CRAFT by Under My Host® Issue No. 15 Classics | Page 115

One way they are keeping the local corn variet-
ies alive is through seed exchanges. Here there
is no currency, just bartering with seeds. Attend-
ees diligently search for what they want investi-
gating sees variety and quality before they get
down to business. Once bartering starts, all hell
breaks loose and the heirloom seed trade is on.
Exchanges like these are a good opportunity to
find rare seeds. They also help to keep varieties
that are in danger of dying out alive.
They are also working with INIFAP, the Nation-
al Institute for Investigation of Forests, Agricul-
ture and Fisheries in Mexico. They are working
to clean up GMO material from contaminating
local farmland.
This brings us to the good stuff. Barbieri’s whis-
key, of course.
Looking at the States, where bourbon is so pop-
ular, Barbieri wondered “why here in the cradle
of corn no one was making whiskey.” Lucky for
us, and the corn growers of Oaxaca, he decided
by hand. So, the farmers needed an incentive to
keep going. Through this project, an economic
stimulus, by way of fair pricing, was created en-
couraging locals not to abandon growing ances-
tral corn.
One of the biggest battles they’ve had to fight is
the battle against GMOs seeds. The worry isn’t
about GMO corn hurting humans, but in their
destroying biodiversity. In fact, according to
Barbieri, 59% of the world’s ancestral corn is in
danger of being destroyed and creating a mono-
culture. Today much of the native corn has GMO
DNA in it due to the wind.
Scientists for a Better Society out of Mexico City
has been working to develop a way to identify
genetic material out in the field. In fact, thanks
to their efforts, two-inch tall corn can be tested
in the field, so they have time to get rid of any-
thing contaminated before it gets out of hand.
The method is good for the farmer, the environ-
ment, and bottom-line.
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