One other point about Mexico and corn is the genetic modification of this crop which Mexico did not want. Food as a weapon is alive and well, the massive federal sudsidies to ADM, Cargill, Con Agra and others must end.

the key here is the concentration and anti-competitive practices right now in agribusiness- Mexico suffers under many of the worst monopolies in the world. The solution: anti-trust policy in Mexico.

J.S.

Interesting story. I had a quick note pertaining to the picture.  The sign the woman is holding seems to say "NO QUEREMOS al PAN" which to me is a reference to the Partido Accion Nacional (Mexico's National Action Party) and not simply just to the bread.  I think that it has a double meaning, the less obvious one to the political party.

"We don't want the National Action Party (PAN)" we want tortillas.

Just a thought>..

Having lived in a largely indiginous section of Mexico and witnessed the deterioration of their diet caused by an influx of processed junk and coca-cola(when one is forced to wonder why a bottle of soda costs LESS than a bottle of water of the same size from the same company) I'd go so far as to say that corn torillas and other corn products are currently the dietary saving grace to these people. They provide a protein and vitamin rich staple that cannot be replaced by depleted substitutes without serious risks to public health. I can only hope that the goverment of Mexico, while notoriously corrupt on many levels, but which does in my opinion have a significant presence in the mandatory enrichment of popular junkfoods and a very visible nutritional advertising campaign will not dissapoint at this very crucial juncture.

We need to remember that companies like ADM and Cargill, among others, are actually key to helping keep prices down at the market by having the ability to produce at such large quantities and sell at a lower margin in order to stay competitive in a difficult market.  Also, though it was mentioned that mexican tortilla's are made from white corn it still seems to make the argument that ADM and Cargill are the cause of the increase in price of these commodities even though white corn is not a player in the ethanol market.  Oh, and ADM is our second largest agribusiness company, far behind Cargill.  Mistakes like that leave people like me questioning your credibility.