Mexico’s Congress passes ban on cultivation of GM-corn

The reform must now be approved by the local legislatures of at least 17 of the country’s 32 states, where the ruling Morena party has a majority.

The Mexican government announced earlier this month that it had scrapped restrictions on the use of genetically modified corn for human consumption after a dispute resolution panel in December upheld a US complaint that the rules violated a free trade agreement.

Mexico also rescinded an order to gradually phase out the use of genetically modified corn for animal feed and industrial food production.

The constitutional amendment approved on Wednesday makes no reference to imports, but stipulates that corn cultivation in Mexico “must be free” of genetic changes carried out using “techniques outside the boundaries of nature.”

It allows the planting of grains improved by selection methods based on traditional practices, and prohibits the growing of corn modified using “modern biotechnological techniques”.

Yellow corn is used mainly for fodder and various industries, including the manufacture of processed foods.

Mexico is self-sufficient in the production of white corn, a staple food for its 129 million people.

The reform approval comes at a time of trade tensions with the United States, after President Donald Trump’s administration imposed 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico earlier this week.