At the Third Annual Corn Fair (yes!), representatives from over 20 indigenous communities gathered together to defend their corn against the genetically modified varieties that are gaining popularity:

In recent months, the introduction of GM corn has become a hot issue in northern Mexican border states. Opponents fear that GM products will contaminate native corn species, as has already happened in different parts of Mexico, and with unpredictable, long-term environmental consequences.

More about corn, if you please:

On the other hand, a large group of corn producers in the states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Coahuila and Chihuahua is seriously mulling the massive planting of GM crops. The pro-GM farmers view the new crops as beacons of progress and promise that will help them survive the Jan. 1, 2008 elimination of corn tariffs under the North American Free Trade Agreement. Reportedly, GM corn produces a much greater per-acre yield than traditional species.

We know some people who don’t so much as bat an eyelash for paying seven dollars for a can of organic vegan chili that Moby maybe touched. Sell your corn at Trader Joe’s, natural-corn-growers! So, hey, how do you grow this corn anyway? Surely it’s a mystery:

Speaking at the corn fair, Marcelino Moreno of Ejido Las Lajas affirmed that traditional farming wasn’t a mystery. “With the moon, as we always have done, as our elders did it, without chemicals and with a lot of work,” Moreno advised. Other fair participants stressed organic fertilization and crop rotation as essential farming methods to ensure healthy harvests.

Bacabureachi resident Luz Maria said preserving native corn was indispensable for the survival of indigenous culture. “Don’t let them do away with corn,” Luz Maria appealed, “because if corn is finished, so are the people.”

Corny as hell.

Indigenous Groups Defend Mexican Corn [Newspaper Tree]