GM foods: Officials to explain
2002-11-06 12:39
Lusaka - The Zambian government has summoned officials from a refugee camp to explain why they gave out genetically modified food after the government had forbidden its distribution, a newspaper said on Wednesday.
More than 22 000 Angolan refugees at the Nangweshi camp in western Zambia, run jointly by the United Nations and the Zambian government, have been eating genetically modified (GM) grain, the privately owned Post newspaper reported.
The grain had been milled before distribution to avoid any risk of it contaminating the environment, the paper added.
Zambia has rejected GM food aid for more than two million people threatened by drought-induced famine. The government says there is no scientific evidence to prove GM food is safe for humans or the environment.
In September the Zambian government said it would not allow aid agencies such as the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) to feed GM food to tens of thousands of refugees sheltered in Zambia.
The refugees come from Angola and other war-ravaged countries in the region. - Sapa-AFP
- SAPA