On June 2, the U.S. government escalated its conflict with Mexico over that country’s restrictions on genetically modified corn, initiating the formal dispute-resolution process under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
It is only the latest in a decades-long U.S. assault on Mexico’s food sovereignty using the blunt instrument of a trade agreement that has inundated Mexico with cheap corn, wheat, and other staples, undermining Mexico’s ability to produce its own food. With the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador showing no signs of backing down, the conflict may well test the extent to which a major exporter can use a trade agreement to force a sovereign nation to abandon measures it deems necessary to protect public health and the environment.
The Science of Precaution
The measures in question are those contained in the Mexican president’s decree, announced in late 2020 and updated in February 2023, to ban the cultivation of genetically modified corn, phase out the use of the herbicide glyphosate by 2024, and prohibit the use of genetically modified corn in tortillas and corn flour.
https://regenerationinternational.org/wp-content/uploads/cooooorn-scaled.jpeg17072560Timothy A. Wisehttps://regenerationinternational.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/RI-Logo-New.pngTimothy A. Wise2023-06-08 09:18:042023-06-14 22:51:15The U.S. Assault on Mexico’s Food Sovereignty
A new study from Colorado State University’s Department of Soil and Crop Sciences and and the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology found that regenerative practices—including integrating crop and livestock systems—were successful as long-term carbon storage solutions.
The paper, “Restoring particulate and mineral-associated organic carbon through regenerative agriculture,” was recently published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The study was led by ecology Ph.D. candidate Aaron Prairie, along with two co-authors: research scientist Alison King and M. Francesca Cotrufo, professor of soil and crop sciences and Prairie’s advisor.
Their research presented a global systemic meta-analysis looking beyond the impact of regenerative agricultural practices on total soil organic carbon (SOC) alone, instead looking at two main pools.
https://regenerationinternational.org/wp-content/uploads/Agaves-00-scaled.jpeg14412560Stacy Nickhttps://regenerationinternational.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/RI-Logo-New.pngStacy Nick2023-06-05 13:23:472023-06-06 13:26:31New Research Shows Practices From the Past Will Be Key to Future Soil Carbon Solutions
La salinización del suelo es un fenómeno de compleja reversión que se ha convertido en un gran problema a nivel mundial, que sigue expandiéndose en el mundo. Sumada a la urbanización de muchos suelos agronómicamente valiosos, la salinización representa un grave problema para la agricultura porque los suelos se vuelven improductivos. Existen proyecciones de que este problema puede llegar a afectar hasta 10.000 millones de hectáreas con, en promedio, un 20% de menor rendimiento. Según datos de la Organización para la Alimentación y la Agricultura (FAO), la salinización causará una pérdida del 30% de los suelos productivos los próximos 25 años y hasta un 50% en 2050 si no se adoptan medidas preventivas.
La salinidad del suelo se caracteriza por acumulacion en la rizósfera de cationes salinos como Na+, Mg2 +, K+ y Ca2 +, y de aniones salinos como OH-, SO4 -2, Cl-, CO3 -2, HCO3-, NO3 -. Aun cuando puede producirse debido a procesos naturales, el mayor incremento en la salinización de suelos sucede por la acción del hombre a través del riego con agua con altos contenidos de bicarbonatos, la falta de drenaje efectivo, la baja permeabilidad del suelo, la presencia de napas freáticas superficiales o el excesivo uso de cal que afectan la lixiviación de las sales.
May 11th and 12th, 2023, RI’s friends and affiliates, Compassion in World Farming and IPES-Food, hosted the Extinction or Regeneration conference in the heart of London at the Queen Elizabeth II Center in Westminster, which provided a platform for experts across the globe to share solutions for how we can transform our food and farming systems for better human, animal, and planetary health via a whole food systems approach to providing sufficient nutritious food for an expanding world population while remaining within the safe operating space of all nine planetary boundaries while protecting wild and domestic animals and restoring soils, oceans, forests, and biodiversity.
Watch this presentation by Regeneration International’s international director Dr. André Leu to learn about RI’s current project to scale up regenerative organic agriculture globally and eliminate rural poverty.
Full talks featuring Dr. Vandana and Dr. André Leu from the Extinction or Regeneration 2023 event are available here.
For organic regenerative agriculture, fair trade,
social justice, sustainable living and sustainable production
Bees
Photo credit: Joel Caldwell
The bees buzz and buzz all day long, making music over the blooming trees or flowers in the gardens. This wonderful team of bees is part of the ranch’s seasons.
Thanks to them we have been able to maintain the abundant diversity of plant species in this landscape. Several years ago the first boxes were installed to begin this wonderful experience. Currently there are two apiaries on each side of the ranch, which are maintained thanks to the support of Ercilia, Vero, Montse and some volunteers who have joined us intermittently.
The flowering of the ranch ranges from nopales, garambullos, palo dulce, huizaches, gatillos, blackberries and a variety of flowers in the orchard, including medicinal ones. The honey collected in this area is especially exquisite and not only that, it represents the important relationship and recognizes the role of these beautiful insects and the benefits they bring us.
Throughout the year the apiary is managed depending on the season, it is important to feed the bees in winter with their own honey and to have water sources constantly available. In spring, when the flowering begins, the bees are unleashed and visit every flower very early, thanks to the two apiaries the bees cover every area of the ranch and there is not one that they do not visit.
Packages
This season take advantage of our packages, stay at the ranch, enjoy a delicious meal and learn. Live a unique experience.
Billion Agave Project
Infographics
Seasonal Crops
Recipe of the Month
Apple and honey tart
Ingredients for four people:
– 1 rectangular puff pastry sheet
– 2 apples
– 50g strawberry or raspberry jam
– 30 g honey
– 15 g sugar
Preparation:
-Roll out the dough and cut it into two rectangles about 20 cm long. Place them on a greased baking sheet or covered with non-stick paper.
-Peel the apples and cut them into thin slices about 3 mm thick.
-Spread the jam evenly over each rectangle of dough and arrange the apple segments on top of the jam.
-Pour the honey over the apples and sprinkle with sugar.
-Finally place in a hot oven at 200 degrees Celsius for approximately 25 to 30 minutes.
The tostadas and tortilla chips are local products made in San Miguel de Allende in the community “La Petaca”, by several families conformed by Mrs. Pueblito Gonzalez Ramirez, Veronica Lopez Hortelano and Karina Gonzales. Their flavor is unparalleled, they are crunchy and colorful because they are made with colorful creole corn grown in the rainy season by the families of the producers, who sow, harvest, shuck and nixtamalize to then produce these delicious products with traditional processes.
Get their products in our store or enjoy a delicious guacamole accompanied by these colorful tortilla chips in the restaurant.
Inspirations
World Bee Day
World Bee Day was celebrated on May 20 to raise awareness about the importance of pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development. This is why we share the following documentary.
In the documentary “Guardians of the End of the World” we learn how Chilean bees struggle to survive from the hand of exceptional women and men who have dedicated their lives to take care of them. From scientists to small beekeepers, they all have in common a special and magnetic bond with the bees.
News
Interview with Mercedes López Martínez
Interview with our Mexico City director, Mercedes López Martínez on the Julio Astillero channel by Adriana Buentello about AMLO’s policy regarding GM corn and the conference held last week by the National Campaign Without Corn There is No Country.
July Workshops
EVERY FRIDAY WE TAKE YOU TO THE VÍA ORGÁNICA RANCH!
*Includes transportation, food, mini tour of the orchard, and demonstration of making tamales. RESERVE ON THE FOLLOWING PHONES:
Office: 44 2757 0441
Whatsapp: 41 5151 4978
DON’T FORGET TO VISIT US!
Remember that we are open from 8 am to 6 pm
Carretera México/ Querétaro, turnoff to Jalpa, km 9
Agroecological Park Vía Orgánica.
For information on our products, seeds and harvest,
call our store at 442 757 0490.
Every Saturday and Sunday nixtamalized tortilla with Creole and local corn!
Enjoy our sweet and sour kale chips for children and not so children!
During a question-and-answer segment of the panel session, “Transforming and Innovating Your Business Model,” Erisman, owner of Odyssey Farm , asked representatives from Syngenta, BASF, and Yara North America: “Do you think farms can be regenerative by not buying anything you sell?”
Chad Asmus, sustainable ag product strategist at BASF, said: “Probably not, crop protection and biotechnology have a positive impact on implementing regenerative practices at scale.”
Asmus said not using inputs is possible but it is difficult when farming at larger scale.
Bryan Ulmer, global technical lead-value chain at Syngenta, said: “Moving to regenerative is not black and white. To maintain and improve productivity, inputs will be required.”
Ulmer said his company is investing in biological inputs to manage pests. “We are moving in the right direction,” he said.
La lucha en contra del maíz transgénico en México sigue, el 24 de mayo pasado la Campaña Nacional sin Maíz no hay País convocó a una conferencia de prensa con participantes de Estados Unidos y Canadá, con miras a construir estrategias conjuntas trinacionales para para alcanzar la meta de un México sin transgénicos.
Participaron: Mercedes López Martínez (CNSMNHP y Asociación de Consumidores Orgánicos), Monserratt Téllez dando lectura al mensaje de Dale Wiehoff (productor de EEUU), Rick Arnold (Consejo de Canadienses), Lynn Clarkson (Clarkson Grain, EEUU), Ben Dobson (Hudson Carbon, EEUU) y Timothy Wise (Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, EEUU), con la moderación de Malin Jönsson (CNSMNHP) y el apoyo solidario de El Poder del Consumidor.
A continuación presentamos un video de una entrevista realizada a Mercedes López para el programa de Julio Astillero, con relación a la conferencia.
https://regenerationinternational.org/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2023-06-02-at-9.53.29.png5891276Asociación de Consumidores Orgánicoshttps://regenerationinternational.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/RI-Logo-New.pngAsociación de Consumidores Orgánicos2023-06-01 18:00:082023-06-02 11:57:39Un México sin maíces transgénicos: hacia una propuesta trinacional
