Farmers across the country are sounding the alarm on a new law that could spell catastrophe for their businesses, as well as the American economy.
According to Fox Business, Mexico is set to enact a new law that would ban U.S. imports of genetically modified corn, and many are worried that this could be “the most catastrophic thing to happen to corn farmers.”
Mexico is the largest buyer of American corn, purchasing more than $10 billion worth of corn from the United States, and most American farmers are not set up to grow non-GMO corn.
Elizabeth Hinkel of Hinkel Farms told Fox Business that it would take a massive effort for the farms to switch to conventional corn, saying “it would be a huge investment if we had to go back to growing conventional. And on top of that, our yields would be decreased.”
Hinkel also said that regardless of where farmers sell their corn, the price of corn in one area is dependent on the whole country, so this means that prices across the country will plummet, and farmers will have massive losses.
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Meanwhile, the USDA decried Mexico’s decision, saying that it “is not grounded in science” and that it threatens to harm trade relations between the two nations as well as the productivity of both American and Mexican farms.
Now we all know that GMO food is a controversial issue, and there are many who would prefer to not eat GMO food. Regardless of where you stand on the issue, the fact of the matter is that most American farms are not set up to grow non-GMO crops, and there is very little chance that they will change that to please the Mexican government.
This means that we are now unable to sell most of our corn supply to our largest buyer, and this could send not only farmers but the American economy, into freefall.
Now, farmers are headed to Capitol Hill to demand that lawmakers take action and protect their livelihoods.
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