In August 2017, a Mexican research team composed of members from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM) published a study showing the presence of transgenes and the herbicide glyphosate in processed foods and tortillas made from industrial maize (corn) throughout Mexico.

At a press conference, the team stated, “The data are worrying, since maize is our basic food and we have lost our food sovereignty. Consumption of glyphosate-containing genetically modified corn can have serious health consequences.” They continued, “of 367 samples analyzed, 82% (301) contained at least one transgene. Of the tortillas analyzed, 90.4% contained transgene sequences.”

Furthermore, “glyphosate was detected in nearly one-third of the food samples that tested positive for the presence of the glyphosate-tolerance transgene”.

That which has been a concern of large numbers of individuals as well as scientists’, consumers’, and food and agriculture activists’ organizations since the discovery of transgenic contamination in maize from the Sierra Juárez of Oaxaca in 2001 has now taken centre stage with the emergence of new sources of evidence.