Amid controversy over whether or not Genetically Modified (GM) food is appropriate for consumption, biotechnologists insist that the foods are safe.
According to them, it is produced from plant organisms that have undergone changes introduced into their DNA by applying genetic engineering.
They argue that genetic engineering techniques allow for the introduction of new traits of living organisms as well as greater control over methods of the traditional selective and mutation breeding.
They note that genetically modified crops have been engineered for resistance to pathogens and herbicides for better nutrient profiles.
This explanation notwithstanding, observers have expressed fears about the safety of such foods, arguing that the primary focus of the technology has been on cash crops such as soybean, corn, canola, and cotton seed oil to ensure high yields.
They argue that the controversy over GM food is viral, involving serious doubts on whether or not they are generally accepted by the public.
Many anti-GM food associations have argued on the health implication of intake of GM food, saying there is a notable lack of capacity in the country to adequately monitor and evaluate the potential human and environmental risks of GM crops.
According to them, the consumption of such products can cause gastrointestinal and immune system disorder.
The associations also opine that genetically modified products can accelerate ageing and cause infertility, among other health conditions.
For instance, the Association of Catholic Medical Practitioners of Nigeria, Owerri, Imo, recently wrote the National Assembly to disregard the proposal of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in U.S. on genetically modifying the Nigeria’s cassava.
In the letter, the association recalled that one of Africa’s leading specialists in plant genetics at the University of Ouagadougou, Prof. Jean Albert Zongo, had warned African leaders that “the distribution of the GM foods is creating dispersion of its genes into nature that reduced the biodiversity.’’
In spite of this, the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) insists that genetically modified crops and products will not pose any health risk to consumers.
Buttressing this claim, Prof. Lucy Ogbadu, Director-General, NABDA, said the reports were baseless because while the use of pesticides on farmlands is hazardous to the land, plants and the farmer, GM organisms contained substances that could only irritate pests.
Ogbadu said the agency was well-equipped with well trained personnel to ensure that due process was followed in the acceptance of any product into the country.
“There is no product or genetically modified food that can be released except it is tested through research as well as substantially equivalent to its conventional counterpart,’’ she noted.
She said the agency would assess any GM product on the three basic sector of risk such as ensuring the food safety; the environmental impact of whatever that is imported into the country and its socio-economic impact on the system.
She observed that it would take between seven and 10 years for scientists to genetically modify one crop.
“GM organisms are targeted at those issues that bring succour and are of benefit to the society. They are not replacements for conventional crops rather it will help to improve yields for self-sufficiency in food production,’’ she said.
Ugbado, nonetheless, observed that the GM crops had yet to be available for commercial purpose in the country because the products were still under observation.
The director-general, therefore, encouraged the public to have faith in the agencies that would be set up by government to ensure that the country was not left behind in the management of modern bio-technology.
But Prof. Kitan Oluwagbuyi, an environmentalist, noted that there should be an objective scrutiny of GM food products before accepting or rejecting its production in the country.
She said it was left for government to look into all the debates for and against the technology before adapting or rejecting its implementation.
According her, it is a technology that has been on ground not just in this generation, but no fewer than 15 years and has been practised over and over.
“I think it is time for Nigeria to do it as a food security option; the government should only look at our situation, our climate and our kind of food.
“The way we prepare food in Nigeria is not the way other people prepare theirs; science is beautiful; we can adapt it; I do not see a problem with that.
“If Nigeria does not take it, then all the food being imported; do you know the one that is not genetically mortified? Oluwagbuyi asked.
In his view, Dr Chijioke Osuji, the National President, Institute of Food Science and Technology, said there should be strengthening of institutional mechanism for evaluating the safety of GM food in the country.
He said government must ensure that every institutional framework that would ensure the safety of food must be put in place before its implementation.
“For GM food, we need to be careful, every other person in the world is being careful; because there is a lot of anxiety concerning it in the society.
“Again, there are no abundance of evidences of ill effect yet concerning the products; but we need to study it for a longer time to evaluate its safety or otherwise.
“I am saying this because before now there was also a lot of anxiety about radiated food (micro-waved food ) but today the anxiety is no longer there; people now use micro-wave to heat up their food,’’ Osuji said.
All the same, stakeholders caution against the opinion that GM food can be hazardous as no research has proved such claim, insisting that no product of GM food will be released except it is tested for safety.
By Perpetual Onuegbu and Jacinta Nwachukwu, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
