Ecobreves – MEXICO: Transgenic Oversight Agency Awakens Doubts

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MEXICO CITY, Aug 3 2009 (IPS) - Mexico has set up an agency to monitor the presence of genetically modified organisms, but environmentalists see it as a cosmetic effort. The Mexican Network for Monitoring Genetically Modified Organisms, to include delegates from government, business and civil society groups, will track the presence of such products in the country and the research for their further development.

“The Mexican government engages in double talk when it comes to biosafety. It announces this oversight, but it is about to approve experimental cultivation of transgenic maize,” Greenpeace activist Aleira Lara told Tierramérica.

The environmental organization denounced the presence of genetically modified maize in six of Mexico's 32 states, as well as the import of GM seeds.

Mexico's Law on Biosafety of Genetically Modified Organisms has been in force since 2005, intended to regulate their use.