GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD (GMO FOOD): TINUBU APPROVES GMO SEEDS FOR NIGERIA WHILE THE WORLD BANS GMO

Amidst concerns over the adoption of GMO Crops in Nigeria, the federal government approved the commercial release of four “Tela maize” varieties for commercial planting in the country.

Genetically modified maize, cowpea, cotton and soybean have been officially approved for commercialization by the Tinubu Administration.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s decision to advocate for the use of Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) seeds, despite strong opposition, has sparked heated debates and raised critical questions about the country’s intersection of science, agriculture, and policy.

Despite decades of opposition to GMO seeds and crops, Tinubu’s approval of GMO seeds marks a departure from traditional agricultural practices and has elicited a range of reactions from stakeholders, including farmers, environmentalists, and policymakers.

Some critics claimed that by using GMO maize seedlings, the government has forced Nigerians into slavery, disease, and poverty. Others see it as a positive step towards achieving national food security.

GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism. In other words, GMO seeds are created in labs for desirable traits by injecting seeds with genes from another plant. Some of these traits could be withstanding drier weather conditions or harmful insects.

GMOs can also pose environmental risks, as they can potentially crossbreed with wild plants and animals, leading to the spread of modified genetic material into the natural ecosystem. This can have unintended consequences, such as the development of super weeds that are resistant to herbicides.

One cause of European opposition to GMOs is that the advantage to agriculture and food production is often considered weak or non-existent, while the risks are considered substantial.

Opponents of genetic engineering presented it as a technology with high potential risks and no advantages except to the few firms that developed it. Consumers' and society's safety appeared to be sacrificed. On the other hand, arguments that tried to present the potential advantages of GMOs were often rejected because they were perceived as hypocritical. GMOs thus lacked supporters and allies in many European countries.

Now, the opponents and a large part of the public perceive that GMOs strengthen the highly industrialized agriculture that is a target of much criticism in Western Europe today, particularly in France.

Industrialized agriculture is blamed for deteriorating food quality, damage to the environment, accelerated decrease of farms, and more. For some people, especially many activists, biotechnology also symbolizes the negative aspects of globalization and economic liberalism, destruction of local cultures and economies, growing trend of commodifying everything, and aggravated competition that is often seen as disloyal.

For the general public, GMOs are perceived above all as hardly useful, unnatural and risky. This suspicion, along with limited trust in the institutions and firms concerned, often leads to the suggestion that greater participation of citizens in scientific and technological choices would be desirable.

While GMO crops make farming much easier, there is concern about their potential effect on the environment and their safety for human consumption, particularly surrounding illnesses and allergies.

Genetically engineered foods are inherently unstable and are implicated in Allergic Reactions, Antibiotic Resistance, Immuno-suppression, Cancer and Loss of Nutrition.

The biggest threat caused by GMO foods is that they can have harmful effects on the human body. It is believed that consumption of these genetically engineered foods can cause the development of diseases which are immune to antibiotics.

Corn/Maize is the most commonly grown GMO crop. Others are Soybean, Cotton, Potato, Papaya, Summer Squash, Canola and Alfalfa.

Apart from GMO plants and seeds, examples of GMO animals include Pigs that are resistant to respiratory diseases, Genetically modified salmon that grow incredibly quickly and up to ten times bigger than normal, Mosquitoes designed to birth weak offspring, Cows genetically modified to produce something resembling human milk, Ruppy (Ruby Puppy), the glow-in-the-dark clone beagle, The glow-in-the-dark pet Glofish, Featherless chickens, See-through frogs for more humane research and the Vacanti mouse that grows human ears.

As a result of the many disadvantages of and dangers posed by GMOs especially ones meant for human consumption several countries around the world have banned the production and use of GMOs. In the European Union the following countries have banned GMOS: France, Germany, Austria, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Denmark, Malta, Slovenia, Italy, and Croatia.

Others include Algeria, Kyrgyzstan, Bhutan, Madagascar, Peru, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

Despite near-global condemnation of the use of GMO food, the Tinubu-led administration went ahead to approve what the rest of the world has regarded as a danger for human beings for Nigerians. The rationale behind it is still sketchy.

Nigeria’s food productivity and hunger challenges are primarily caused by conflicts, insecurity, poverty, inequalities, a lack of basic infrastructure, subsidies, power imbalances/power inequalities, a lax and watered-down regulatory framework, corporate interference in government policy, and inadequate extension services.

The true solution to Nigeria’s food security problem is to address the root causes of poverty, inflation, insecurity, conflicts, and discrimination, emphasising that the cost of GMOs in terms of ecological damage, biodiversity loss, health, and economic implications far outweigh any apparent short-term benefits.

An opinion says allowing genetically modified organisms to dominate our food system is analogous to returning to slavery.

“We should not let the big guys derail us with unfounded terms and unrealistic promises,” the experts advised.

The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) was disappointed by the release of genetically modified varieties, saying there is no evidence of a risk assessment conducted before the release of the TELA Maize on either the website of the National Biosafety Management Agency (the agency in charge of regulating GMO uses) or the Biosafety Clearing House of the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity, where parties are expected to upload updates on their decisions on use of GMOs/LMOs.

GMOs are not a panacea for food insecurity and the government should address insecurity and farmer/herder conflicts as soon as possible for farmers to farm freely and effectively. There is need to emphasise the importance of revitalising the extension system and providing farmers with sufficient credit, market access, and infrastructure.

The approval of GMO seeds by the Tinubu administration seems like another not-so-well-thought-out policy which will only provide short-term solutions but boomerang on the long run.