Lift ban on biotech foods, say scientists
What you need to know:
Kenya banned the products in 2012 after the claims by French scientist Prof Gilles-Eric Séralini and others.
Scientists are pushing for the lifting of a ban on genetically modified foods to help the country deal with hunger.
Endebess MP Robert Pukose said Kenya was misled by French scientists who claimed that GM products are unfit for human consumption as they cause tumours.
Other studies and empirical evidence have shown that the products are safe, he said.
“Other countries are way ahead in the adoption of the GMO (genetically modified organisms) technology but we continue to lag behind because of misinformation. The ban needs to be lifted,” he said.
NO AVDERSE EFFECTS
Kenya banned the products in 2012 after the claims by French scientist Prof Gilles-Eric Séralini and others.
However, Dr Pukose said a group of local scientists and lawmakers went on a fact-finding mission in Spain and Belgium, where they even ate GM foods, and claimed that they had no adverse effects on health.
The lawmaker spoke during the launch of the Global Status of Commercialised Biotech Crops 2014 report at a Nairobi hotel.
