CSOs Charges Reps on Prohibition of GMO Products

By Angel Ike

The Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) has called on the members of the House of Representatives to prohibit use and consumption of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) in Nigeria to protect the environment and the health of citizen.

The group made the call at a public hearing on GMO organised by Joint Committees on Agricultural Production and Services, Privatisation, Commercialisation, Public Asset, Science Engineering and Special Duties at the National Assembly, on Tuesday.

The Director of Programmes, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Joyce Brown who led the coalition to the committee said the rising cases of cancer and other related illnesses are traceable to the use and consumption of GMO.

They explained that GMOs are products of genetic engineering which is a technology that allows scientists to create plants, animals and micro-organisms by manipulating genes at the cellular level in a way that is not possible via traditional or natural processes.

it allows DNA from one type of organism to be introduced into another related or unrelated species; genetic manipulation is also done within a single organism.

The group said campaign against GMOs is particularly against genetic modification of food crops and animals and any other genetic modification that will alter ecosystem balance, negatively impact agriculture, destroy local economy and foods.

They said that 19 European Union countries, four Asian countries, two African countries, five countries in the Americas have banned GMOs.

According to them, up to 64 countries require manufacturers to label foods with GMOs as an increasing number of people around the world are choosing to eat organic and non-GMO products.

The coalition said that nearly all studies that claim GMOs are safe are funded by the very biotechnology corporations that produce and profit from GMOs sales.

The coalition explained that GMOs have direct implications on biodiversity saying that over 80 per cent of GMOs are designed to be herbicide tolerant.

The CSOs argued that farmers who have been given GM seed to plant as well as extension workers have complained that although GMOs may perform well in the first planting season in terms of productivity, their productivity drastically declines in the second planting season.

They explained that farmers cannot replant these seeds but have to continuously purchase the seeds every new season.

Some members of the coalition include Free Nigeria Alliance, Center for Food Safety and Agricultural Research (CEFSAR) Corporate Accountability and Public Participation for Africa (CAPPA) Women Environmental Programme and Food and Health Limited, among others.