and the same with soy.
McKinney continues, Because theres enough disruption starting to mount, and patience will wear thin in a few more months, maybe a year, weve got to change tactics. McKinney doesnt know how that exactly looks, but many different stakeholders are continuing to have discussions with government officials on how you put the pin back in the grenade.
In mid-August, members of MAIZALL - the International Alliance of Maize Growers, which includes members from Abramilho in Brazil, MAIZAR in Argentina and the National Corn Growers Association and the U.S. Grains Council in the United States sent a delegation to Mexico where they met with government representatives and industry stakeholders to discuss the countrys 2020 Presidential Decree. The delegation also raised concerns about the likely impact of the lack of authorizations by Mexico of new GM corn events for import since May 2018.
Farmers from these countries, that produce 50% of the worlds corn and 81% of corn exports, compete in the global marketplace but work together to address common international market access issues.
Mexicos annual import of 17 million metric tons of GM corn could be jeopardized by the combination of the presidential decree and the lack of authorizations of new GM events for import, MAIZALL says. Since it is very unlikely that such volumes of non-GM corn will be available in international markets in 2024, Mexicos current policy will lead to food insecurity and affordability of many of its staple foods, such as corn tortillas.
The missions members emphasized the importance of a science-based, transparent and a proportionate regulatory approach to policy pertaining to agriculture and food production.
In our countries, GM crops are evaluated by leading independent scientists as part of a rigorous process to ensure all approvals guarantee environmental and food safety, says John Linder, a farmer from Ohio, who was part of the MAIZALL mission and is a MAIZALL director representing the United States. Biotechnology helps farmers increase yield, reduce the use of plant protection products and conserve the quality and biodiversity of the soil and the environment all key aspects in sustainable food production.
Andrew Brandt, USGC director of trade policy, who also was part of the MAIZALL delegation, says there were positive meetings and good questions from the government officials involved. MAIZALL directors had a successful trip to Mexico talking about the benefits of biotechnology, Brandt says.
But at the end of the day, this still lies in the hands of Mexicos President AMLO. A regulatory change will be required to allow additional traits to continue to be available to U.S. farmers as well as prevent the stop of flow of yellow corn to Mexico. If no action is taken, the end result will not be pretty.
The rest is here:
Near breaking point on Mexico's GM corn ban - Farm Progress
- Proof-of-Concept Exploit Released for Progress Software OpenEdge Vulnerability - The Hacker News - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Progress being made on fire alarms, Oswego town supervisor says - oswegocountynewsnow.com - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Progress on the Boyertown Express featured at Dinner - Berks Weekly - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Fire Crews Stop Forward Progress of Two-Acre Brush Fire Near Vandenberg - Santa Barbara Edhat - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Hopewell plans to install speed cameras at three city schools - Progress Index - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- New numbers on progress of penny sales tax - The Post and Courier - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Long Island woman who survived acid attack continues to make progress in recovery - PIX11 New York News - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Beam marks progress toward bringing 1st-ever MLS team to San Diego - NBC San Diego - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- McKone: Irish-American progress and paradoxes | Perspective | timesargus.com - Barre Montpelier Times Argus - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Big East reportedly making a lot of progress on media rights deals with CBS, Fox - Awful Announcing - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Berrien County farmers note slow progress on the new Farm Bill - News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- END OF SESSION: Sen. Crider and Rep. Cherry reflect on progress made during the legislative session - Greenfield Daily Reporter - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Vowles being patient with Sargeant but expects to see "progress" - RaceFans - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Inflation ticked up in February, reversing some prior progress - ABC News - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Latest NEOM progress video of The Line is indicator of scale - Supercar Blondie - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Statewide Impact of Ohio Intel ProjectEvident in Initial Progress Report - Scioto Post - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- SpaceX makes significant progress with third Starship orbital test flight - TechCrunch - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- UPDATE: Forward progress stopped on vegetation fire near Lompoc - KSBY News - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Lady Rattlers and Diamondbacks ready to roll - Progresstimes - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- SpaceX celebrates major progress on the third flight of Starship - Ars Technica - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Helldivers 2 Galactic War live map: Track status and progress with this Liberty-approved web app - Windows Central - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Pittsburgh police will only respond to calls of in-progress emergencies as part of new staffing plan - Police News - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- A year of achievement, rebuilding and progress for utilities - Yoursun.com - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Trkiye: No Direct Dialogue with Damascus, No Progress in Normalization - Asharq Al-awsat - English - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- A WORK IN PROGRESS | News | shelbynews.com - Shelbynews - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- From recurrent networks to GPT-4: Measuring algorithmic progress in language models - Tech Xplore - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- U.S. Inability To Address Nuclear Waste Harms Environmental Progress - Newsweek - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Park Progress - Greater Wilmington Business Journal - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- SF supervisor to hold hearing on homeless-shelter progress | Housing | sfexaminer.com - San Francisco Examiner - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- 'It's good to see progress being made on the site': Revised vision for Liberty Theater property in Libertyville - Daily Herald - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Diversity Among Emmy Winners Is a Result of Industry Progress - TheWrap - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- What would Dr. King say about progress and 2024? - The Chicago Cusader - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Police: Petersburg woman reportedly used hammer to hit her boyfriend - Progress Index - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Spokane County crews make great progress ahead of another storm system - AOL - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Lady Tigers Split Last Weeks Game's Lexington Progress - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Lexington Police Investigate Shooting at Walmart Lexington Progress - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Scotts Hill Lions Dominated Last Week Lexington Progress - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Older Couple Rescued From Submerged Vehicle Lexington Progress - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Fore-ward Progress | Bintelli's new River Ridge facility to focus on making electric golf carts - WDRB - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- VIDEO: Project manager gives update on Glenn McConnell Widening progress - Live 5 News WCSC - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Truck driver sentenced for trafficking cocaine to Prince George County - Progress Index - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- After decades of little progress, Milwaukee begins new approach to improve lives of Black men and boys - madison365.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Women are bored of waiting: Slow progress on shattering the glass ceiling on company boards - I by IMD - I by IMD - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Now Accepting Applications for the 2024 Progress Software Mary Szkely Scholarship for Women in STEM - GlobeNewswire - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- "Some progress made" at Onslow BOE meeting, according to number of parents - WCTI12.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Spokane County crews make great progress ahead of another storm system - Nonstop Local - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- DeSantis took credit for Florida's progress but Iowa may have sniffed out his bravado | Opinion - Yahoo News Canada - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Has the Israeli Military Made Progress in Its Goal of Destroying Hamas? : State of the World from NPR - NPR - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Jan. 19 Panel Examines 30-Year Progress of Women in Research - Mirage News - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Ducks' Midseason Check-in: Progress, Improvement Areas & More - The Hockey Writers - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Companies are hiding their climate progress. A new report explains why. - Grist - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Lou Leonatti With Progress Mexico Gives Hospital Bankruptcy Hearing Update On AM 1340 KXEO Am I Awake Morning Show - KXEO - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Seaside Heights Wants to See Progress From Developers, Will Investigate 'Bamboo' Property - Shorebeat - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Progress over perfection: Is Coach modelling a path for fashion transformation? - Vogue Business - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Watch the video of the Edmonds armed robbery in progress - MyNorthwest - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Albemarle County house burns to the ground in late night fire - The Daily Progress - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- GHDDI and Microsoft Research use AI technology to achieve significant progress in discovering new drugs to treat ... - Microsoft - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Henderson County Suspects Apprehended in Trenton Lexington Progress - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- HCFD Reports Lowest Number of Residential Fires - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Unlocking The Future: CAGA's Progress In Web3 And Blockchain Innovation - Benzinga - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Underwhelming performance: Quarterbacks still a work in progress - Daily O'Collegian - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Governor Hochul Announces Progress in Increasing MTA Accessibility - ny.gov - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- A progress report: The columnist's garden in September - Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- September 2023: Innovative researchers celebrate scientific ... - Environmental Factor Newsletter - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Progress over perfectionism - Lynn University - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Signs of progress on new Folsom Medical Office Building - UC Davis Health - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- LA District FUDS team makes progress on Nellis Remedial Action ... - spl.usace.army.mil - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- UFC Fight Night 226 winner Volkan Oezdemir pleased with progress after training with Khamzat Chimaev - Yahoo Sports - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Seeing signs of progress, Tigers take on White Sox - Deadspin - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Qualifications recognition: A door to collective progress - University World News - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Farm Progress Show opens on Tuesday in Decatur - Herald & Review - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- General Squier sculpture is in progress - The County Press - Thecountypress - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Antimalarial drug discovery: progress and approaches - Nature.com - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Seeing signs of progress, Tigers take on White Sox - The Albany Herald - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Commentary: Nurturing progress The evolution of the Annie ... - Standard-Examiner - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- World Cup kiss: feminist progress is always met with backlash, but ... - The Conversation - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Mapping Progress in Pancreatic Cancer Surgery: Looking to the ... - OncLive - September 1st, 2023 [September 1st, 2023]
- Review in progress: 'Starfield' takes the 'Skyrim' formula out into the ... - GeekWire - September 1st, 2023 [September 1st, 2023]
- Falmouth Water Quality Committee Making Progress On Ocean Outfall - CapeNews.net - September 1st, 2023 [September 1st, 2023]
- Youngstown schools, teachers make progress on negotiations ... - Youngstown Vindicator - September 1st, 2023 [September 1st, 2023]