AFRICA: OUTRAGE OVER CLAIM THAT ANTI-GM CAMPAIGN "CAUSES HUNGER"

CAPE TOWN, Aug 27 (IPS) - Civil society organisations have reacted with
outrage to claims that the international campaign against genetically
modified (GM) crops is partly responsible for food shortages and food
insecurity in Africa.

"Food insecurity in developing regions such as Africa is partially a result
of the anti-GM campaign," David King, director of the Smith School of
Enterprise and the Environment at Oxford University in Britain, said during

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012751169_gatesmonsanto...

Local activists are mounting a campaign to get the Gates Foundation to cut its ties with the agribusiness giant Monsanto and other firms involved in developing bioengineered crops.

By Maureen O'Hagan and Kristi Heim
Seattle Times staff reporters

For two years, local activists on a shoestring budget have been trying to document connections between the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Monsanto, the company vilified by some for its heavy involvement in genetic engineering of crops.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 25th, 2010

Contact:     
Travis English, AGRA Watch
(206) 335-4405
Brenda Biddle, The Evergreen State College & AGRA Watch
(360) 878-7833
http://www.seattleglobaljustice.org/agra-watch

GATES FOUNDATION INVESTS IN MONSANTO
Both will profit at expense of small-scale African farmers

By Fred Ojambo - Aug 16, 2010 7:50 AM ET
Bloomberg
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-16/tanzania-to-grow-genetically-mo...
triple-output-board-says.html

Tanzania will start growing genetically modified cotton and offer 
credit to farmers to almost triple the country’s output, the Tanzania 
Cotton Board said.

The legal framework to grow the genetically modified cotton strain, or 
BT, had been set up and trials would start “any time,” Marco Mtunga, a 
regulation officer at the Dar es Salaam- based board, said by e-mail 

Johannesburg, 11th August 2010

The African Centre for Biosafety (ACB) is relieved to learn that Monsanto has withdrawn its application to conduct GM canola field trails in South Africa.

GM Canola is predominantly grown in the USA, Canada and Australia. The global market for GM canola, used principally for cooking oils and animal feed, is estimated to be worth $300 million.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201005260071.html

Nairobi — A new set of policies governing commercial production and trade in genetically modified agricultural produce is set to come into force in East and Southern Africa.