In 2002 a group of Indigenous revolutionaries in Chiapas, Mexico, accepted the donation of a freezer, which they hoped would help them address a pressing new concern: the “transgenic contamination” of their local maize. The previous year two US scientists had revealed the presence of a gene believed to have originated in transgenic (also called genetically modified, or GM) maize varieties from the United States in landraces collected in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. This research, published in the journal Nature, proved controversial among scientists and especially industry observers in the United States. It also provoked unease for many Mexicans, whether dependent on maize as food, worried about the future of criollo varieties, or both. In Chiapas it prompted leaders of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation to seek advice on the implications of these findings for their people, their cause, and their corn. A local ally linked them to ...
Book Excerpt from Endangered Maize
In Chapter 7, “Grow,” author Helen Anne Curry relays the story of Indigenous revolutionaries in Mexico who tapped into community-based methods to conserve traditional corn varieties.
Helen is an associate professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge, where she teaches the history of modern science, technology, and medicine. Her research explores seeds, crop science, and industrial agriculture. She is author of Evolution Made to Order: Plant Breeding and Technological Innovation in Twentieth Century America (University of Chicago Press, 2016) and Endangered Maize: Industrial Agriculture and the Crisis of Extinction (University of California Press, 2022). From 2020–2025, she leads the multi-researcher project, “From Collection to Cultivation: Historical Perspectives on Crop Diversity and Food Security,” funded by the Wellcome Trust.
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Helen Anne Curry
Helen is an associate professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge, where she teaches the history of modern science, technology, and medicine. Her research explores seeds, crop science, and industrial agriculture. She is author of Evolution Made to Order: Plant Breeding and Technological Innovation in Twentieth Century America (University of Chicago Press, 2016) and Endangered Maize: Industrial Agriculture and the Crisis of Extinction (University of California Press, 2022). From 2020–2025, she leads the multi-researcher project, “From Collection to Cultivation: Historical Perspectives on Crop Diversity and Food Security,” funded by the Wellcome Trust.
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