Jorge Soberón Mainero has been executive director of Conabio, Mexico’s inter-agency Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity, for 10 years. Conabio is a research and advisory body for the Environment and Natural Resources Secretariat (Semarnat). Earlier this year, Soberón, who holds a doctorate in Ecology from London’s Imperial College and has written 77 scientific papers, was faced with a row over transgenics. It was discovered that genetically modified corn varieties from the United States are contaminating Mexican crops. Campesinos in the southwestern state of Oaxaca are believed to have taken imported transgenic corn and sown it to improve yields. Commercial planting of transgenic crops is prohibited in Mexico, but genetically altered corn can be imported for use in foodstuffs and animal feed. (See “GM Strains found in Mexican corn plantings”—EcoAméricas October ’01.) Soberón, who is overseeing tests to determine the extent of the problem, says he had previously warned of the risks of such contamination. He spoke to EcoAméricas correspondent Simeon Tegel in Mexico City. [Log in to read more]

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