The African Consumer Union has demanded that the Board of the Biosafety Authority be dissolved as it is a danger a danger to the country’s food sovereignty.
The National Biosafety Authority yesterday granted three distributors namely Cold Chain, Horizon and Innscor distributors new permits to import products that may contain Genetically Modified Organisms.
The three were among 12 retailers, wholesalers and distributors that applied for new and renewal permits.
But Union First Vice President Muyunda Ililonga has condemned the move describing it as unwise as it ignores the wishes of the Zambian people to maintain a GMO-free country.
He has demanded that the permits issued be cancelled henceforth as the Authority appears to undertake unilateral decisions in the interest of global food giants not the Zambian people.
The Zambia National Farmers Union has also rejected the move further warning that they will not subscribe to processes that seek to sneak into the country or dump GM foods on the market.
It is a fair call. They are NOT fit for purpose
I have a PhD
Thanks
BB2014,2016
Countries that had GMO drought resistant maize all suffered greatly when there was a drought in the 2016/2017 whilst Zambia had a bumper harvest. Lets keep GMO’s out! Research has shown they cause cancers.Our health care in Africa is not strong enough to deal with the cancer epidemic looming. Please leaders you sold ZCCM , and look what happened…don’t sell our food too! Don’t listen to the greedy capitalist colonialists. May Levy Mwanawasa’s legacy in the fight against GMO’s live on.MHSRIP
The champagne remains on ice until these dodgy permits are scrapped.
Corruption knows no bounds.
Some people do not even feel shame for their actions.
This is sad and annoying, why did Levy die, look what we have now.
If Levy was alive, RB would never have been president. Then RB made Edgar be president.
What qoutes from RB or Edgar will ever be written about “my people”.
IT TOOK LPM TO STOP THE GMO TALK BY FIRMLY STANDING AGAINST THE BAZUNGUS AND FAINT HEARTED PROPONENTS OF THIS AFFIRMATIVELY SENSELESS CALL. HE LPM DECREED THAT THOSE GENE TEMPERED ORGANISMS (GTOs) SHOULD NOT TOUCH ZAMBIA.
Some of us came to learn about GTOs in the moment LPM halted the debate. Now who are these losers going against the LPM set norm? Can we go back reasons that were forwarded then. Or maybe knowledge has changed on the subject.
What is the position of the current POTROZ Mr. ECL? In short, what is the position of Government?
IT TOOK LPM TO STOP THE GMO TALK BY FIRMLY STANDING AGAINST THE BAZUNGUS AND FAINT HEARTED PROPONENTS OF THIS AFFIRMATIVELY S.E.N.S.E.L.E.S.S CALL. HE LPM DECREED THAT THOSE GENE TEMPERED ORGANISMS (GTOs) SHOULD NOT TOUCH ZAMBIA.
Some of us came to learn about GTOs in the moment LPM halted the debate. Now who are these losers going against the LPM set norm? Can we go back reasons that were forwarded then. Or maybe knowledge has changed on the subject.
What is the position of the current POTROZ Mr. ECL? In short, what is the position of Government?
This is a great call. DNA altering does escape into the environment. There are cases of altered organisms such as the African bee that escaped and there are a lot of stuff that proponents of the scourge may not admit but only point to the good part of it!
The African Consumer Union, ZNFU and all concerned people can apply for a Permit and effect peaceful demonstrations and make.thwir voice heard before it’s too late.
This board is devious and dangerously dishonest to us.
If we let a good man with a good project in Prof Chirwa, we should have this board dissolved forthwith before they contaminate us.
Dissolve them now! They’re really not fit for purpose. How presumptious of them to try and discredit the legacy of our late president who acted in the genuine interest of the people of Zambia.
Disband the useless thing, and cancel those permits at once.
Whose interest is this board serving? honestly not the people of Zambia. Dissolve this evil board with immediate effect and cancel those illegal permits now! God bless Zambia!
Give a nigga a brown envelope his brain will not function his entire life.
The board must be disbanded and the permits cancelled! Short – sighted decision by a narrow – minded cabal! It is preposterous to entrust the future of our nation into the hands of an irresponsible group of me.
Please dissolve this board and let ACC investigate them for corruption. Clearly this is a serious deviation from the Nations stance. Can the President please intervene? This is a national disaster, even the West is now selling foods Branded as Non GMO to differentiate natural from engineered food. No wonder cancer is rampant in the west despite their wealth and high standards of living.
Under PF everything goes, Monsanto and Sygenta are all GMO promoters, they supply GMO seeds and harmful chemicals like herbicides. Zambia is no longer a non GMO country
There is a lot of ignorance among the masses. GMO food are safe to eat. There is no evidence anywhere suggesting that GMO cause cancers or indeed any other disease/s. Of course we need to be careful on how we introduce these food or crops in our environment and that is true of any other alien species, be it an animal or plant. But processed food is not likely to cause any damage to the environment. Of course, all GMO must be properly labelled so that people have a choice whether to eat normally grown food, gmo or organic. Nonetheless, the future of feeding the 7bn on earth still lies with biotechnology unless we as human decided to cut our population by choosing not to have children.
Do not blatantly lie here.Which research are you referring to? and who sponsored that research. The GMO companies are big and powerful and are willing to quash any research threatening their profits. There is enough food on earth but its disproportionately distributed. Also ask yourself why cancer cases globally are rising. Developed countries with high standards of living can afford to overlook the cancer risk but can we?
Ba lungu dissolve this board which is making you unpopular.No GMOs in Zambia period.Become popular ba president
Guys, I encourage you to go to NBA facebook page. NBA has apparently issued 24 permits for the importation of products containing GMOs, from 2015!!!? Well, even more surprising fact is that apparently, the law is that anyone wishing to import products containing GMOs simply applies to NBA explaining why they think the product should be allowed into the country. NBA then conduct a risk assessment to determine whether it can be “offloaded” onto the market!!!! I didn’t know that! Did you guys know this??? Just doing basic checks on this matter amazingly reveals that 1-We are not a GMO free country, contrary to popular belief 2-A combination of ignorance on our part and little to no sensitisation/education of the general public by NBA means we are damned! 3-Where have agric ministry,…
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3-Where have agric ministry, health ministry and znfu been??? Lastly, article suggests amendments to policy/law regarding GMOs are on the way. Who is NBA???
This is all the corruption of lungu…..every ministry or GRZ entity is corrupted by this man.
There is nothing that is safe from the corruption green light of lungu.
I have telling you people, if a leader does not deny that he is a corrupt theif , forget any sanity in systems of governance…..being a corrupt theif has a green light.
Shocking to hear that this is not the first time they are issuing these permits. This are actually renewal applications which means we have been importing GMO foods all along. Talk about closing the barn door after the horse has already bolted.
As long as the so called president accepts to be called a corrupt theif every day, you can forget any sanity in all systems of governance in Zambia…..our country is headed to DRC ways…..they will try with cosmetic fight against corruption but as long as the head is a corrupt theif , and does not deny it , forget.
Only the outside looks normal but the whole inside is being eaten by the corruption of lungu…
This is biological warfare that the government is not ready for. Activists internet is being blocked already. Intellectual property law will allow them to land grab when their patented seeds fly into non gm farms. They use banks to speculate on food prices to strengthen the lie there is not enough food on the planet. They use mercenaries like blackwater to intimidate and kill activists. This is 21st century warfare people Wake UP and fight for Zambia and our children’s sake people
Name and shame these agents of Satan. Feed them the same gmo they are poisoning us with. Arrest all who approved such permits and close thee companies who want to make money from poisoning us. A country less than the size of Congo can feed the world 3 meals a day but it’s easier to control and make money off hungry people. Organic produce is more profitable and yields more crop than their poison. They only eat organic, ask yourselves why. If this government does not act they too should face charges of accomplices to murder
The government has killed Zambian agriculture market abroad. Soon the word will be out that this is not a gmo free country and we will see who will buy our products.It is cheaper to buy gm from countries with port. The government issued statements saying we are gm free in Feb. Now they just look like liars who don’t understand how far real parents will go when they see their children dying from kidney failure. Gm fields being burnt will be the least of their problems. And trying to silence activists will prove to be counter productive as they will soon learn. We do not stop fighting to save human lives because we fear God not man who chooses to feed off the blood of the weak.
DR PAUL Zambezi, chairman and Lackson Tonga, CEO should make a statement explaining themselves before leaving their positions.
The science is very clearly on the side of safety for GE crops. Unfortunately a great deal of money is at stake for those sell fear and alternative products. Although eNGO’s out of Europe continue to push myths and fear the science out of Europe says this:
” There is no validated evidence that GM crops have greater adverse impact on health and
the environment than any other technology used in plant breeding…There is compelling evidence that
GM crops can contribute to sustainable development goals with benefits to farmers, consumers, the
environment and the economy… It is vital that sustainable agricultural production and food security
harnesses the potential of biotechnology in all its facets.” Planting the Future-EASAC 2013