Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has proposed constitutional protections for native maize just weeks after her country lost a trade battle with the United States over restrictions on genetically modified varieties of the emblematic Mexican crop. Sheinbaum on Jan. 26 said she had submitted constitutional reforms to Congress that would establish maize, or corn, as “an element of national identity” and prohibit the cultivation of transgenic corn in the country. Clutching ears of corn during a visit to Oaxaca state, Sheinbaum said the crop “is part of our culture and biological diversity.” She added, “We are protecting it.” Sheinbaum’s proposed reforms are the latest gambit in a campaign by the governing Morena party to limit transgenic corn, which officials and environmental activists consider a threat to public health and to Mexico’s rich variety of native maize. Mexico has banned the use of transgenic corn in foods such as tortilla and dough... [Log in to read more]