Olotón corn, the food of the future
He olotón is a variety of corn that has been cultivated by indigenous farmers in the Sierra Mixe since pre-Hispanic times. However, it is not a simple variety, as it has notable advantages that have attracted the attention of transnational companies.
But what are those virtues? One of the main ones is that it has aerial roots that produce a kind of fluid or mucus that covers the plant. This fluid promotes the growth of certain bacteria (symbiotic). These allow nitrogen is fixed and works as a natural fertilizer.
It is worth mentioning that nitrogen is essential for plant fertilization. And although thousands of years ago the primordial lineages had the capacity to “fix atmospheric nitrogen to make their basic blocks”, currently there is a decrease in that capacity or it does not correspond to that demanded by monocultures.
Because of this, The use of chemical methods that fix nitrogen has been used. However, its use is highly polluting. The reason is that to create fertilizers, atmospheric nitrogen is mixed with hydrogen derived from natural gas at very high temperatures. As a consequence, huge amounts of CO2 are released, which greatly contributes to climate change.
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Therefore, the cultivation of olotón corn represents a great alternative to promote more sustainable crops. It should be noted that, in addition, this corn arose thanks to the genetic work carried out by the indigenous people of the Sierra Mixe de Oaxacaso it is a proudly Mexican and ancient innovation (dating back to pre-colonial times).
Thanks to the fact that corn has bacteria that naturally trap atmospheric nitrogen, it can naturally provide up to 80% of the nutrients it requires. This has caused numerous companies to implement this variety of corn in their crops.
However, some have done it through biopiracy. This refers to the fact that they have made various efforts to present this innovation as a product of modern science and not as a scientific advance that we owe to indigenous peoples, so it is important to claim the fact that it is a legacy of the Mexican peasants.
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See comments Stefany Cisneros Lover of literature, photography and discovering the treasures of Mexico.
