RE: Why current industrial GM crops are bad for africa's agriculture
Very nice post, the real blog post with some original, personal views:
problems are a multiplicity of political and economic failures; problems such as hunger are only symptoms of the greater political, policy, and structural economic loopholes
This simple observation is something I intuitively understand, as the citizen of a country with ruined/corrupted economy. No matter how much is produced, there will be someone to export it and give farmers only the crumbles.
Will not this control of seeds threaten the enduring foundation of farmer autonomy and livelihood ... ... majority households still in the practice of storing seed in granaries...
We were doing this during the 90's and it was very very bad. Once the original seeds make the new generation, it becomes a mess of generic randomness.
Are not genetically modified foods a threat to human life?
This Review from 2017 is solid
That said, how do you explain the requirement for genetically modified seeds in a continent with such a tremendous agro-biodiversity?
I absolutely agree with you that the choice of food today is simply poor. As a kid, I used to spend a lot of time in my village and enjoyed numerous wild berries and fruits. And today? Well, we have some apples...
Thanks for your commendation and thoughts, @alexs1320. I am for the most part adamant that Africa's agro biodiversity is its biggest advantages and safe-guard against even climatic woes. Hunger and the like are only symptoms of deeper lying institutional failures which need to be addressed first.
I am a strong believer in gene related technologies particularly in regard with improving human health..., but in regard to their application to food, i am hesitant, as that comes with, and/or triggers a spiral effect that must be properly controlled.
Human health related gene technological therapies leave room for individual choice, do they with food? Obviously not...
Africa is already living under the yoke of dependence, either of its people on the governments, or of its governments on foreign benefaction, or both....it is a chain that shouldn't be...
GMO's, i am much afraid, only exacerbate this dependence. ....
And so as @justtryme90 observes, part of my quarrel, maybe the larger one thus far, is with the corporate interests behind the current GMO crops. Even so, like i have insinuated, GM crops themselves, independent of the corporate interests behind them, still need thorough testing for human and environmental health guarantees. It is not just enough to focus on the benefits as we know so far. I don't know of any other risks that if actualized, can be more devastating than those that are gene-therapy related. Which is why we have to proceed with caution, and some solid guarantees before we zombie our agriculture!