The Age
(Australia)

Poor Nations 'Losers' In GM Food Ban

The battle over genetically modified food is threatening to unleash a new form of colonialism between developed and developing countries, a world agriculture expert said yesterday.

Per Pinstrup-Andersen, the director-general of the International Food Policy Research Institute, said the GM policies of the European Union were a form of imperialism.

While many people in the first world worried about unproven risks associated with GM food, millions of people were dying in developing nations because of malnutrition.

"The affluent in Europe and maybe in Australia and North America will decide that it is inappropriate to use biotechnology in food and agriculture, including food and agriculture in developing countries," Dr Pinstrup-Andersen told reporters in Canberra.

"If that happens, it will be very difficult for developing countries who want more research to go into technology in food and agriculture. "It is new colonialism in place, telling them what they can and cannot do."

Many European countries have banned GM foods until more research is conducted into possible safety risks. This extends to the importation of GM foods.

Dr Pinstrup-Andersen, in Australia to launch a new book on agricultural science policy next week, said first world countries focused on perceived risks associated with food.

He said wealthier people, more worried about their long-term health, ignored the problems that people in developing nations faced.

"The question of (whether) something is too risky for Europe, should not be pushed on to developing countries," he said.

"Children are dying right now because they don't have access to enough food - that's not a risk, that's a fact."

Dr Pinstrup-Andersen said developing countries should have their own GM laws in place before accepting GM foods.

He said GM food, such as rice genetically modified to include iron, would help alleviate iron deficiences, a common health problem for people in developing countries.

Dr Pinstrup-Andersen said in some cases traditional plant breeding or even organic food may be the best way forward to help feed developing countries.

However, by banning GM technology on crop production, first world countries were stopping other nations from securing their own futures, he said.