Ban All GM Foods In Ghana!

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• Kofi Osei 9 years ago

  Russian anti-GMO activists raise funds for ‘first-ever’ independent intl research
  May 17, 2014 11:31
  
  RIA Novosti/Igor Zarembo
  As Russian MPs ponder over a draft bill that could see GMOs outlawed, the country’s chi ...
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  Russian anti-GMO activists raise funds for ‘first-ever’ independent intl research
  May 17, 2014 11:31
  
  RIA Novosti/Igor Zarembo
  As Russian MPs ponder over a draft bill that could see GMOs outlawed, the country’s chief genetic safety activist tells RT she is skeptical about the legislative initiative and urges ‘long-overdue’ independent international research.
  GMO production and distribution is likened to terrorism by the authors of a draft bill submitted to the Russian parliament earlier this week. It’s not the first comparison of the kind, according to Elena Sharoykina, director of the Genetic Safety Public Association (GSPA), a 10-year-old NGO in Moscow, Russia’s major campaigner for GM-free food and agriculture.
  
  In an interview to RT, Sharoykina recalled a statement made by the NATO Committee on the Challenges to Modern Society in the Belgian city of Liege in 2004, in which it warned that GMOs may be used as a genetic weapon.
  
  “If serious international experts on security who have close ties with the scientific community say this is possible then there’s no smoke without fire,” Sharoykina said.
  
  The GSPA director is still skeptical about the draft bill, as she sees no way in which the legislation could be enforced in practice, as it would be hard to prove a direct link between certain GMOs and health or environmental problems.
  
  The activist however cites some disturbing experiment results, like the one GSPA conducted with the help of the A.N. Severtsev Institute of Ecology and Evolution in 2010.
  
  “We conducted an experiment on hamsters taken from the natural environment,” Sharoykina said. “We had a group that was given standard feed-stuff plus pure soy and another group which had their standard feed-stuff combined with GM soy. The animals which were eating GMO did not have their third generation born.”
  
  Elena Sharoykina, director of the Genetic Safety Public Association (GSPA). Photo from vk.com/oagbru
  The GSPA director confesses it was a modest, underfunded experiment and a more serious and comprehensive one is needed and is going to be conducted in Russia. The NGO has already enrolled a team of researchers from the US, France, the UK, China and Russia and will make sure the experiment will comply with all international standards. It’s also going to be available for everyone to follow online.
  
  The GSPA is raising funds from as many sources as possible for the experiment to come up to the group’s claims – the first-ever independent international research on GMO.
  
  Until results of this kind of experiment become available, Russia should abstain from opening its market to GMOs, despite economic losses the step might incur, the expert says.
  
  “How can we think about money when we’re talking about the health of our close ones?” Sharoykina asks. “Russia has huge territories and doesn’t need GM foods. Moreover, we have all the chances of dominating the clean, unmodified food market.”
  
  After entering the World Trade Organization, Russia was expected to allow GM foods production and distribution. However, in March Russia’s president said the country was able stay GM-free without violating its obligations to the WTO.
  
  In April, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told MPs that Russia will not plant GM seeds for at least three more years due to delays in creating the necessary infrastructure. Earlier Russia had expected to allow planting such seeds from June 2014.

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• Nana Oben 9 years ago

  Until recently, all attempts by many US states to legislatively demand labeling of ALL GMO foods, so as to give the consumer a choice) failed. THe big Agro-businesses poured money to defeat such ballots. So concerned citizens ...
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  Until recently, all attempts by many US states to legislatively demand labeling of ALL GMO foods, so as to give the consumer a choice) failed. THe big Agro-businesses poured money to defeat such ballots. So concerned citizens, farmers, and processors are now labeling thier products "NON-GMO".
  Now, some counties in AMERICA ARE ACTUALLY BANNING GMO FARMING. It seems they have now seen the light.
  
  The just ended Senchi fiasco is a perfect example of "EVERYTHING IS OR WILL BE FINE", while ignoring all sane advice. Our current economic maladministration may be transient and therefore repairable. THE FALLOUT OF OUR CAPITULATION TO THE MULTINATIONALS' GMO MAY BE IRREPARABLE. Are all the PhD's in our parliament and government good for only bribes and kickbacks? Can't they read on the web any of the studies and stories that have informed legislators and scientists elsewhere to safeguard our sovereignty, economics and health? Good Lord! What a bunch of-----

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• Asanco 9 years ago

  Agro-ecological agricultural is good but GMF is great. GMF won't replace classical or mutation breeding. Its a technological application to solve the problems of agriculture production taking its root cause from genetic perce ...
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  Agro-ecological agricultural is good but GMF is great. GMF won't replace classical or mutation breeding. Its a technological application to solve the problems of agriculture production taking its root cause from genetic perceptive.
  the academia (researchers and educators) are responsible for commending GMFs and not social commentators.
  Those of us in the Sub-Saharan Africa needs GMFs into our agriculture value chain.
  I support sufficient education about the GMFs and related issues. The public can contact science faculties of institutions of higher learning (eg Universities) and research agencies (eg Gh Atomic Energy Commission and Centre for Scientific Research institute)for correct information.
  GMF are safe and beneficial

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