The world according to Monsanto : pollution, corruption, and

244 the world according to monsantostate governor. This political boss of the Institutional Revolutionary Party(PRI), corrupt and a devotee of repressive measures, had finally been disownedby his own party.“You’ve come to cover the events?” asked the receptionist in my hotel, whohad seen a procession of reporters from around the world.“No, I’ve come because of the contamination of corn.” He obviouslyfound this unexpected answer surprising.On November 29, 2001, Nature had published a study that created a stirand drew heavy fire from Monsanto in St. Louis. Signed by David Quist andIgnacio Chapela, two biologists at the University of California, Berkeley, itfound that criollo (traditional) corn in Oaxaca had been contaminated byRoundup Ready and Bt genes. 2 The news was particularly surprising becausein 1998 Mexico had declared a moratorium on transgenic corn cropsin order to preserve the extraordinary biodiversity of the plant, whose geneticcradle was Mexico. Grown since at least 5000 bc, corn was the basicfood for the Maya and Aztec peoples, who worshiped it as a sacred plant. AnIndian legend says that the gods created man from an ear of yellow andwhite corn.As a European for whom corn is always golden yellow, I was fascinated bythe unsuspected diversity of the numerous Mexican varieties. Traveling aroundthe indigenous communities of Oaxaca, four or five hours over potholedroads from the capital, I encountered everywhere women in colorful skirtsdrying, in front of their hovels, magnificent ears of corn colored pale yellow,white, red, violet, black, or an astonishing midnight blue, some mixing togetherseveral colors because of cross-pollination.“In the Oaxaca region alone, we have more than 150 local varieties,” saidSecundino, a Zapotec Indian who was harvesting white corn by hand. “Thisvariety, for example, is excellent for making tortillas. Look at this ear: it hasa very good size and fine kernels, so I’ll save it to plant next year.”“You never buy seeds from outside?”“No. When I have a problem, I exchange with a neighbor: I give him earsfor him to eat and he gives me seeds. It’s old-fashioned barter.”“Do you always make tortillas with local corn?”“Yes, always,” he said with a smile. “It’s more nourishing, because it’s ofmuch better quality than industrial corn. Besides, it’s healthier, because wefarm without chemical products.”