Mexico judge orders ban on GM corn

(http://www.foodfirst.org/en/GMO+corn+banned+in+Mexico) According to an October 10 press release, genetically modified corn has been banned in Mexico. Judge Jaime Eduardo Verdugo J. of the Twelfth Federal District Court for Civil Matters of Mexico City has ruled that GM corn poses "the risk of imminent harm to the environment." He has also ordered SAGARPA and SEMARNAT, Mexico's equivalent to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and EPA, respectively, 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."

Because of this decision, biotech companies like Monsanto and DuPont/Pioneer are barred from planting or selling GM corn within Mexico's borders. Rene Sanchez Galindo, legal counsel for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit said that the ruling includes the possibility of "criminal charges for the authorities responsible for allowing the introduction of transgenic corn in our country."