WASHINGTON / BENIN CITY (NIGERIA), May 23,
2003 -- Food aid has now become controversial on four continents because of U.S.
Genetically Modified (GM) food donations, according to a new report* released by Friends
of the Earth International today. In a letter and the report released today, Friends of the
Earth demanded that the U.S. stop using hunger as a political and marketing tool to
benefit big agri-business.
In May 2003 the U.S. Congress has
passed legislation tying AIDS assistance to acceptance of Genetically Modified Organisms,
or GMOs [i]. At the same time, the U.S. has also filed a case at the World Trade
Organization against the European Union moratorium on GMOs.
The U.S. should stop playing
with hunger. Having attempted to use USAIDs famine relief programme to dump unwanted
GM maize in Southern Africa they are now resorting to even more unacceptable methods.
African nations should have the right to decide what their people are fed. It is immoral
for the U.S. to exploit famine and the AIDS crisis in this way, said Nnimmo Bassey,
Director of Environmental Rights Action / Friends of the Earth-Nigeria.
Controversy over genetically
modified food aid arose in 2000 and grew increasingly in 2002, whenseveral Southern
African countries refused GM food aid during a food crisis. African countries were
presented with a situation where either they accepted GMOs or many people would die.
Several countries -- like Mozambique and Zimbabwe -- rejected GM corn due to environmental
concerns, but accepted milled GM corn. Only Zambia decided to reject GM corn in both grain
and milled forms, citing health concerns. Several initial reports coming from Zambia
suggest that the country has so far been able to cope with the food crisis without GM food
aid.
The recently announced World Trade
Organization (WTO) case filed by the U.S. against the EU underscores a renewed
controversy. The U.S. is again blaming the EU moratorium on GMOs as being the cause of
African rejection of GM food aid. [ii] However, the EU recently strongly rejected such
accusations. [iii]
There are also concerns that a U.S.
AIDS spending legislation bill which passed the US Senate May 15th and earlier passed the
House includes a GMO amendment which ties AIDS assistance to acceptance of GMOs. [i]
Friends of the Earth
Internationals report released today and entitled Playing with Hunger,
presents a compilation of case studies related to the shipment of GMOs in food aid to four
continents since the year 2000.
It concludes that the controversy
over GM food aid during the Southern Africa crisis should have been anticipated by the
U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) and the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID). Both agencies have been aware since 2000 of the problems and controversies over
food aid and GMOs, and should have guaranteed real alternatives to GM food aid to the
countries in need.
A letter urging the USAID and the
WFP to take the necessary steps to guarantee that in the future GMOs are not forced, via
food aid, to any country was sent today by Friends of the Earth. According to Nnimmo
Bassey, There were alternatives to GMOs but African countries were left without a
choice. This should not happen again. We call on the World Food Programme and other donors
to ensure they will always make available real alternatives in the future.
The report also gives more evidence
about cynical US policy over GM food aid, and criticizes the food aid system. Ricardo
Navarro, Salvadorean chairman of Friends of the Earth International said: Food aid
is being used, particularly by the US, as a marketing tool to capture new markets. Big
agribusinesses are huge beneficiaries of the current food aid system. There is a need for
stricter regulation of food aid to prevent it from being used as a way to open up new
markets for GM products.
Todays report was released
exactly one month ahead of an international summit on agriculture due from June 23-25,
2003 in Sacramento (US). The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), USAID, and
the US State Department are hosting the summit to which Ministers of Trade, Agriculture,
and Environment from 180 nations have been invited. It is expected that this
Ministerial Conference and EXPO on Agricultural Science and Technology will be
used by the US government to promote GM crops in developing countries. The USDA and USAID
are in charge of managing some of the worlds largest food aid programmes.
..................... Notes to
editors
* : The report is available for
download at the Friends of the Earth International website : www.foei.org/publications/gmo
[i] 1 H.R.1298 United States
Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 passed the Senate on
May 15th. To view full text of the bill Go to Congressional record: http://thomas.loc.gov/r108/r108.html,
Click on Daily Digest, May 15, and afterwards click on Senate passed H.R.1298, United
States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act. Then click on the last
version, Section 104a
[ii] Zoellick, R. May 14th.
Transcript: USTR says WTO biotech ban case aims to quell fears. This dangerous
effect of the EUs moratorium became painfully evident last fall when some
famine-stricken African countries refused US food aid because of fabricated fears stoked
by irresponsible rhetoric about food safety.
[iii] European Commission. May 2003.
European Commission regrets US Decision to file WTO Case on GMOs as misguided and
unnecessary. The EU has rejected US arguments over the EU responsibility during the
African food crisis. They said: food aid to starving populations should be about
meeting the urgent humanitarian needs of those who are in need. It should not be about
trying to advance the case for GM food abroad, or planting GM crops for export, or indeed
finding outlets for domestic surplus, which is a regrettable of the US food aid
policy
For more information please contact:
In Nigeria (Africa) Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director Friends of the Earth Nigeria Tel: +
234-52-600165 or +234-80-23176577 E-mail: eraction@infoweb.abs.net
, In El Salvador (Central America) Ricardo Navarro, Chairman Friends of the Earth
International. Tel: +503-2200046 or +503-2206480 E-mail: foeichair@navegante.com.sv , In Washington
(U.S.), Larry Bohlen, Friends of the Earth US Tel: + 1-202-783-7400 ext. 251 E-mail: lbohlen@foe.org , In Brussels (Belgium), Juan Lopez,
Friends of the Earth International Tel: +32-2-5420180 or +32-477-391496 , E-mail: juan.lopez@foeeurope.org
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