sowing the seeds

Kenya: GM crops mean corporate capture not food security, campaigners say

By David Whitehouse

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Posted on April 10, 2023 07:35

© A genetically modified pest resistant Bt cotton variety plant is seen at a farm, in Kimbimbi village of Kirinyaga county, Kenya November 30, 2022. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya — A genetically modified pest resistant Bt cotton variety plant is seen at a farm, in Kimbimbi village of Kirinyaga county, Kenya November 30, 2022. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

Kenya and other African countries must resist pressure to start using genetically modified (GM) seeds to protect the integrity of their food supply chains, Anne Maina, national co-ordinator at the Biodiversity and Biosafety Association of Kenya (BBAK) tells The Africa Report.

Kenya banned GM foods in 2012 after a study led by French scientist Gilles-Eric Séralini linked consumption with cancer in rats, a finding which has been challenged in subsequent research. The ban was lifted in October 2022, but this decision was suspended by Kenya’s high court. The dispute is ongoing.

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