GM Rice in Africa: 'Hybrid Rice Can't Cure Diarrhea'

Nigeria: 'Hybrid Rice Can't Cure Diarrhea'

March 20, 2007
Posted to the web March 20, 2007
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/200703200219.html
Godwin Haruna
Lagos

Attempts at introducing Genetically Modified (GM) rice as a pharmaceutical crop to treat diarrhea in African children is unnecessary, demeaning and a calculated move to distract from ongoing global programmes to save children suffering from the disease, the Friends of the Earth Africa (FOE Africa), has said.
A new variety of GM rice containing Human genes is set to be approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for large-scale planting in Kansas, United States after two other states barred such plantings. The California-based biotech company, Ventria Bioscience, announced that the rice which had been engineered to produce recombinant human milk protein will be used in oral rehydration solutions to treat diarrhea and also as supplements in yogurt, sports drinks and granola bars.

Friends of the Earth groups in Africa, in a statement issued through Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), condemned the action, stating that barely few months after the illegal contamination of (GM) rice LL601 in Ghana and Sierra Leone; proponents of GMO are once again using Africa to propagate their illegal and unsafe crops.
The group added that despite refusal of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve the recombinant pharmaceutical product as safe, not only was Ventria going ahead with its massive planting of drug-containing rice, but 150 infants from age 5 to 33 months have been used to experiment this technology in Peru, one of Latin American's poorest countries.


According to FoE Africa, parents of the children were not adequately informed of the experimental nature of the treatment, and at least two mothers of infants in the clinical trial reported that their infants suffered serious allergic reactions, causing Peruvian government to launch an enquiry into the experiment.
"Africa does not need a genetically modified solution for diarrhea. The solution of diarrhea lies with its cause, not GMO. We are yet to get over the contamination in West Africa of GM rice as commercial imports and food aid from the United States and now this, we are becoming increasing concerned at diverse moves to permeate GMO in this continent,", said FoE Africa GMO campaigner, Nnimmo Bassey.
The first GM food containing human genes is set to raise many socio economic, cultural, religious as well as ethical questions besides the environmental and health concerns, the groups streesed.