GMO AFRICA

Blog and news on the benefits of genetically modified food in Africa.

A flawed argument against GM crops

Published by GMO Africa | Filed under GMO Africa Blog

This week I revisit the relevance of GM crops to Africa’s agriculture. Two anti-biotech activists from South Africa prompt me to do so.

Andrew Taynton of South African Freeze Alliance on Genetic Engineering (SAFeAGE) and Dulcie Krige, a social scientist, claim GM crops aren’t the solution to food insecurity that bedevils Africa today. Writing in the Legal Brief, the two, in their article entitled, “Are GM crops the solution to Africa’s food problems?” argue food sustainability in Africa is possible without crop genetic engineering.

“…thousands of years of careful seed selection by African farmers has given rise to local varieties with valuable attributes such as drought and disease resistance,” they observe. To them, seed scientists can use a marriage of indigenous knowledge and modern technology to produce “…varieties which result in increased yields and disease resistance without running the risks associated with GM.”

Taynton and Krige identify Marker Assisted Systems (MAS) as one of the technologies that Africans must embrace in place of agricultural biotechnology. They argue it’s safe and cost effective. They even sneaked in a quote Jeff Cox, Monsanto’s Northern Europe, made in August 2002, to the effect that Marker Assisted Systems (MAS) could be used to boost crop yields, to bolster their argument.

The two take issue with GM crops out of concern that biotech companies’ sole interest is to patent seeds, then sell them to farmers at rooftop prices. Here, the obvious targets as usual are multinational biotech companies like Monsanto, DuPont and Bayer. My question is, if the problem is corporate profiteering, why should Africa not see this as an opportunity to invest in GM seeds production? Africa has a galaxy of scientists who can make great marks in this field.

The debate on GM crops’ relevance to Africa is as old as the technology behind them. There are those, like Tayton and Krige, who believe GM crops have no role to play in Africa’s agriculture. There are others, like myself, who deride the argument that Africa must avoid GM crops at all costs. Other continents are practicing agricultural biotechnology, and so should Africa.

I agree GM crops might not solve all of Africa’s food problems, but they have a pivotal role to play to solve the problem. It would be an aberration to, even, declare GM crops the cure to global food problems.

Every technology, including crop genetic engineering, has a value to a particular segment of the society. Farmers who prefer Marker Assisted Systems technology, for instance, must be allowed to embrace it, while those for GM crops should be left to their own devices. There’s nothing like mutual exclusivity, where the adoption of one agricultural technology automatically excludes the other.

People must stop inciting African farmers against technologies, such as agricultural biotechnology, that might improve their bottom line.

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November 22nd, 2007.


4 Responses to “A flawed argument against GM crops”

  1. Bill Says:
    November 23rd, 2007 at 9:15 pm

    I believe it is only a matter of time before science catches up with GMO’s and discovers serious, unforeseen health-safety consequences.

    Pro-GMO activists will tell you that we have been doing ‘genetic modification’ for centuries, so why all the fuss over GMO’s? Fact is, recombinant DNA technologies (what most people are referring to when they use the term ‘GMO’) were first discovered in 1973 and were not used commercially until 1996. This technology (which allows not only trans-species transgenics, but also trans-kingdom transgencis) is potentially dangerous, and its discovery triggered the 1975 Asilomar Conference in Pacific Grove, California.

    From a July 1, 2007 article in the New York Times (’A Challenge to Gene Theory, a Tougher Look at Biotech’ - Denise Caruso): “Evidence of a networked genome shatters the scientific basis for virtually every official risk assessment of today’s commercial biotech products, from genetically engineered crops to pharmaceuticals.”

    So it goes with scientific proclamations: what is safe today is a health hazard tomorrow.

    Let’s hope it’s not too late when science catches up – once they are let loose on the environment, you cannot recall genes.

  2. Biotech Brasil » A flawed argument against GM crops Says:
    November 27th, 2007 at 3:09 am

    [...] GMO Africa November 22, 2007 [...]

  3. Fran Long Says:
    June 30th, 2008 at 12:27 pm

    I am afraid that your arguements are not compassionate enough for me to believe that GM foods are the answer to the natural, economic and political devastation in areas of Africa.
    If scientist, economists and politicians use morals to drive their efforts rather than money, they will find vast and sustainable ways to help our human friends that are in need.
    If an organization cannot truly fundamentally assist Africa, then stay away.

  4. F. L. Says:
    June 30th, 2008 at 1:17 pm

    My tone is strongly entrenched in confrontation at this point for these reasons…

    I have been advocating for the simple labelling of GMO foods in Canada. Why not label?
    What are politicians in need of hiding?
    I think that our brilliant and educated scientists would not mind regulations that enforce the labeling of GMO foods. Unless they are being pressured not to condone labeling of course.
    My comments are not directed against the science community…
    The business and political leaders involved are determined not to lable GMOs.
    It is very very frustrating. I would like to eat organically but not pay for food that is grown organically while using GMO seeds. This sounds outrageous. Organic GMOs? Marketing genius or marketing genocide?
    I ask for labelling. I believe in choice and I feel that my intelligence and sense of judgement should be respected by our global leaders. We stand for human rights around the world and labeling is a human right.
    When politicians waste our tax dollars and work on our time to convince us that our fears are wrong, then I am going to become upset. You would all feel the same, no doubt.
    The government is in the process of banning simple foods and herbs because they consider them dangerous to the public. Yet they have no problems introducing a very young science into our food chain. I consider that irresponsible and contradictory. I do not trust the WHO/FAO/UN/American or Canadian or Mexican government to do what is right for me, or for naturalists, libertarians, all cultures and all races.
    We value life and feel that the problems with food distribution, politics and economics are to be blamed for the food shortage. Four of my siblings are scientists and educators. They understand both sides of the picture. They are not convinced that GM foods or the latest in nanotechnology are the answer. I ask for labelling and that is what we should all press for if we believe in progress and innovation.

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