First Page
725
Abstract
Genetically modified ("GMO") corn germinates legal controversies in Mexico. Since 2013, Mexican courts have temporarily suspended GMO corn because it threatens biodiversity. In the Colectividad del Maiz lawsuit, courts have prohibited Mexico from issuing commercial GMO permits while the litigation continues. Companies like Monsanto need these permits to sell GMO seeds. Corn is the most essential food item for millions of Mexicans and is central to Mexican culture. Mexicans wait for Colectividad del Maiz's resolution, siding with biodiversity or GMOs. This Article describes scientific GMO controversies and analyzes biosecurity, class-action, and international environmental law. It argues that this corn fight feeds larger moral questions about biotechnology and Mexico's sovereignty. Courts and policy makers respond to these controversies with their sovereign powers. Decolonial theory shows how assumptions about economics, law, and ideology rooted in historical colonial structures-"coloniality" -shape these responses. This Article illustrates the significance of coloniality to how the government responds to GMOs, at a time when GMO safety is increasingly questioned in Mexico and elsewhere.
Recommended Citation
Ernesto Hernandez-Lopez,
Gmo Corn, Mexico, and Coloniality,
22 Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law
725
(2020)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/jetlaw/vol22/iss4/4