Overview

When scientists discovered transgenes in local Mexican corn varieties in 2001, their findings intensified a debate about not only the import of genetically modified (GM) maize into Mexico but also the fate of the peasantry under neoliberal globalization. While the controversy initially focused on the extent to which gene flow from transgenic to local varieties threatens maize biodiversity, anti-GM activists emphasized the cultural significance of the crop in Mexico and demanded that campesinos and consumers have a voice in the creation of GM maize and rural policies. In The Struggle for Maize, Elizabeth Fitting explores the competing claims of the GM corn debate in relation to the livelihood struggles of small-scale maize producers, migrants, and maquiladora workers from the southern Tehuacan Valley. She argues that the region's biodiversity is affected by state policies that seek to transform campesinos into entrepreneurs and rural residents into transnational migrant laborers. While corn production and a campesino identity remain important to an older generation, younger residents have little knowledge of or interest in maize agriculture; they seek out wage labor in maquiladoras and the United States. Fitting's ethnography illustrates how agricultural producers and their families respond creatively to economic hardship and Mexico's ""neoliberal corn regime,"" which promotes market liberalization, agricultural ""efficiency,"" and the reduction of state services over domestic maize production and food sovereignty.

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Reviews

The Struggle for Maize is an important book about a crucial topic, the debate over the dissemination of genetically modified (GM) corn in Mexico, the crop's biological centre of origin. The debate is significant because the more the modern varieties of corn become disseminated, the more biological diversity is lost, as that diversity depends on the traditional corn varieties cultivated by peasants. Elizabeth Fitting gives us an excellent account of the various positions in the GM corn debate and the connections between international processes and local Mexican communities. oGerardo Otero, editor of Food for the Few: Neoliberal Globalism and Biotechnology in Latin America Through the case of Mexican maize, Elizabeth Fitting brings fresh insights and sharp analysis to bear on two of the most important and controversial issues in contemporary development studies: the politics of food and GM technology. All of those who are interested in the politics of food and food sovereignty, knowledge, and technology in Mexico and beyond, especially in the context of raging debates about persistent food crises and the future of the peasantry, should read this brilliant book. Saturnino M. Borras Jr., co-editor of Transnational Agrarian Movements: Confronting Globalization

Author Information

Elizabeth Fitting is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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