In Mexico, protests halt legislation on ethanol(2)

Meanwhile, the Senate halted a reform effort pushed by civil society groups to include the "right to food" in the Constitution.

But with the argument of guaranteeing food security, in March 2009 the government authorized experimental crops of genetically modified maize in four northern Mexican states, despite what civil society groups and other critics say is a lack of conclusive evidence that these lab-created varieties are safe for human health and the environment.

"The central theme is the process of genetic modification," said Javier Cruz Mena, a researcher with the Autonomous National University of Mexico's council for the dissemination of science. "The cell is bombarded with microparticulates of the gene to be introduced, and there is no guarantee into which part of the cell they will fall."

Maize is not only the main food in the Mexican diet, it is also a basic cultural element of the native peoples. According to Maya legend, the gods created humans from maize, and the plant is still used in many native religious rituals.

But now its price depends on the international markets, where the grain exchanges are increasingly influenced by speculative purchases and investments, which go beyond food supply and demand.

In addition are external factors, like the U.S. demand for maize to make ethanol, which absorbs 37 percent of U.S. maize production; the closing of Russian wheat exports in August, due to the heat wave that ruined harvests; and the current flooding in Australia.

The price of the tortilla, which is made with white maize, rose as much as 50 percent in some Mexican states, from nine Mexican pesos (74 cents on the dollar) per kilogram, to between 12 and 15 pesos (99 cents to 1.2 dollars).

The authorities announced fines for corn flour millers and, given the ensuing scandal, the Mexican Senate shelved the biofuels reform law.

"The government says that we can't increase tortilla prices and that we are abusing the system, but then they increase maize and gasoline prices and nobody can say anything," complained Mexico City mill owner Juan Martínez.

Agricultural leader Suárez says that his country is capable of producing what it needs to feed its more than 112 million people. But the countryside was "abandoned" in a decision to hand over agricultural output to the United States in the context of free trade agreements, under a "false principle" of comparative benefits.

The average yield is 3.3 tons of maize per hectare, but most Mexican farmers get less than one ton per hectare -- figures far below U.S. productivity.

"There is no investment or research in farming, and that is a political decision dating back 25 years. We need technology; not genetic modification, but rather technology that allows us to protect the environment and biodiversity, based on scientific research," said Suárez.