Zimbabwe: Controversy over genetically modified food

by Lewis Machipisa

Harare, Jun 9 -- Scientists and consumer groups in Zimbabwe are calling on the government to tighten legislation to control the importation of genetically modified seeds, plants and food, which could be quietly entering the local market.

"In developed countries you cannot take in even cooked foods," says Lilian Marovatsanga, director of the Institute of Food, Nutrition and Family Sciences at the University of Zimbabwe.

"One only needs to bring into Zimbabwe the seeds and we could be eating genetically modified food without knowing it. That's a real threat we are faced with," she says.

According to Marovatsanga, the people manning the country's entry points are not trained enough to implement food control measures.

"Beginning next year, we are introducing a diploma in Food Control at the University of Zimbabwe with the help of Dutch trainers," Marovarsanga told IPS.

No one knows for sure yet whether genetically modified food products are on sale in the country. But Victor Chisi, regional manager of the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) has "strong suspicion it is".

Although Zimbabwe exports food products, by and large it is net importer of food. Over the past few years, South African products have been flooding the Zimbabwean market. South Africa and the European Union (EU) have signed a free trade agreement which analysts fear will see EU goods overflow in the Zimbabwean market. EU is the largest importer of genetically modified food from the U.S.

"As a result of liberalisation, a lot of products are finding their way into Zimbabwe and some of them could be genetically modified," says Chisi. "Genetically modified food looks like any other food, sometimes even better and it's very difficult to identify."

Genetically modified products could be hazardous to human health and to the environment. Unfortunately, there is no government policy to deal with genetically modified food products being imported into the country, according to David Nharia, an official at the Government Analyst Laboratory in the capital Harare. "It's quite possible that some of the food we are eating is genetically modified," Nhari told IPS this week.

"Not much is known about which genetically modified food products are coming into our country because at the moment we don't have the means to test for these things," says Marovatsanga. "The sad thing is that we can't stop it. This is a reality... That is one of the problems with globalisation. We believe international organisations like the World Trade Organisation, the World Health Organisation and Food and Agriculture Organisation should try and put international standards to assist poor countries."

"Right now we could actually be eating it without knowing the side effects. We could end up with big bellies and big bum, nobody knows," Marovatsanga says. "Or we could end up becoming infertile."

Marovatsanga's fears are founded. When in 1996 the Japanese health ministry approved the local sale of 20 types of genetically modified food products, including soybeans and rapeseed that are an essential part of the Japanese diet, there was an outcry in the country from consumers.

Why? Genetically engineered soybeans and rapeseed, 90% of whose supply comes from imports, are resistant to herbicides. Bacterial genes in these crops allow them to tolerate chemical weed- killers. Genetically modified corn and potatoes secrete insecticidal toxins that kill pests.

While this results in plants becoming easier to grow, cheaper and have longer shelf, Japanese activists were not all too convinced about the merits of this technological breakthrough.

One Japanese chemistry professor cited reports that the use of chemical weed-killers on transgenic soybeans stimulate production of a soybean estrogen, a harmful substance similar to the female sex hormone.

"The feeling is that since the scientific testing is very difficult for countries like Zimbabwe, there must be specific labelling of these products. We can't stop it from coming into Zimbabwe." says Nhari.

The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe agrees. "All genetically engineered food should be labelled," says Chisi. "It's the consumers' right to know what they are buying and eating... While in Europe there is a lot of pressure to urge consumers to resist it, in Zimbabwe not much is known about it. But indications so far show that the food has side effects relating to health such as cancer and hypertension. The full picture has not been unravelled yet."

Chisi says they "are worried that while the developed world has complimentary medical facilities to deal with whatever side effects may arise from consuming genetically modified food products, we don't have those facilities in the developing world." He says the CCZ will link up with other consumer groups across the world to learn and be aware of the product brands.

"We are treating genetically modified food products as unsafe as long as there are no labelling on it and consumers not given enough information. But for now we should insist that they are labelled," says Chisi.

The CCZ is calling for tighter regulations on genetically engineered food or delay their imports, seeds and plants included, till their health risks can be scientifically evaluated.

However the U.S., the main exporter of genetically modified food, has complained that obligatory labelling would constitute a non- tariff trade barrier. (IPS)

The above article by the Inter Press Service appeared in the South-North Development Monitor (SUNS).