GOVERNMENT PAPER TAKES AIM AGAINST BIOTECH

UNCLAS HARARE 001611 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/PD, AF/S, AF/RA NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER LONDON FOR GURNEY PARIS FOR NEARY NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PHUM KPAO ZI SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT PAPER TAKES AIM AGAINST BIOTECH FOOD DONATIONS ¶1. Under the headline "We say NO to GM food" the editorial in the July 9 edition of the government- controlled daily "Chronicle" offered a stunningly uninformed diatribe against the supply of biotech food to hungry Zimbabweans. Excerpts: ¶2. ".It.boggles the mind to imagine that there are some among us who want us to throw caution to the wind because we face a drought. Who want us to accept everything that has `drought relief' written on it when in fact it might contain a time bomb. In a nutshell, the so-called private press is on a campaign to have us believe that the government should accept genetically modified maize or food from the U.S. to `save lives.' Yet scientific evidence abounds that GM foods disrupt the natural eco-system. They destroy natural life cycles of plants and even other crops not `resistant' or geared to the `genetics' of the GM organisms. There is no doubt that Zimbabwe needs every helping hand it can get in terms of food aid. But that does not mean that because we have a disaster or what the FAO describes as `serious food shortages' we should accept food laced with poison. For the GM maize being dumped on us by the U.S. is nothing but poison. We cannot expose the entire nation to risk what might result in perennial food shortages for the sake of a mere 10,000 tons of maize that can only feed the nation for just two days. Even were the U.S. to offer us millions of tons of GM maize, the answer will be and should still be an emphatic NO! .Scientific evidence shows quite clearly that when Genetically Modified Organisms were introduced in Europe and the U.S., there were problems. Some experts even venture to say that the lack of forests and wildlife in Europe. is a direct result of GMO effects. We therefore throw our full weight behind the government in rejecting the slap in the face coming in the form of `drought relief.' It is unfortunate that the opposition press is supporting GM maize or food. Law enforcement agents should be on the alert as people with ulterior motives are bound to take advantage of the drought by sneaking in all sorts of GM foodstuffs. Any individuals or companies found with any form of GM food must be severely punished. And any `relief' food must be thoroughly tested and GM food must be burnt without any qualms." ¶3. Comment: While the presumably willful ignorance of biotech science was not surprising from this paper, we were surprised that the editorial showed such ignorance of Government of Zimbabwe's (GoZ) policy on biotech food donations. The GoZ has raised no objection to biotech food delivered in the form of meal -- only whole-grain food has caused concern. We have sent the editor a letter and collection of reputable information about biotech crops and food, but will rely on the GoZ to correct the editor's misrepresentation of official policy on the imports of biotech food. End comment. SULLIVAN