via Zimbabweans feasting on GMOs – NewsDay Zimbabwe 2 October 2014
DESPITE the government’s seemingly hard stance on the consumption of genetically modified foods (GMOs), Zimbabweans continue to consume them as the country’s agro-based industries are performing way below par, an economist has said.
Prosper Chitambara, an economist with the Labour and Economic Development Research Institute of Zimbabwe (LEDRIZ), said because the country continued to perform poorly, the majority of people were relying on foodstuffs from neighbouring South Africa, which is the largest producer of GMOs in Africa.
Chitambara said the government needed to come up with economic policies that ensured the economy grew and becomes competitive.
“There is need for policies that can unlock credit and investment and ensure that we have a competitive economy, but at the moment we heavily rely on food imports from South Africa,” Chitambara said at a LEDRIZ informal traders’ workshop in Gweru yesterday.
“Even fruits like apples that come from South Africa are genetically modified,” he said.
Since the decline of Zimbabwe’s economy more than a decade ago, the country has been importing grain, fresh fruit, vegetables and other household groceries from South Africa.
The government has maintained that the production and sale of products containing GMOs remains banned in the country although critics argue that the ban should be lifted to boost food security.
COMMENTS
The worst products come from “looking East” At least South Africans eat the same GMOs as the rest of us. The eastern short guys have products for zimbabewans which they don’t want even their dogs to be exposed to. We’re tired of looking East. The rays coming from the east are destroying us.
GMO food is extremely dangerous. The powers that be in Zimbabwe and the general population need to wake up in this concern and do some study. There are a few good books around and the research show alarming health spin- offs. we are meddling with God’s creation with GMO food!
There is no danger from genetic modification as such. It is only a faster way to do what plant and animal breeders have been doing for thousands of years.
However, it is possible to take a gene that produces a poison from one plant (a great many plants produce poisons) and insert it in another type of plant. The latter would then be poisonous. This would have the same effect as spraying insecticide on the plant.
Or you could add a gene that produces a valuable vitamine and improve the health of millions of people.
The technique itself is not bad. It depends how you use it.
It is ironic that this is taking place when you consider that Zimbabwe was so successful in argri products that we would have been the last to be resorting to GMO’s. I don’t think anybody can ban anything in a country with the corruption levels Zimbabwe has. You just have to see the bribes that are paid at boarder posts. After all when a Senior Minister states in the press that mostly the ones that report corruption are the corrupt ones themselves I don’t think any one will report anything or you might be arrested. Prosper is right that this is caused by the economy performing poorly. Prosper also says“There is need for policies that can unlock credit and investment and ensure that we have a competitive economy, but at the moment we heavily rely on food imports from South Africa,” Of cause we do. If you have farmers that cannot farm and Manufacturers that cannot Manufacture what do you expect. Worse still a Government that cannot Govern.
Nothing wrong with gmo food, especially if you are hungry
John Thomas the point is not whether there is anything wrong with them or not. The fact that with our tiny population and farming structure we did not have to eat them let alone import them. Having said that I would choose the old Mazoe orange fruit to any GMO substitute and the old Red seal roller meal to IWISA from South Africa any day of the week. I would choose the Zimbabwe peanut butter from the 80’s and the buttercup Margarine we manufactured. I would also choose the Zimbabwe T BONE STEAK and the Zimbabwe Roast chicken any time of the day. I would choose the old Eskimo hut ice cream to any ice cream in the world and believe you me I have travelled and eaten ice cream in a lot of countries.
Doc when people get reduced to what Zimbabweans have been reduced to they forget what they had and are happy to get what they can get. The sad thing though is that we could easily get close to what we had if people would wake up and smell the coffee. When a country like Zimbabwe starts exporting eggs then something is very wrong.
Sorry I meant importing eggs
The amount of people in the world consuming GMO foods far out number those who don’t and to be quite frank I don’t see the worlds population slowing up or changing in any way. the same thing was said about cell phone’s how they cooked your brain, don’t see that affecting anybody and is the biggest growing market in the world
Statements like “GMOs are extremely dangerous” without explain how exactly they are dangerous do not help. If people knew the exact science behind the development of GMOs, it will become crystal clear that there is nothing absolutely wrong with them. The developers of these crops should be talking about them more than they are currently doing
It’s a naked lie that apples grown in SA are GMO! GMO for what trait may I ask.
This story is a lie. There are no GM Apples on the market the whole world. This Chitambara guy and the jurno must research before writing falsehoods. The sales of Newsday will suffer if you publish lies.
hey nowonder cancer cases have terribly increased nowadays , just be careful and take care .i would asadvise people to mix with natural foods from kumusha u never know how the phytochemicals interact in the body . It might be good to do so health may improve actually.