World Food Day: GMOs violate right to food safety- HOMEF

Public health experts on the platform of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) have called on the Nigerian Government to halt the introduction of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) into the Nigerian food system, saying that it deprives Nigerians of the right to safe food.

Speaking during an online event organised by the foundation to mark the World Food Day 2024, participants highlighted the implications of modern agricultural biotechnology on the rights of consumers, farmers and the environment, as well as other implications on the food system.

Joyce Brown, a public health expert and HOMEF’s director of Programmes who moderated the event, noted that the theme of World Food Day, ‘The Right To Food For A Better Life And A Better Future,’ was apt and urged the federal government to critically view its decisions regarding the use of GMOs in the food system through the human rights’ lens.

Brown noted that the majority of the Nigerian population reject GMOs due to their economic, environmental and health implications, stressing that the government’s continued approval of permits for these products outrightly tramples on the rights of the people.

Speaking further on the issue of rights, Mariann Bassey-Orovwuje, the deputy director at Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, said: “Our socio-economic system doesn’t support the right of consumers to choose, as labelling is not effective and consumers can’t tell which products are genetically modified or not by their physical characteristics. Our markets are not designed in ways to differentiate between organic foods and GMOs.”

“Another key rights issue is the fact that farmers have to depend on the biotechnology seed companies season after season for seeds as productivity of GM seeds reduces after the first generation. This undermines the culture of seed saving and sharing among local farmers,” Bassey-Orovwuje added.

On the right to information, Segun Adebayo, deputy director of the Centre for Food Safety and Agricultural Research, highlighted that the processes of GMO approval in Nigeria are flawed

“It is not sufficient to announce notification of applications on the website of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) – which many people do not know exists. There are no risk assessment reports/documents on the NBMA website indicating that proper due diligence is done before these products are released into the environment. The composition of the board of the NBMA – with the presence of key promoters of GMOs including the National Biotechnology Development and Research Agency – and other flaws in the biosafety regulatory system in Nigeria necessitate an urgent review of the NBMA Act,” he said.

Ifeanyi Casimir, a molecular biologist, also opined that GMOs directly disrupt the rights of people to a safe environment.

“Studies have revealed that GMOs, designed for pest resistance, increase the dependence on synthetic pesticides which destroy non-target organisms including pollinators and soil living organisms, leading to loss of biodiversity and soil degradation. This has severe implications on food productivity,” he said.

Casimir noted, “The Cry Proteins/toxins produced by the GM crops designed to be pesticides including the TELA Maize, Bt Cowpea and Cotton, disturb rhizospheric and soil eubacterial communities. Furthermore, Bt crops are produced using antibiotic markers which are implicated in increasing cases of antibiotic resistance.”