Tanzanian NGO Boos GMOs on World Food Day
by Eliza Barclay, Washington, D.C. 
on 10.17.07
Tuesday was World Food Day, and the Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement (TOAM), a Tanzanian NGO, marked the day with an event in the city of Mwanza on the importance of organics and the risks of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.
"There needs to be a space for development that is not created by donating chemical fertilizers, but rather supporting the generation and improvement of indigenous local knowledge," said Mwatima Juma, the chairwoman of TOAM's board of directors.
According to Mwatima, the most adverse effect of GMO foods is that developed countries are dumping their agricultural surpluses on developing countries, hence creating unfair competition. Once sold on the world market at lower prices than the production costs, they depress local prices.
Organic farming produces the same yields of corn and soybeans as conventional farming. It uses 30 per cent less energy, less water and no pesticides, according to Mwatima. Over 850 million people around the world, particularly in the least developed countries, suffer from hunger and malnutrition. :: Via Guardian
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