Dear Editor,
GOB has very recently granted permission to plant GMO corn seeds in Belize. This should be a cause of great concern for all, especially for the Mayans and those involved in the tourism industry.
Tourists are attracted to Belize because of its natural beauty and the many cultures that live together. Most tourists are environmentally aware, and judging by the number of vegetarians and vegans we get in our guesthouse, they are generally concerned about food safety.
In Belize, they find a country where life is still natural, where most people have at least a few fruit trees and grow some veggies, and food industries have not (yet) taken over what people eat.
To me, when I visited Belize as a tourist in 1999, this was a big part of the magic that Belize held for me.
Now, living in Belize for 7 years and as a farmer and guesthouse owner, I see that our guests feel that same magic and I proudly present it to them.
Our guesthouse is in the Kek’chi village of San Miguel, in Toledo. Many people are attracted to the contemporary Mayans and their way of life. The tourists get to experience, first hand, a lifestyle so different from their own that it leaves an impression they will never forget.
The villagers are mostly self-sufficient; they plant their corn from the seeds that they save, as they have done for many generations. They raise their animals to eat and have some fruits and vegetables. Even if they have no money at all, food is on the table so they will never be hungry.
Not only our guests come to the traditional Mayan villages; in high season, the vans from all southern resorts go on and on every day, visiting the village and the ruins. In almost every promotion video about Belize, the villages are featured. The future of these villages, however, is threatened by the coming of GMO corn to Belize. Please bear with me, I will try to explain.
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) do not come from a plant: they are man-made. They are owned by the company that makes them. Because the company makes the seed, it has a patent on them. They engineer the seed so that it carries a toxin, to fight off insects that eat the crop. They also engineer it so that the GMO can withstand the herbicide, produced by the same company.
The advantage, so they claim, is that the farmers do not have to spray insecticides and will have higher yields because their crop is not lost to the insects, and that they don’t have to spray herbicides around the plant, but they can spray the whole field. Many big scale farmers spray their GMO crops with herbicides, using airplanes.
Many studies show, however, that weeds and insects develop resistance, and farmers need to spray more and more for the same results. And that consuming these insecticides in the corn causes serious health problems.
But that is not what I want to address now.
The catch is that farmers have to pay for the GMO seeds every time they plant. They are not allowed to keep the seeds, since GMO is patented. A farmer buys permission to plant the seeds, but cannot own them. Their crop belongs to the company. And this is where it gets tricky.
If someone plants GMO corn, the GMO corn will pollinate the local corn. GMO pollen can carry a long way; in the US, GMO corn has affected traditional corn crops 200 miles away after a storm that carried the GMO pollen. Since GMO corn is dominant, the local corn will turn GMO and the heirloom seed is lost.
As stated before, GMO is patented. So when the local corn turns GMO, it belongs to the company, even when the farmer never planted GMO and never intended to, but his corn field is affected, and the company owns that corn. There have been many court cases where the company has taken a farmer to court for allegedly stealing GMO corn/seeds, and the company wins every time, resulting in the loss of the corn seeds and a big fine to pay by the farmer.
Can you imagine what will happen to the villagers if GMO corn is planted? They will lose their heirloom seeds, and lose their food security. They will have to buy seeds every time, and these GMO seeds are not cheap. Most villagers barely have enough money to pay for their light bill, as it is now.
In this worst-case scenario, people will not have money to buy the GMO seeds and chemicals, and they will have lost their own corn seeds. As a result, they will leave the farms and find their way to the towns in search for jobs.
How many jobs are available for an older Kek’chi man with no education? How many for thousands of them?
The result of this urbanization: villages left abandoned, and bad neighbourhoods in the towns. No more picturesque drives through the villages with the tourists and see the men come and go to and from the farms with their mules and horses; no more laughing gatherings of women in the river. No more meals with Mayan families, because there will not be any more corn to share. The Mayans will have left the village, and their houses will be overgrown and in ruins.
Crime rates in the towns and cities will go up even more; what else can you do if you have no food, no money, a big debt and can’t get a job?
In India, this road is traveled already. Small sustenance farmers got caught in the GMO trap, and have committed suicide by the thousands.
I know the debate is young in Belize. I am not asking you to openly support either side. I am asking you to consult amongst yourselves, to research and try to come to a position on the import of GMO seeds in Belize, because it will affect us all.
My intention is merely to point out that the introduction of GMO corn in Belize is not just an agricultural and social issue, but will affect the tourism industry as well.
Yours sincerely,
Back-a-bush Guesthouse and farm, San Miguel, Toledo
Naud and Elsbeth Brouwer