It is now official. Kenyans could be eating contaminated maize unfit even for animals. Furthermore, a big chunk of the grains are genetically modified organism (GMO) products.
But so shrouded is the affair that Kenyans do not know just yet what they are in for.
Two months after the controversial Kenya Biosafety Act 2009 was signed into law, it is emerging that the country was not ready for the big leap.
It was Prof Oyiecho Olweny, an Assistant Minister, who said, five months ago that Kenyans were eating imported genetically modified foods.
A senior official at the Ministry of Agriculture, who did not wish to be named, confirmed to this writer that some of the maize grains recently imported as a measure to curb the ongoing famine were genetically modified.
But do Kenyans know the risks of eating GMOs? Are there legal rights guaranteed to Kenyan citizens in the event that the GMOs cause health and other risks?
Early this week, Health Minister Beth Mugo held a press conference to state that we have contaminated maize in the market.
A MAIZE FARM. It is suspected that there is an influx of genetically modified and contaminated maize grains in the country.
Kenyans are unwittingly eating the maize, most of which is said to be genetically modified.
Worse still, the minister said the maize was unfit for humans and animals and that the products were scurried out of the port in secrecy.
But Prime Minister Raila Odinga yesterday told Parliament the said consignment was still at the port.
Experts in law, scientists and environmentalists are now warning that Kenya could end up paying a heavy price.
Kenya is the only country in the region to embrace GMO technology.
To the common man, GMO is one of those subjects that are better left to university professors and other armchair theory mongers. But the GMOs are finally here with us and all indications are that it is the common man who knows nothing about it who will be the first casualty.
Mr Job Muchemi, an environmental lawyer, says that even in developed economies, particularly in Europe, the introduction of GMOs has been an exercise littered with sinkholes at every corner.
Though GMO grains are much cheaper than conventional ones, he warns that there will be a human price to pay.
Mr Samuel Ochieng of Consumer Information Network says the risks of the GMO foods are aggravated by the fact that Kenyan citizens were never sufficiently educated on the matter.
The campaign, mooted by Agriculture Minister William Ruto in September last year to make Kenyans appreciate GMOs, fizzled out as soon as it started.
A farmer displays harvested maize. Photos: File/Standard
But what exactly are the health risks associated with using GMOs, especially for the poor majority who have no access to specialised scientific information?
Says Ochieng: "A scientist can remove a gene from a wild nut and then plant it in the maize to enhance its protein properties. In this case, the scientist will endanger the lives of those allergic to nuts. Someone allergic to nuts will not know that he is consuming maize made of elements from nuts."
Culture and religion
Instructively, food is not just about science and agriculture. It is also about culture and religion. In GMO technology, an animal gene can be planted into a plant and vice-versa.
This, the experts caution, can be unsettling for people who are vegetarians in a case where they don’t know whether they are consuming substances with animal tissue.
Where abstaining from certain substances is imposed by religion, the dangers of freedom to choose are real.
Muslims will not know whether the rice they buy from shops is contaminated with pig genes or not.
Likewise, vegetarian Hindus will not tell which items in a supermarket rack contain genes from cows.
Muchemi says that while the above can be mitigated by proper dissemination of information and intensive education, this has not been done.
Indeed, he cautions, there are very few countries that can be able to do this, and certainly none in Africa. The Kenya Biosafety Act 2009, he insists, is just a document and we do not even have institutions to make it work.
He says: "We have the National Biosafety Committee housed by the National Council of Science and Technology. This is just a committee, which has neither the apparatus nor the staff to do the job. We should have developed the capacity to regulate the GMO technology before we created a law on it.
He adds: "Going as far as allowing GMO maize into the country is one risky step gone too far. All legalities should have checks and balances and this is one thing that Kenya has made legal without the benefit of installing requisite checks and balances."
According to a senior officer at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute Biotechnology Centre, the organisation is experimenting with GMO foods at their Kiboko, Alupe, Busia, Kabete and Mwea research centres.
Maize varieties
Syngenta, Melinda and Bill Gates and the Rockefeller foundations have funded this project.
The project focuses on maize varieties that are envisioned to have an in-built ability to resist pests without the application of insecticides. They will be released to farmers next year.
But Ochieng sees something sinister in this. He says: "The fact that a certain variety of maize is able to resist all types of pests means that some foreign compounds with strong chemical elements have been introduced to that particular grain. Eating these foods everyday, means that there will be over-injection of these chemicals into the consumers’ systems.
He continues: "We have seen this in pharmaceuticals, where GMO technology is entrenched. On the other hand, allowing the same into conventional foodstuff means increased cases of people developing resistance to medicines."
He says Kenya may never be able to mitigate the effects of such maladies on a widespread scale
©2009 The Standard Group
