Maize and biosecurity in Mexico; debate and practice

Mexico committed to liberalizing its trade under the terms set by NAFTA and the WTO, yet it is also obliged to protect its exceptional biodiversity. This is especially delicate as it is closely linked to cultural diversity and the survival of poor campesino and indigenous groups. The unfortunate introduction of GMOS into the country occurred through imported maize, a product that appears to be the apple of discord in the discussion on biotechnology. For Mexicans, non-economic factors make the origin and quality of maize extremely important, even more so than costs and prices. If Mexico is unable to find new strategies of survival that are also environmentally sustainable for the countryside, the guardians of the genetic diversity of maize - the still numerous rural subsistence farmers - will end up as undocumented immigrants in the USA. This study discusses the possibility to have one sole food policy that responds to the interests of the sectors linked to technological knowledge as well as those linked to traditional knowledge. In the complex Mexican context, it is possible to promote efficiently the adoption of biotechnology and at the same time preserve bio-divesity, and who should pay the costs?