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Continued from page 57 – GM Crops: Campaigners inGhana accuse US of Pushing Modified Food"We are deeply worried about what seems like animposition of genetically modified foods on the goodpeople of Ghana without any meaningful publicdiscourse, compounded by attempts to stifle anyopposition."Food Sovereignty Ghana and other domesticorganisations accuse the US and other foreign donors ofpromoting GM foods to west African countries, andtying aid to implementation.According to a leaked cable, the US government washeavily involved in drafting Ghana's 2011 Biosafety Act,which provided a framework for the introduction of GMfoods. The US aid department provided technicalassistance and some funding.The cable said biotech products were being sold inGhana and GM seeds from neighbouring countries werelikely to have migrated over its borders. US companieshave begun requesting permission to conduct trials.The US embassy in Accra declined to respond to arequest by the Guardian to comment on its stance on GMfood in Ghana, but claims about the arrival of GM aresupported by public officials.Duke Tagoe of Food Sovereignty Ghana. Photograph: JoyNews TV"GM foods are used in agriculture. This is somethingyou cannot wish away because it has come and it is inpractice," said John Odame Darkwa, acting chiefexecutive officer of Ghana's Food and Drugs Authority(FDA). "We ensure that any food imported into thecountry is safe."But campaigners say trials of GM foods, which the FDAadmits have been carried out in Ghana, are a violation ofthe law, which states trials require the written approvalof a new body, the National Biosafety Authority. Theproblem, they say, is that this authority does not existyet."Trials are being conducted, but there isn't anyframework in place," said Kweku Dadzie, from FoodSovereignty Ghana. "We are calling for a ban on theimportation, cultivation, consumption and sale ofgenetically modified foods and crops, until the people ofGhana are satisfied that such an important andirrevocable decision is a sound and proper one to make."Dadzie points to a lack of public debate surrounding thepassing of the Biosafety Act. Maxwell Kofi Jumah, MPfor Asokwa, recently admitted on local radio thatministers lacked understanding of the issues.Many opponents of GM crops have pointed to the role ofmultinational companies that sell GM "hybrid" seeds thatdo not self-pollinate, compelling farmers to buy newseeds from the same companies each year, as well as theirpesticides and herbicides.Tagoe said: "Farmers in Ghana have had their own wayof keeping seeds year after year. If these policies areallowed to manifest, Ghanaian farmers will have tochange money into foreign [currency] in order topurchase seeds from overseas firms. The economicimpact on the lives of the farmers will be disastrous. Theorigin of food is seed. Whoever controls the seed controlsthe entire food chain. These seeds are not owned by anyAfrican entity, they are owned by American companies."However, experts say there are advantages to thetechnology. The chief executive of CGIAR Consortiumon agricultural research, Dr Frank Rijsberman, said:"Private companies could develop self-pollinating seedsthat also provide higher yields, but they don't because it'snot profitable."But at the same time, the quality of seeds that pollinatethemselves is often not that great. It can be difficult forfarmers to select the best seeds. The job of seedcompanies is to select seeds that will have a biggeryields. The best hybrid rice, for example, produce about20% better yields than the best self-pollinating seeds."Some say that, instead of looking at yield increasesthrough GM, the focus should be on improving access tomarkets for the crops that are already being grown bygreater investment in extension services and lowtechnologyimprovements in farming."There is huge potential to increase yields using low-costand existing technologies," said Kanayo Nwanze,president of the International Fund for AgriculturalDevelopment, speaking at the Africa Agricultural ScienceWeek in Accra last week. "In Africa, only about 6% ofthe total cultivated land is irrigated … It is estimated thatirrigation alone could increase output by up to 50% inAfrica. Continued on page 5958-- Traditional African Clinic July 2013
Continued from page 58 - GM Crops: Campaigners inGhana accuse US of Pushing Modified Food"Small increases in fertiliser use in sub-Saharan Africacan produce dramatic improvements in yields. Postharvestgrain losses in sub-Saharan Africa average $4bnevery year. This is food that could meet the nutritionalneeds of around 48 million people."Rijsberman said farmers needed better seeds, but alsorequired better access to inputs, access to markets,farming systems and livelihood strategies. "These thingswould go a long way to improving yields and incomes ina country like Ghana," he added.http://www.guardian.co.uk/globaldevelopment/2013/jul/24/gm-crops-ghana-us-geneticallymodified-food☻☻☻☻☻Water in Pesticide SprayLikely Source of Cyclosporain OutbreakFebruary 10, 1997FOOD CHEMICAL NEWSA field investigation in Guatemala conducted by theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) hasindicated that the water used in pesticide solutions is themost likely source of the parasite Cyclosporacayetanensis that caused a multistate outbreak offoodborne illness last summer.Pesticides are mixed with water, then applied toraspberry plants by spraying the mixture onto the soil ordirectly onto the plant. The water used for mixing maycome from wells, reservoirs, and in a few cases, rivers orsprings. In investigating the ten farms implicated in theoutbreak, it was found that two farms obtained waterfrom a river and underground spring and three othersused water stored in reservoirs, some of which wereopen and could easily have become contaminated. Filtersused for the water were not small enough to filter outCyclospora oocysts.The investigation looked at sources of water becauseother investigations of Cyclospora cayetanensis havereported water as the mode of transmission. ThoughCDC investigators concluded that water sprayed onraspberries during pesticide application is the most likelymode of transmission of the parasite, they admitted thatother possibilities cannot be completely ruled out.The CDC report made several recommendations forways to prevent similar outbreaks in the future. One59-- Traditional African Clinic July 2013such recommendation advised that any water used tomix pesticides should meet the standards for potablewater as defined by World Health Organizationguidelines.The report also urged continued cooperation betweenCDC and the Guatemalan exporters' association,GEXPRONT, to help in preventing or tracking anyfuture outbreaks.http://www.ext.colostate.edu/safefood/newsltr/v1n4s03.html☻☻☻☻☻Parasite Sickens 250 inMidwest; Fresh ProduceSuspectedJuly 22, 2013NBC NewsBy JoNel AlecciaInfections caused by the rare parasite cyclospora havesickened about 250 people in several U.S. states, federalhealth officials said Monday. Here, four round oocysts werefound in a fresh sample of human stool.More than 250 people have been sickened, mostly in theMidwest, by a rare parasite that may have contaminatedfresh produce shipped across state lines, said federalhealth officials, who’ve stepped in to help coordinatethe growing outbreak.At least 118 cases of cyclospora infection have beenreported in Iowa, another 65 in Texas and 68 inNebraska, state officials said. Four more cases also havebeen reported in Wisconsin and one each in Illinois andKansas, although the Illinois case may have originatedin Iowa.At least eight people have been hospitalized, the Centersfor Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday.Continued on page 60
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