Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
the science of gene
ow and the wide variety of potential risks to Mexico's ecosystems,
agricultural practices, communities and cultures. The scienti
fl
c consensus was that a pre-
cautionary approach was warranted. While current levels of contamination may not pose
a signi
fi
fi
cant threat to Mexico's agro-biodiversity, it is di
cult to know for certain since
the only
eld testing has been done in the USA, so not under conditions found in Mexico,
and only in the short term. The authors recommended that all corn imported from the
USA be ground beforehand, to prevent the possibility of planting, at least until the USA
segregates its GM corn and provides adequate labeling (NACEC, 2004). The US and
Mexican governments have ignored the recommendations.
fi
Conclusion
The case of Mexican maize clearly calls into question the wisdom of across-the-board
agricultural trade liberalization. Looking at Latin America and other parts of the devel-
oping world, there are clearly other crops and countries that share Mexico's status as a
center of important genetic diversity for traded food crops. Potatoes in the Andean high-
lands would be a clear example. Positive environmental externalities are present in many
traditional forms of agricultural production, from low chemical use to soil-stabilizing
farming techniques. Where traditional production continues to be a signi
cant part of
developing-country agriculture, it is important to assess the environmental bene
fi
ts of
such activities before throwing such producers into unmediated competition with their
more industrialized, pollution-intensive counterparts.
If agro-biodiversity is a common global good that is worth preserving, and if the
market is unlikely to internalize these bene
fi
ts any time soon, then non-market mecha-
nisms will be needed to shelter such sectors in the economic integration process.
Government intervention will be critical to overcoming the globalization of market fail-
ures. In the end, tari
fi
s may prove the best way to protect environmentally valuable farm
sectors, while government policies will also need to develop the productivity of traditional
farming sectors.
On the positive side, trade creates growing demand for some agricultural products, such
as feed grain, corn sweetener and corn
ff
fl
our in the case of Mexico. This demand has been
largely
erent set of trade arrangements and gov-
ernment policies could allow rising demand to serve as the economic stimulus to improve
the livelihoods and long-term economic prospects of traditional farmers. This would rep-
resent a dramatic and welcome shift in Mexican agricultural policies.
fi
lled by imports from the USA. But a di
ff
References
Ackerman, F., T.A. Wise et al. (2003), 'Free trade, corn, and the environment: environmental impacts of
US-Mexico corn trade under NAFTA', in North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation
(ed.), Trade and Environment in North America: Key Findings for Agriculture and Energy , Montreal: North
American Commission for Environmental Cooperation.
Anderson, W., R. Magleby et al. (2000), Agricultural Resources and Environmental Indicators, 2000 ,Washington,
DC: US Dept. of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Resource Economics Division.
Batie, S.S. and D.E. Ervin (2001), 'Transgenic crops and the environment: missing markets and public roles',
Environment and Development Economics , 6 (4), 435-57.
Benbrook, C.M. (2001a), Factors Shaping Trends in Herbicide Use , Sandpoint, ID: Northwest Science and
Environmental Policy Center.
Benbrook, C.M. (2001b), 'Do GM crops mean less pesticide use?', Pesticide Outlook , 204-8.
Bourges, H. and S. Lehrer (2004), 'Assessment of human health e
ff
ects. Article 13 report: maize and biodiver-
sity: the e
ff
ects of transgenic maize in Mexico', Montreal: NACEC.
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