Central Americans: Unknowing Victims
Of Transgenic Food Threat?
By María Gabriela Díaz
Tico Times Staff
mgdiaz@ticotimes.net

Most Costa Ricans might never suspect the yellow corn they buy at the Central Market, in downtown San José, has tested positive for transgenic contamination, but a study by the Central American Biodiversity Protection Alliance conducted last year revealed 48% of 33 varied samples from the market contained transgenic pollutants.

Transgenic or genetically modified organisms (GMOs) can only be produced in laboratories through genetic engineering. Some environmentalists, including Fabián Pacheco, son of President Abel Pacheco, argue GMOs represent a great threat to people and the environment.

“Among their potential health risks, GMOs can cause allergies and genetic alterations, and affect the digestive system. Economically, they may cause the vulnerability of alternative practices, such as organic agriculture,” the outspoken environmentalist told members of the press at an anti-GMO conference in San José yesterday.

The analysis of corn in Costa Rica was part a larger Alliance study conducted throughout Central America and the Caribbean, which showed millions of area residents consume and possibly harvest transgenic crops unknowingly.

According to the laboratory results of the study, 80% of all samples analyzed from Central America and the Dominican Republic yielded positive results for transgenic contamination. The presence of GMOs was detected in corn, soy and cereals.

The Central American Biodiversity Protection Alliance is demanding that Central American and Caribbean governments immediately ban humanitarian aid containing Starlink corn, a variety genetically engineered to produce its own pesticide believed to cause allergic reactions in consumers.

The group also seeks to stop distribution of grains, seeds and cereals containing GMOs in the area, and help vulnerable sectors by purchasing local seeds and crops, rather than importing them from abroad.

Monteverde Walk to Raise
Money for Area Students

Tomorrow and Saturday, the Cloud Forest School (CFS) in Monteverde, a mountain town in the north-central region of Costa Rica, will hold its seventh annual Walk for Scholarships to raise financial aid for children who attend the school.

Organizers hope to raise $28,000 at this year's event, according to a statement from the school.

Costa Rican students make up 91% of the school's student body, and 60% of students receive scholarships based on family income. The average family income in Monteverde is $500 per month, the statement said.

The Cloud Forest School combines academic standards, English immersion and environmental studies.

The parents, students and community members who participate in the walk request pledges per kilometer or direct donations. The event consists of four separate routes of different lengths. A few participants, such as CFS parent Milton Brenes, 41, plan to walk the entire 24 hours.

Another parent, Ulises Pérez, who takes his second-grade daughter, Evelyn, up the mountain to the school bus stop every day on horseback, is able to send Evelyn to CFS with help from previous years' fundraising efforts.

“We have to put forth the effort to give our child the best education possible,” Pérez said in the statement.

Donations, marked for scholarships, can be sent to The Cloud Forest School Foundation at P.O. Box 3223, Sewanee, TN 37375, or made directly online at www.cloudforestschool.org .