Nneka Nwogwugwu
In the move to create awareness on the harmful
effects of genetically modified organisms in foods,
environmental activists have demanded that there
should be a total overhaul of regulatory agency
supporting and approving importation of genetically
modified crops and foods in Nigeria.
NatureNews reports that the National Biosafety
Management Agency (NBMA), is the agency
responsible for regulating biotechnology and
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). The
agency rejects or approves GMOs and its activities
in Nigeria.
The activists in their demand, charged the Nigerian
government to stop the introduction of genetically
modified seeds which they describe as ‘’improved
seeds’’ to farmers.
The activists made these submissions at a media
training on ‘’My food is African campaign’’ on
Wednesday, January 25, organized by the Health of
Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) in Port
Harcourt.
The Executive Director of HOMEF, Nnimmo Bassey,
while speaking on the implications of consuming
GMO foods, decried that many Nigerians including
farmers are not aware of what they consume.
According to him, these foods with GMOs are most
times brought from the laboratories and are
exported to different countries.
He said, ‘’ Farmers are not told they are planting
GMOs, they tell them that there are improved
seeds. They are deceiving Nigerians to eat
unhealthy foods. The biosafety agency should be
overhauled.’’
Speaking on how to identify GMO products, he said,
‘’You can identify GMO products by reading the
ingredients. They are labelled with the GMO
inscription on the products but crops harvested
from the farm are always difficult to identify
because they are not usually labelled.
‘’This is why it is very dangerous. In other countries,
they label the ones that have GMO but in Nigerian
markets, they are not labelled. For example we are
now having GMO beans and beans sold in the
markets are not labelled.
‘’Nigeria’s safety laws require that GMOs should be
labelled but it’s not working in reality. We hope that
the new government will wake up to fight these
things. Africa is really at risk because if there are
health issues, we don’t have a health system that
can withstand those challenges and Nigeria doesn’t
need GMOs to feed its population.’’
Bassey, who spoke on the topic ‘’ Food, Culture, and
Colonialism’’ said that change in African food
system can be traced from colonialism through the
practice of plantation agriculture.
He said, ‘’ Plantation agriculture encapsulates the
core practice of colonialism. It entailed land use
conversion — often through massive deforestation
and land grabbing. Colonial agriculture thrived not
only by producing crops for export, but it also
benefited from altering the appetites of the
colonized.
‘’These changes did not happen only through
advertisements, the indigenous foods were
denigrated as uncivilized and sometimes simply
forgotten due to a chronic absence of the crops or
ingredients for preparing the foods. Today, the
erosion of varieties is exacerbated by many related
factors including the prevalence of junk foods,
hybridization of crop varieties, genetic
manipulations, and hostile seed laws.’’
He urged that to revive food systems in Africa, both
individuals and African governments should take
the first step of liberation and decolonize our food
system so that crop varieties can be preserved.
‘’By decolonizing our food system, we are going to
rebuild our food system by recovering our culture,
supporting farmers with extension services,
upgrading rural infrastructure, ensuring farmers
have access to land, increasing local varieties and
bringing farmers to participate in the formulation
and implementation of food policies.
Also speaking on the topic, ‘’Changing diet and right
to food sovereignty,’’ Dr Jacqueline IKeotuonye,
Country Director for Biointegrity and Natural Foods
Awareness Initiative, said one of the challenges
humans face in food system is the ones created by
man.
IKeotuonye noted that GMOs are unhealthy and
cancerous to the human body, highlighting that
they are found in processed foods, staple foods and
fruits.
She warned that there are no significant advantages
of using GMO crops, saying that, Biotechnology
companies only introduce GMOs to make profits.
She also warned that the assurance of regulatory
agency that GMOs are used to fight herbicides, is
wrong and deceitful, adding that there are natural
foods that are available to feed Nigerian teeming
population.
She charged the government to empower farmers
with requisite facilities they need to improve food
system and agriculture in Nigeria.
Programmes manager of HOMEF, Joyce Brown,
while speaking on regulations and laws against
GMOs, informed that research has shown that over
30 different products mostly imported from USA,
China, India and South Africa, labelled to be
produced with genetically modified ingredients are
in the Nigerian market. She said that cereals,
vegetable oils, spices and processed foods contain
GMOs.
She urged the media to give objective information
about GMOs to the public so that the layman can
become aware and take proactive measures against
it.