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Resource Pointer #298 (GE Crops Rejected by the South)
November 8, 2002

For copies of the following resources, please contact the appropriate publishers or organizations directly.

*Force-Feeding the World: America’s ‘GM or Death’ Ultimatum to Africa Reveals the Depravity of its GM Marketing Policy, 2002* Robert Vint, Genetic Food Alert. Challenges the agrochemical industry’s public relations claims that genetically engineered (GE) crops are necessary to feed a hungry world. Contrasts these claims with GE opposition by governments and citizen groups worldwide. Documents cases of US forcing GE food into Mexico, Sri Lanka, India, China, Burundi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Bosnia, Equador, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, the Philippines, more. 7 pages. Contact Genetic Food Alert, 4 Bertram House, Ticklemore St, Totnes, Devon TQ9 5EJ, UK; phone (18-03) 868523; email info@geneticfoodalert.org.uk; Web site http://www.geneticfoodalert.org.uk/.

*Ayuda Alimentaria y Organismos Transgenicos, (Foreign Food Aid and Transgenic Crops), 2002* Elizabeth Bravo, ed. Discusses the politics of, presence of, and resistance to genetically engineered (GE) crops in international food aid. Questions the use of disaster relief by developed countries as a tool for building markets and creating dependence on GE crops in developing countries. Includes case studies of Colombia, Ecuador, Burundi, India, the Philippines, and Georgia. 119 pages. Only available in Spanish. Contact Accion Ecologica, Casilla 17-15-246C, Quito, Ecuador; phone/fax (593-2) 252 – 7583, (593-2) 254 – 7516; email verde@accionecologica.org; Web site http://www.accionecologica.org/.

*GMOs in Nicaragua: A Confirmed Reality, 2002* Alliance for a Nicaragua Free of GMOs. Reports the presence of genetically engineered (GE) corn in food aid from the World Food Program in Nicaragua. Warns that GE crops threaten to displace traditional varieties, crop biodiversity, and the practice of seed-saving. Urges the Nicaraguan government to oppose GE introduction, until there are adequate safety regulations in place. 17 pages. Available in Spanish and English. Contact Julio Sanchez, Apartado Postal 768, Managua, Nicaragua; phone/fax (505) 249 8922, 249 2903; email humboldt@ibw.com.ni.

*Record Harvest, Record Hunger: Starving in GE Argentina, 2002* Greenpeace. Challenges the myths that genetically engineered (GE) crops increase yield and food security. Notes that despite large annual harvests and exports, there is increasing poverty in Argentina. Links increased poverty and hunger in Argentina to unequal land distribution and increased food costs. Argues that GE crops are not the solution to world hunger. 8 pages. Download free at http://www.greenpeace.org. Contact Greenpeace, Genetic Engineering Campaign, Chausseestr. 131, 10115 Berlin, Germany; phone (49-30) 30 88 99 14; fax (49-30) 30 88 99 30; Web site http://www.greenpeace.org.

*Life, Lineage and Sustenance: Indigenous Peoples and Genetic Engineering: Threats to Food, Agriculture and the Environment, 2001* Stephanie Howard, Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism. Describes how biotechnology companies are “bioprospecting” indigenous communities’ knowledge of local ecosystems and collecting patent royalties from that knowledge. Outlines how genetic engineering threatens global ecology, food sovereignty in farming communities, and human health. 51 pages. Contact IPCB, P.O. Box 818, Wadsworth, Nevada 89424; phone (775) 835-6932; fax (775) 835-6934, email ipcb@ipcb.org; Web site http://www.ipcb.org/.

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