GMO debate continues, despite looming starvation

The severe food deficit has reignited the debate on whether the country should adopt GM food or wait for studies to prove the safety of the produce while people starve.

Commercial Farmers Union President, Charles Taffs, said given the looming food shortage, Zimbabwe should buy GM maize from countries such as South Africa to save lives.

“Zimbabwe should adopt GM technology and see the advantages. GMOs are being consumed the world over, without negative side-effects, and there is no good reason to resist technological advances,” Taffs said.

A US-based professor of Crop Science, Wayne Parrot, of the University of Georgia, is on record indicating that GM food had no side effects on consumers.

“Contrary to common beliefs that GMOs were harmful, studies have shown they are safe for human consumption,” said Parrot. “They are as safe as conventional foodstuffs.”

Zimbabwe instituted a ban on GMOs until studies have been conducted on the possible effects on health and environment. GMOs have been accepted in many African countries, including South Africa, Burkina Faso, Sudan and Egypt.