Mexican farms

Dear Editor:Mexican President Felipe Calderon slammed the door on Mexican farmers as he left the presidency. He opened up the destruction of Mexican farms. He opened up the doors to Monsanto, Due Pont and Dow Chemicals, now on the prowl for new land to promote their genetically engineered crops, opening the door to the corporate state of America. When genetically engineered corn was introduced in the mid 90s, Mexico was inhospitable to this crop. The country's national biosecurity commission established a (non-legally binding) moratorium on genetically engineered corn in 1998 as a means to safeguard what is considered to be the planet's cradle of maize cultivation. Introducing engineered crops was the death knell for Mexican farms. With farms destroyed, the workers came across our border. For minimum wage they work in the slaughterhouses in the Midwest. They stay silent - no OSHA around here. Shame on us for staying silent. What this country did was destroy their farms, make a land grab and leave them with nothing. Now as they come across our borders, let's stop crying about this. We have a debt to pay. Margaret Hittinger Downey

********** Published: June 20, 2013 - Volume 12 - Issue 10