Research Panel Warns Mexico of Threat From Modified Corn:
"Genetically engineered corn has made its way into Mexican fields from modified American seeds and could ultimately displace native corn varieties unless the government moves to protect them, a multinational panel of researchers warned Thursday. "

So little is known about the potential effect of altered corn in Mexico — where maize was first domesticated 9,000 years ago — that risks to the country's 60 corn varieties and the larger ecosystem are unpredictable, said the panel, convened by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation set up under the North American Free Trade Agreement.

"One thing is clear," the study's coordinator, Chantal Line Carpentier, said in a telephone interview from Oaxaca, where the panel was meeting. "The huge diversity in Mexico should be protected in situ and in gene banks. And Mexico does not have the money."

Much of the concern is that contamination of native varieties would limit future possibilities of developing improved crop lines from corn that is now completely free of genetic modification.

The commission will present a final report and recommendations to the American, Mexican and Canadian governments in June.…

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/12/international/americas/12MEXI.html