Feature Article by Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odikro.

I am so happy and relieved that more and more people are becoming aware of the GMO threat to our lives! And they are not loving it! I used to complain in frustration that we Ghanaians only prefer to discuss football, tribal politics, and homosexuality.

Gone are the days when an article on GMOs attracted only one or two comments, whilst anything on gay rights enjoyed a steady stream of traffic. Now, things have changed.

Under a news item on Ghanaweb's General News of Saturday, 28 December 2013, sourced from Daily Guide, titled "GMO debate sparks confusion among intellectuals", I counted as many as 74 comments! an overwhelming number of which remained strongly opposed to using Ghanaians as GMO guinea pigs.

The thing about GM foods that I find difficult to accept is the fact that they simply want to impose it on us. When anyone complains, all we hear is that they are acting out of fear. Don't we no longer have a right not to eat the food we are afraid of?

The other day, Professor Walter Sando Alhassan, an advocate of GM foods in Africa, was on the radio answering Blakk Rasta's question that as a Muslim, if the genes of a pig is inserted into rice for whatever reasons, he would not eat that rice.

Yet Prof. Alhassan is an avid defender of these corporations who spend millions of dollars against any form of labelling of GM foods! Of course, he would pay lip-service to the calls for labelling, but do everything to ensure that that is not going to happen!

For instance, Prof. Alhassan supports the Plant Breeders' Bill in its current form. He appears even more informed than most of our law-makers, and the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice. He ought to know that by the passage of this Bill, Ghana loses the very right to either ban, or even call for the labelling of GM foods in the future.

Clause 23 of the Plant Breeders' Bill states clearly that "A plant breeder right shall be independent of any measure taken by the Republic to regulate within Ghana the production, certification and marketing of material of a variety or the importation or exportation of the material.”

Just compare this with Article 12 section 2 of the Fourth Republican Constitution of Ghana:

(2) Every person in Ghana, whatever his race, place of origin, political opinion, colour, religion, creed or gender shall be entitled to the fundamental human rights and freedoms of the individual contained in this Chapter but subject to respect for the rights and freedoms of others and for the public interest."

Under the Plant Breeders' Bill, the plant breeder has every right to insert the genes of a pig into rice and bring it to the market without labelling it. Muslims will not even know whether or not the rice they are buying in the market contains the genes of a pig! The law even prevents the government from asking for a label!

Whilst our own human rights are clearly subject to the "respect for the rights and freedoms of others and for public interest", the plant breeders rights are not subject to such things! they are indeed "independent"! And any attempt to control them could attract judgement debts for "the loss of business opportunity and profits".

the real problem is that whilst it is not going to be easy for the consumer to know what is inside the food we are eating, it would be relatively easier for the plant breeder to use food as booby-traps. We know of rats whose testicles turned blue after eating Monsanto's GM food. Sterility ensued.

Monsanto or any racist plant breeder can carefully study the specific effects of GM foods on the human body and use it for a devastating effect! We already know attempts have been made by some sick minds to find some sort of biological weapons that only kill black people. Why should the plant breeder enjoy such a right in a proud, independent, and free country like Ghana?

We must not forget that Monsanto Corporation has a sordid history of being a military contractor to the Pentagon, furnishing the US army with Agent Orange during the Vietnam war. Weaponizing our food for the army is therefore not as far-fetched as an idea for any informed Ghanaian who cares about our safety. So many things can be done to the food.

It is very important that the plant breeders' right is brought under the control of the government. In the 21st century, and with the advent of genetic modification of food, nothing should be ruled out. Your genes could be degraded or altered to such an extent that you might only give birth to homosexuals after eating certain foods, who knows? And they will never come and inform you about it That is why our food must always be under our control!

*Forward Ever! Backwards Never!!!*

*Cheers!*

*Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odikro*