GM Foods: Towards Apocalypse
by Devinder Sharma

Having taken control of one-third of the world's crude oil supplies after a futile search for 'weapons of mass destruction', the Bush administration appears ready to take over the world's food market, justifying this attempt with yet another campaign of factual and emotional deception. Accusing Europe of undercutting efforts to feed starving Africans by blocking the use of genetically modified (GM) crops which could 'dramatically' boost productivity, the administration fired the first missile by formally announcing the launch of a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the European Union’s ban on approving new GM crops [See “Trans-Atlantic Food Fight” by Phil Bereano, GeneWatch Volume 16 Number 3].

"Our partners in Europe are impeding this effort. They have blocked all new biocrops because of unfounded, unscientific fears," Bush said. "This has caused many African nations to avoid investing in biotechnologies for fear that their products will be shut out of European markets. European governments should join — not hinder — the great cause of ending hunger in Africa.” Robert Zoellick, the U.S. Trade Representative, added that the European policy, while contributing to increased starvation in the developing world, also harms the US economy and has stunted the growth of the biotech industry.

The sympathies of the WTO would appear to lie with the United States. Conditions placed on financial assistance from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund — who, with the WTO, dictate global trade and development — have forced developing countries to lower trade barriers, cut subsidies for domestic food producers, and eliminate safety nets for rural agriculture. The WTO Agreement on Agriculture, developed from 1986 to 1994 and implemented during the next five years, has had terrible consequences for small farmers; it could be easily used to permit the U.S. to flood developing countries with GM foods.

Agricultural subsidies in the United States and Europe have already resulted in the massive ‘dumping’ — selling at artificially low prices — of crops in international markets, ultimately forcing millions of small and marginal farmers off their farms and into urban slums. These subsidies are a primary cause of global hunger, destitution and poverty; and it is important to understand that the purpose of agricultural ‘free trade’ policy is not to help developing countries feed themselves, but to make them dependent on the (genetically modified) food produced in technology-rich nations.

It is therefore ironic that the public promotion of GM food revolves around promises to end hunger and famine — joined, of course, with exaggerated claims about the benefits of such crops [See “Feeding the Rich” by Devinder Sharma, GeneWatch Volume 15 Number 3]. At the diplomatic level, of course, the GM offensive is being built around disregard and coercion. A prime example of the former is the United States’ refusal to ratify the Convention on Biological Diversity, whose recently established Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety has been signed by over 100 countries and is intended to ensure, through international rules and regulations, that governments have the information necessary to make informed choices about GM foods and crops [See “Headlines”, page 13]. The ascendance of the WTO is also a major obstacle to the Cartagena Protocol’s development and eventual enforcement.

At the same time, the red-carpet treatment is used to push the GM position; witness the conference held from June 23 to 25 in Sacramento, California, where trade, agriculture and health ministers from 180 countries were entreated by biotechnology company representatives and US Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman. Dissenting voices were kept literally outside as Veneman ‘educated’ — i.e., intimidated — these representatives about the virtues of GM foods, and why they must back the fight of U.S. multinational corporations against global hunger. Indeed, the most glaring abuses of power are committed in the area of food aid, which is often used purely as a vehicle for advancing the commercial interests of agribusiness corporations. The United States’ attempt to force southern and central African countries to accept GM crops against their wishes during the height of last year’s food scarcity, despite the widespread availability of unmodified food, was widely documented and ultimately failed. Now we have HR 1298, "The United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003," passed in May by the U.S. Senate, which makes GM food acceptance a condition of receiving financial aid for combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This blackmail is, of course, given a skein of legitimacy: one section states that "individuals infected with HIV have higher nutritional requirements than individuals who are not infected with HIV, particularly with respect to the need for protein. Also, there is evidence to suggest that the full benefit of therapy to treat HIV/AIDS may not be achieved in individuals who are malnourished, particularly in pregnant and lactating women."

The next sentence reads: "It is therefore the sense of Congress that the US food assistance should be accepted by countries with large populations of individuals infected or living with HIV/AIDS, particularly African countries, in order to help feed such individuals." Along these lines, the Rockefeller Foundation, in collaboration with the Madison Institute, has launched the "Madison Initiative.” Under the guise of humanitarian aid and support, the Initiative is aimed at pushing GM crops to meet the needs of HIV/AIDS affected economies. The basic premise is that HIV/AIDS has taken a heavy toll of able-bodied rural males in most parts of Africa; as a result, there is not enough manpower left there to undertake agricultural operations like spraying of pesticides. Therefore, these countries must accept GM crops, such as Bt cotton, which are supposedly less labor-intensive.

Ironically, this initiative is being executed by The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), a network of sixteen international agricultural research centers devoted to helping disadvantaged people, which has been under tremendous pressure from agribusiness corporations. Their assistance is strikingly symptomatic of the gradual dismantling of research that was instrumental in cultivating food self-sufficiency in many developing countries since the Green revolution. Kenya’s President Moi has agreed to support the Madison Initiative, which will subsequently be extended to other African countries, and then to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand and to other parts of Southeast Asia. It may only be a matter of time before developing countries return to the frightening days of 'ship-to-mouth' existence, completely dependent on other nations for food.

Never before has any government so literally tried to force what it produces down the throats of the world. Never before has the world been forced, for their own good, to accept unproven, potentially hazardous technologies. Never has sound science and technology been sacrificed in such a shameful manner at the altar of commercial growth and profits.

The world has been made to forget the age-old Chinese adage, "if you want to feed a man for a day give him fish. But if you want to feed him for life teach how to catch fish." The ability to catch fish, to produce food locally, has been slowly destroyed. The hungry are now expected to buy food produced by giant corporations with no interest in their well-being.
And therein lies a grave danger.

Devinder Sharma is an Indian journalist, writer and thinker. Trained as an agricultural scientist, Devinder quit active journalism to research policy issues concerning sustainable agriculture and development. His recent works include two books, GATT to WTO: Seeds of Despair and In the Famine Trap. He also chairs the Forum for Biotechnology and Food Security in New Delhi.