Food Assistance, GMOs, Starvation

Re: “When people are starving, genetically modified food starts to look better…”

Not to support a misguided “Death Before GMOs!” line, or give cover to public health flat-earthers, but I think — at least generally, perhaps in this case — more attention should be paid to the nuances of GE concerns, and what specific strains are under discussion.

Are some people in Kenya resisting purely because they have primitive, irrational fears about its safety? Might they also have concerns related to food security and agricultural self-reliance, and be afraid of becoming dependent on foreign seed monopolies? Who made the corn that will be sent to Kenya and what are the traits? Will local corn varieties be modified, or — as in Haiti — are western companies sending western varieties with little thought for local conditions? And as a corrupt governmental sell-off of corn reserves rather than poor yields seems to be the major problem here, might some people have a vested interest in using anti-GMO sentiment as a scapegoat?

Food is food and it’s imperative to prevent people starving. But that’s no reason to ignore economic and scientific issues. And it’s naive to think that food assistance is value-neutral, that it doesn’t come with strings attached or sales pitches.

And from another perspective … if people don’t want GE corn, even for the wrong reasons, is it really so hard to respect that? Do we need to use starvation like an arm twisted behind their backs?