Now the heirs of those campesinos say they are being robbed of their legacy by giant multinational firms. Species that once belonged to no one and which fed millions of poor families across Latin America have suddenly been copyrighted. Using genetic engineering, Monsanto Co., Novartis AG, Astra Zeneca Plc. What is more, the revolution dawning in agriculture, like the Industrial Revolution in England, could herald a new Ice Age for small farmers as their ancient ways become obsolete and the new high technology remains beyond their reach. Corn was born in Mexico and Central America.
Mexican lore has it that the gods made men from maize after mud failed to do the trick.
Wild corn, called teocintle, grows in abundance and there are more than 200 natural varieties of the plant. Pumpkins, cotton, cacao, chili, papaya, avocado, vanilla, sweet potato and other plants are all native to Mexico, which claims to be No. 4 in the world in biodiversity. Genetic engineering means firms can take a plant and add a useful element with a gene to make it ooze bug-killing poisons, ripen more slowly or contain more protein. GMOs could be the answer to world food problems as the population booms toward 9 billion by 2040 and farms are squeezed out by urban sprawl. Small farmers could benefit from higher productivity and starvation may become just a bad memory.