Journal or Publishing Institution: Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems
Study: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21683565.2017.1372841
Author(s): González-Ortega, E., Piñeyro-Nelson, A., Gómez-Hernández, E., Monterrubio-Vázquez, E., Arleo, M., Dávila-Velderrain, J., Martínez-Debat, C. and Álvarez-Buylla, E.R.
Article Type: Peer Reviewed Study
Record ID: 818
Abstract: In Mexico, the Center of origin and diversity of maize, a daily per capita average of 0.5 kg of maize-based foods are consumed. Approximately 10 million tons of maize is produced in small peasant holdings. Nevertheless, a greater proportion of industrially produced maize-derived products have started to appear in recent years. We traced the presence of transgenes and glyphosate in maize-based foods collected in Mexico and elsewhere as a means to describe the landscape of distribution, abundance, and types of transgenes in maize-derived food in Mexico. Transgenic sequences were present in overall 82% of assayed food categories; while the most widely form of maize consumption in Mexico, tortillas, had recombinant sequences in 90.4% of the samples. Furthermore, we found statistically indistinguishable frequency distributions of transgenes in samples from Mexico and other countries. Additionally, glyphosate was detected in approximately 27.7% of the samples rendered positive for transgenic events tolerant to this herbicide.
Keywords: Mexico, food, maize, tortilla, transgenes, glyphosate
Citation: González-Ortega, E., Piñeyro-Nelson, A., Gómez-Hernández, E., Monterrubio-Vázquez, E., Arleo, M., Dávila-Velderrain, J., Martínez-Debat, C. and Álvarez-Buylla, E.R., 2017. Pervasive presence of transgenes and glyphosate in maize-derived food in Mexico. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 41(9-10), pp.1146-1161.
