Nigeria: CSOs Caution Against Scientists' Claim On Safety of GMOs

Abuja — Piqued by the mounting claims by scientists that Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are safe for consumption, a coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) has cautioned Nigerians against such assertions. The coalition of 23 CSOs, at the end of the 'Seed, Food and Biosafety Conference' yesterday in Abuja, argued that even as genetic engineering is a science, non-scientists must not swallow whatever the engineers churn out hook, line and sinker. According to the CSOs, the GMO promoters' claim that the products have not been scientifically proved to be harmful to humans or the environment does not hold water, adding that Nigerians don't have to be molecular biologists before they can reject GMOs and insist on natural seeds. The coalition includes Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance, Association for Plant Breeding for the Benefit of Society (APBREBES), Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) and Bio Integrity and Natural Foods Awareness Initiative (BINFAI).Others are Heinrich Boell Foundation, Nigerians Against GMOs, Urban-Rural Environmental Defenders, Cassava Growers Association of Nigeria and Women in Agriculture.