List of Tables  ix

Acknowledgments  xi

List of Abbreviations  xv

Introduction: The Struggle for Mexican Maize  1

Part I: Debates  33

1. Transgenic Maize and Its Experts  35

2. Corn and the Hybrid Nation  75

Part II: Livelihoods  117

3. Community and Conflict  120

4. Remaking the Countryside  155

5. From Campesinos to Migrant and Maquila Workers?  197

Conclusion  230

Appendix: Producer Interviews, 2001–2002  239

Notes  249

Glossary  265

Bibliography  271

Index  293

“The Struggle for Maize deals with the resilience of corn as a crop and commodity and as a cultural practice, despite the challenges presented by a
globalized economy that has introduced GMO corn varieties into Mexico. Depending on one's point of view, GMO may have accrued some economic benefits here and there in the country (but certainly not in San José Miahuatlán), but the agricultural, social, and environmental harms it has presented, Fitting argues, outweigh those benefits. And her book is successful in showing that, and thus is an important contribution to that ongoing debate.”—Sterling Evans, H-Environment, H-Net Reviews

“[T]his is a very good piece of work, with quite interesting analyses both of the contemporary corn debates and the current form of the Mexico’s approaches to rural communities of the lives of rural small farmers in Mexico into the twenty first century. It is a strong contribution to a body of research that, as a whole, provides a very compelling case study of the impact of policy and the strategies of the people that are affected by it.”—Kathleen Musante DeWalt, A Contracorriente

“Working across scale and over time, The Struggle for Maize provides a multidimensional perspective on the GM corn debates, which Fitting effectively demonstrates are about much more than crop varieties. . . . The Struggle for Maize succeeds at coalescing a wide array of perspectives and data around the central issue of the role of corn agriculture in
Mexico. With Fitting’s engaging and accessible writing style, the pages
turn easily even as they deliver dense and stimulating content.“—Eric Casler, Rural Sociology

“[A] timely, well-researched and extremely readable book . . . Fitting has intervened with an incisive critique of conventional agricultural development in Mexico, specifically showing how the discourse of scientific expertise is used to discredit other kinds of knowledge and equally valid concerns about the cultural effects of transgenic crops. The Struggle for Maize—a snapshot of the state of the agriculture/development debate in Mexico and a brilliant gathering together of literature on the topic—stands as both a corrective and a rebuke to such dismissals and exclusions.”—Alice Brooke Wilson, Human Ecology

“Fitting has written an insightful book that urges us to ponder the future of farming in and beyond Mexico. Its fresh take on getting to the background history of the food on our plates will be of use to those interested in food safety, food policy and food security, as well as to scholars of labour, peasant studies and the history of Mexico.”
—Gabriela Soto Laveaga, Journal of Latin American Studies

“[A]n important addition to much more than the ethnographic study of agriculture and the Mexican countryside. . . . This outstanding book is part of a new wave of anthropological scholarship. Fitting combines the strengths of rich local ethnographic work without losing sight of the global nature of agricultural change. . . . Fitting’s book should find a large audience that includes anthropologists, development specialists, those interested in the role and place of genetically modified crops and food studies, as well as specialists in Mexican and Latin American studies.”—Jeffrey H. Cohen, Journal of Anthropological Research

“[T]his is a good and useful book, and scholars interested in genetically
modified crops and the politics of resources in Mexico will find
much to think about within these pages.”
—Nicole Mottier, Agricultural History

“This is a timely contribution that deserves attention... The clear organization
of the text and its lucid prosemake it appropriate for use in upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses such as rural studies, globalization, political ecology, anthropology of food, and social movements, and for those interested in GM foods.”—Alison Elizabeth Lee, Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology

“The Struggle for Maize deals with the resilience of corn as a crop and commodity and as a cultural practice, despite the challenges presented by a
globalized economy that has introduced GMO corn varieties into Mexico. Depending on one's point of view, GMO may have accrued some economic benefits here and there in the country (but certainly not in San José Miahuatlán), but the agricultural, social, and environmental harms it has presented, Fitting argues, outweigh those benefits. And her book is successful in showing that, and thus is an important contribution to that ongoing debate.”—Sterling Evans, H-Environment, H-Net Reviews

“[T]his is a very good piece of work, with quite interesting analyses both of the contemporary corn debates and the current form of the Mexico’s approaches to rural communities of the lives of rural small farmers in Mexico into the twenty first century. It is a strong contribution to a body of research that, as a whole, provides a very compelling case study of the impact of policy and the strategies of the people that are affected by it.”—Kathleen Musante DeWalt, A Contracorriente

“Working across scale and over time, The Struggle for Maize provides a multidimensional perspective on the GM corn debates, which Fitting effectively demonstrates are about much more than crop varieties. . . . The Struggle for Maize succeeds at coalescing a wide array of perspectives and data around the central issue of the role of corn agriculture in
Mexico. With Fitting’s engaging and accessible writing style, the pages
turn easily even as they deliver dense and stimulating content.“—Eric Casler, Rural Sociology

“[A] timely, well-researched and extremely readable book . . . Fitting has intervened with an incisive critique of conventional agricultural development in Mexico, specifically showing how the discourse of scientific expertise is used to discredit other kinds of knowledge and equally valid concerns about the cultural effects of transgenic crops. The Struggle for Maize—a snapshot of the state of the agriculture/development debate in Mexico and a brilliant gathering together of literature on the topic—stands as both a corrective and a rebuke to such dismissals and exclusions.”—Alice Brooke Wilson, Human Ecology

“Fitting has written an insightful book that urges us to ponder the future of farming in and beyond Mexico. Its fresh take on getting to the background history of the food on our plates will be of use to those interested in food safety, food policy and food security, as well as to scholars of labour, peasant studies and the history of Mexico.”
—Gabriela Soto Laveaga, Journal of Latin American Studies

“[A]n important addition to much more than the ethnographic study of agriculture and the Mexican countryside. . . . This outstanding book is part of a new wave of anthropological scholarship. Fitting combines the strengths of rich local ethnographic work without losing sight of the global nature of agricultural change. . . . Fitting’s book should find a large audience that includes anthropologists, development specialists, those interested in the role and place of genetically modified crops and food studies, as well as specialists in Mexican and Latin American studies.”—Jeffrey H. Cohen, Journal of Anthropological Research

“[T]his is a good and useful book, and scholars interested in genetically
modified crops and the politics of resources in Mexico will find
much to think about within these pages.”
—Nicole Mottier, Agricultural History

“This is a timely contribution that deserves attention... The clear organization
of the text and its lucid prosemake it appropriate for use in upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses such as rural studies, globalization, political ecology, anthropology of food, and social movements, and for those interested in GM foods.”—Alison Elizabeth Lee, Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology

“The Struggle for Maize is an important book about a crucial topic, the debate over the dissemination of genetically modified (GM) corn in Mexico, the crop’s biological center of origin. The debate is significant because the more the modern varieties of corn become disseminated, the more biological diversity is lost, as that diversity depends on the traditional corn varieties cultivated by peasants. Elizabeth Fitting gives us an excellent account of the various positions in the GM corn debate and the connections between international processes and local Mexican communities.”—Gerardo Otero, editor of Food for the Few: Neoliberal Globalism and Biotechnology in Latin America

“Through the case of Mexican maize, Elizabeth Fitting brings fresh insights and sharp analysis to bear on two of the most important and controversial issues in contemporary development studies: the politics of food and GM technology. All of those who are interested in the politics of food and food sovereignty, knowledge, and technology in Mexico and beyond, especially in the context of raging debates about persistent food crises and the future of the peasantry, should read this brilliant book.”—Saturnino M. Borras Jr., co-editor of Transnational Agrarian Movements: Confronting Globalization

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