Experts:
GM Foods Dangerous If Used As Main Meals 

DAUTI KAURA / The East African Standard (Nairobi) 2feb04

Nairobi—Three months ago, the United Nations Bio-safety Protocol allowed countries, under international law, to ban food imports containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that they think is unsafe.

But even as the EU pushes for stiffer penalties against GM foods, some proponents of GM foods are of the opinion that the ban may have an "adverse effect on biological diversity and human health."

Yet, the United States of America (USA), the biggest contributor of relief food to the world's biggest food agency, the World Food Programme (WFP), has said that it will not guarantee that its food aid will not necessary be genetically modified.

The UN Bio-safety Protocol immediately angered the US, which argued that the protocol breached World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules on free trade.

The arising disputes threaten to suck in developing countries, which rely on the two for agriculture produce and food subsidies. Tewolde Egziabher, one of the architects of Bio-safety Protocol and Director of Ethiopia's Environmental Protection Authority has termed the US stand as designed to intimidate the African Countries. "They want to use the protocol to set up their own systems for regulating imports of GM foods, including US food aid."

In Kenya, the GM proponents and food technologists are divided. Sam Omondi, a Food technologist, says that the raging debate on GM foods in Kenya—as indeed in the rest of the world—is not one of right or wrong, "but one of proper legislation by respective Governments who must set standards and regulations to be followed."

These standards must take into account the people's health and also safeguard the environment. As a matter of fact, Friends of the Earth campaigns director, Liana Staples, points out that the US government seems to be attempting to bulldoze other countries without regard to their rights to protect their people and the environment.

But Kenya's own scientist and pioneer in the science of GM foods, Dr Florence Wambugu, argues that GM foods are good for Africa because Africa's priority is food security and anything that will increase crop yields should be greatly encouraged. Dr Wambugu pioneered the first genetically modified sweet potato in Africa in the early 1990s.

Supporters of bio-engineered foods like Wambugu observe that in less developing countries struggling to meet the food demands for their people, biotechnology has come in handy as a tool that can be used to raise crop yields, create drought resistant crops and boost nutrition for millions of half starving people.

The scientist cites, for example, the experiment of farmers growing tissue-cultured bananas in East Africa that has been able to triple their incomes and double the yields.

Others argue that while Europe and the US can have the luxury of engaging in academic debates on food security, Africa can hardly afford to do the same. One of the most frequently asked questions is to do with the risks involved in genetic engineering.

Scientifically, genes determine traits of individuals. Genes from unrelated species do not naturally mix.

However, through genetic engineering, a gene or genes from a totally unrelated species can be introduced into another.

For instance, a bacterium can be introduced into a maize seedling and from humans to bacteria. In the beginning of the year, the drought stricken southern Africa countries urgently required food aid.

When the US responded by offering genetically engineered foods, Zambia, one of the famine stricken countries, refjected it for fear that it could have negative impact on the people.

Other countries like Malawi and Zimbabwe said they had accepted that there could be risks to agriculture but not to human health. The two countries thus insisted that GM maize be imported only as flour. Recently, a study to estimate the risks to human health by genetically engineered maize was conducted in the US and Sweden.

The study showed that the prevalence of unexplained alimentary canal complications in the US where GM foods are allowed was higher than in Sweden where GM foods are not allowed. Yet in the US, GM maize constitutes only a small percentage of the diet. Thus, food experts are arguing that if GM maize were to be given to people as the main diet, it would be more devastating.

Experts have also warned that when GM maize is eaten in large quantities, it is possible that human reproduction will be reduced, as has been the case among pigs. Maize is the most important food crop in most of the sub-Saharan Africa and such a contamination would be a major disaster. Other experts have argued that contrary to popular belief, the introduction of GM maize will not increase yields.

They say that various studies have shown that GM crops usually yield lower than their respective non-GM equivalents. In Africa, South Africa is by far the most advanced in the use of genetically modified organisms. But the anti-GM groups in South Africa want the government to hold off all GM food imports and exports as well as their cultivation until there has been sufficient public debate.

Africa is the biggest market for South African cereals, and the government would not be keen to lose the market.

source: http://allafrica.com/stories/200402020914.html 6feb04