Posted on 08/02/2002 7:53:15 AM PDT by NYer
LUSAKA, Zambia (AP) _ Zambia is debating whether to reject thousands of tons of genetically modified corn donated by the United States because of fears about its safety, while 2.3 million of its people are threatened with starvation, officials said Thmrsday. Zimbabwe, which faces an even more dire situation, has also expressed concerns over accepting food that some critics have called a threat to human health and the environment.
Though the United States has repeatedly defended the safety of the grain _ modified to produce higher yields and protect against pests _ 19 countries require it to be labeled and the European Union bans the sale of any new engineered products.
As 39,000 tons of U.S. food aid was being unloaded Thursday in South Africa, Zambian Vice President Enock Kavindele told The Associated Press his government would hold a meeting next week with experts and local groups to determine whether it would accept its portion of that grain. President Levy Mwanawasa also expressed reservations. ``It is necessary to examine the maize before we can give it to our people, and I'm certain if it is found to be safe then we will give it. But if it is not, then we would rather starve than get something toxic,'' he told Sky News.
The controversy comes amid the World Food Program's $507 million international appeal for aid for the region, where an estimated 12.8 million people in six southern African countries are threatened with starvation. The U.S. government has pledged $98 million worth of grain, by far the largest donation. WFP spokesman Luis Clemens appealed to the local governments to accept the food, which the U.N. has found to be safe. ``I think people have to consider the moral consequences if there are people starving,'' Clemens said. ``We need to deliver food. Is that food safe? Yes. Can we get it to them? Yes. Let's distribute it.''
U.S. officials said the use of genetically modified corn was so widespread on American farms it would be impossible for the government to separate it from other corn in its aid shipments. ``This is the grain we have. We don't have anything else,'' said Judy Moon, spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in South Africa. ``We're feeding them exactly what we ourselves eat.'' Those reassurances did little to assuage the reservations of Zambian activists. ``As extremely serious as is the food shortage today, it could be even more serious tomorrow if we blindly accept (genetically modified crops) that have the potential to undermine Zambia's sustainable agricultural infrastructure,'' said Peter Henriot, director of the Jesuit Center for Theological Reflection.
The Jesuit center and the Kasisi Agricultural Training Center said in a joint statement Thursday the country would not only be putting its people at risk, but would damage its agricultural infrastructure for years to come. A study by the two groups said the modified corn, if planted instead of eaten, could contaminate other corn with its genes, reducing crop yields and making it difficult for Zambia to export agricultural products to Europe. Zambia has taken U.S. grain before. In May, it shared a shipment of nearly 44,000 tons of corn with Mozambique and Malawi. In the past, the government had no policy on food aid, but according to aid officials, pressure from local groups has pushed the government to consider not accepting the aid.
Zimbabwe, where an estimated 6 million people face hunger, refused to take its portion of that grain, but instead received a shipment of U.S. corn meal, allaying Zimbabwean concerns the modified corn kernels could be planted. Malawi, one of the worst affect countries in the region, said Thursday it had confidence in U.S. assurances the grain was safe and would gladly accept it.
AP-ES-08-02-02 0655EDT
I wonder how much seed corn will be left in Zimbabwe after the year is out. People are starving and will eat scraps, grass and bark, but their government refuses food shipments out of fear of what might happen. Just too incredible to believe. Obviously those making the decisions on rejecting the genetically modified corn have full stomachs.
I don't thing those we offered the grain to, are starving, or there would not be any question about excepting it. I would suggest there are other reasons for the refusal, such as politics.
Or brain death.
If you a government too STUPID to feed yer own people, you are too STUPID to make a choice in this debate!!!!
If Zambia has a sustainable agricultural infrastructure, why is there widespread starvation?
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