Monsanto/Bayer’s toxic herbicide, Roundup, and genetically-modified corn will be banned, and imports will be phased out, announced Mexico’s president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrado.
The ban will help small farmers in the country to compete with U.S. agribusiness, as well as protect consumers from the chemical glyphosate, considered by the World Health Organization to be a “probable carcinogen.”
Mexican foods use a great deal of corn, so consumers are being exposed to a high level of the notorious chemical.
The announcement met with strenuous efforts to reverse the decision. Lobbyists from Bayer/Monsanto and officials from the Trump Administration’s Department of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Agency were among the forces attempting to intercede.