The GMO plot

You do not measure the fruit of your action.
You have to measure your obligation for action.
You have to find out what is the right thing to do.
That is your duty. It’s not about winning or losing but doing what is right.

That quote was the response by Vandana Shiva in an interview when asked what makes her take on multi-billion dollar, powerful corporate giants on her quest to educate people about food and seed sovereignty.

I will come back to Vandana Shiva and her crusade in Part 2 of my column next week but before that let’s understand genetically modified organisms.

Something strange has happened to our foodstuff from about 10-15 years ago. Supermarkets introduced a section called ‘Organic Food’. And those who chose to buy organic food had to pay a lot more, at sometimes ridiculously expensive prices just to buy vegetables, grains, meats and eggs. This made it only accessible to the rich and the middle income and below could only afford the ‘normal’ foodstuff.

What I found strange about this was that there was no real information in schools or from the government on why the separation happened. We had to figure this out ourselves. The only vague notion we had was that organic was healthier, but ‘just an option’. That organic was something you pander with only after you had cancer or some bad disease.

The question I want answered is – why aren’t all food organic? So, if some food are ‘organic’ what are the rest of them, which is almost all of them, called? I did some research and found out that they were GMOs – genetically modified organisms. And you don’t just have genetically modified plants, you also have genetically modified animals.

Now this is not good news for us at all. Although if you Google it, you will find a lot of sites dedicated to praising GMOs for making harvesting more ‘productive’. But well, as we all know now, whoever owns Google also owns the people behind GMOs so it’s a slippery slide down the rabbit hole on that one.

There is much to fear from GMOs, as this is something we ingest and put in our body every single day. I feel there is more to fear on GMOs than viruses, which as the plot unfolds can also be modified and created as a bioweapon.

In the European Union the following countries have banned GMOs: France, Germany, Austria, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Poland, Denmark, Malta, Slovenia, Italy and Croatia.

In Africa, Algeria and Madagascar have banned GMOs.

In Asia, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Bhutan and Saudi Arabia have banned GMOs.

In the Americas, Belize, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuala have all banned GMOs.

The United States has no official legislation banning GMOs, and neither does Malaysia.

Only 64 countries around the world require genetically modified foods to be labelled. But not Malaysia.

Sad, so are we eating only genetically modified foods nowadays then? Is whatever is not labelled ‘organic’ all GMOs? Is this causing the rise is disease?

Why are we being forced to eat GMO foods by making organic products so expensive. Isn’t our health the most important thing on the government’s list to look after? Why subsidise sugar which is probably the most toxic thing on this planet while making organic food so expensive? More important question, why even have GMO farming allowed in the first place?

Adoption of GMOs into seed markets lead to farmer dependence on corporations that control the price and supply of seeds. The cost of switching from traditional to genetically modified seeds could also lead to increased inequality among farmers, as poorer smallholders will be left behind by their competitors.

Organic workers on the other hand are not exposed to synthetic pesticides. Organic animals have larger stables and have more space to display their natural behaviours.

Organic farming rebuilds soil health and stops harmful chemicals from getting into our water supplies. Water and soil are two extremely important resources necessary for growing food. Organic farmers don’t rely on non-renewable oil-based fertilisers and pesticides.

It’s simple common sense that this is what the world needs.

There is no real plus point for GMO crops and animals besides corporate greed.

Join me next week, as we explore the toxic chain of control that GMO is actually about and how Vandana Shiva, an Indian scholar, environmental activist, food sovereignty advocate, ecofeminist and anti-globalisation author is fighting this.

The idea of GMO is a death knell for bio-diversity – the very integrity of life, she says. Find out more next week.

The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune. Feedback can reach the writer at [email protected]