US Expert Okays GMOs
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New Vision (Kampala)
April 7, 2004
Posted to the web April 7, 2004
Patrick Luganda
Kampala
The United States special negotiator for biotechnology has advised the country to embrace Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) technology for the benefit of the national agriculture and economy.
Peter Chase, the US State Department Special Negotiator for Biotechnology now on a visit in Uganda has assured Uganda and other African countries that GMO foods grown here would have a market in Europe contrary to media reports.
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Speaking at a press interview at the Sheraton Hotel, Chase said the United States was surprised by the rejection of GMO donated relief food to Zambia and Zimbabwe citing fears that their agricultural exports would not find a market in Europe.
"It never entered our minds that this food would be a problem because this is the very food we eat all the time in America...When it was said Europe would close its markets to imports from here...there was concern that governments had taken decisions based on bad information," he observed.
Pressed further as to why people went to the extent of preferring to die of hunger rather than consume the relief food, Chase said, "I doubt if one would choose to die rather than eat the relief aid. This was a decision of governments not the people," he said.
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He said that fears that the European market can reject GMOs were incorrect.
"Europe is the biggest importer of GMO soybean in the world amounting to $11billion annually. Europe cultivates GMO maize with Spain alone growing more than 50,00 hectares of GMO maize per year," he said.
FN Lugemwa
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