# Indigenous Mexican corn threatened by U.S. biopiracy

> Civil society and agricultural groups in Oaxaca, Mexico, say US scientists from the University of California and University of Wisconsin-Madison, working for Mars Inc., committed biopiracy between 2006 and 2015 by using genetic traits of olotón corn from the Mixe community of Totontepec. They report that patent requests were filed on those genetic characteristics, a species documented since the 1950s in Mexico and Guatemala.

- Date: 2019-10-03 · published 2019-10-03T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: policy · region Mexico · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/56528-indigenous-mexican-corn-threatened-by-u-s-biopiracy
- Commodities: [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md)

## Why it matters

The dispute concerns intellectual property and access rights over native corn genetics rather than supply, so it has no direct effect on corn prices or feed availability. It may influence future regulation of genetic resources under the Nagoya Protocol and USMCA-linked rules.

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CORN | 2018-10-10 | [Mexico’s Native Corn Varieties Threatened by New NAFTA — Food & Power](https://feedsoft.ai/events/62509-mexico-s-native-corn-varieties-threatened-by-new-nafta-food-and-power.md) | +4.0% | +4.0% |
| CORN | 2017-08-01 | [Lessons from Mexico to Canada: GM Crops as Threats to Indigenous Ways of Life - ABS Canada](https://feedsoft.ai/events/69421-lessons-from-mexico-to-canada-gm-crops-as-threats-to-indigenous-ways-of-life.md) | +0.4% | -8.1% |
| CORN | 2024-04-12 | [Mexico Postpones U.S. Corn Ban - Seed World](https://feedsoft.ai/events/30703-mexico-postpones-u-s-corn-ban-seed-world.md) | -0.2% | +1.2% |
| CORN | 2021-05-24 | [Mexican judge rejects industry bid to halt GMO corn, glyphosate ban](https://feedsoft.ai/events/47083-mexican-judge-rejects-industry-bid-to-halt-gmo-corn-glyphosate-ban.md) | -0.3% | +2.2% |
| CORN | 2024-08-26 | [Has Mexico Banned Genetically Modified Corn?](https://feedsoft.ai/events/28748-has-mexico-banned-genetically-modified-corn.md) | +2.6% | +6.4% |

## Sources

- eluniversal.com.mx: https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/english/indigenous-mexican-corn-threatened-us-biopiracy/

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.