GMOs FOUND IN FOOD AID TO LATIN AMERICA Sprouting Up, Seedling June 2001 Consumer and environmental groups in Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador found food aid to contain genetically modified (GM) ingredients. Samples of food aid originating in the US and distributed by programs in Latin America were sent to Genetic ID, an independent laboratory in the US. The tests found levels of GMOs in soya and maize to be as high as 90%. In Ecuador, GMO levels as high as 55% were found in samples from food from the "Mi Papilla" food aid programme, which provides for children aged six months to two years and pregnant mothers. Acción Ecológica, the Friends of the Earth group in Ecuador, informed Ecuadorian authorities about the test results. On May 17, the Social Welfare Ministry responded by suspending the "Mi papilla" and "Mi colada" programmes, which are sponsored by the United Nation's World Food Program. The government will make up the foot shortfall caused by the suspension of the two plans by handing out other products free of any GM ingredients. Both "Mi papilla" and "Mi colada" products are made from soya imported from the US. Dr. Elizabeth Bravo, spokesperson for Acción Ecológica, said: "In Europe and the U.S., many baby food companies don´t use engineered ingredients in their products, but the US has sent it to our children. Alternatives to engineered ingredients exist and should be used in food aid programs." In Colombia, soya was collected from the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare. The results showed 90% GM soya content in soybeans that are distributed directly to orphanages and also through Bienestarina, a food product made from soya and provided mainly to children. In Colombia there is no competent authority that has any biosafety rules over GMO foods. German Velez, spokesperson for Consumers Colombia, said: "Biosafety is of public interest and a comprehensive biosafety framework that includes all engineered foods must be created. Until such a framework is established, no engineered food should be allowed in our country." In Bolivia, samples of soya/maize blend and wheat/soya blend from USAID collected by the Bolivian Forum on Development and Environment (FOBOMADE) were found to contain GM soya and maize at levels up to 10%. A government decree from January 2001 forbids the import of products derived from GM crops. "It is outrageous that the US authorities do not respect our laws. Just because the food is donated, it is not exempt from Bolivian laws against engineered crops," said Maria Luisa Ramos, a spokesperson for FOBOMADE. Each year, more than two million tons of GMOs are sent directly by US foreign assistance to developing countries, while the World Food Program distributes another one and a half million tons of transgenic crops donated by the US government. In December 2000, the US granted $300 million for a program called Global Food for Education. This Program will deliver 680,000 metric tonnes of surplus soya, maize, wheat and rice to countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe. Some groups speculate that the added funding is to prop up maize prices depressed in the US by genetically engineered StarLink maize contamination and to create a market for unwanted engineered crops by diverting them to food aid. Sources: Press release from Acción Ecológica-Friends of the Earth Ecuador; report by German Velez, COCO; EFE News Service, May 18, 2001. For more information, contact: Dr. Elizabeth Bravo, Acción Ecológica, Tel: (593-2) 233 016, E-mail: [email protected] Maria Luisa Ramos, FOBOMADE, Tel: (591-2) 421 235. German Velez, Colombian Consumers (COCO), Tel: (57-1) 334 4473 or (57-1) 341 3153, Email: [email protected] Reference for this article: GRAIN, 2001, GMOs found in food aid to Latin America, Seedling, Sprouting Up, Volume 18, Issue 2, June 2001, GRAIN Publications What is Seedling? Seedling is the quarterly newsletter of GRAIN. It provides thought-provoking articles on all aspects of GRAIN’s work and more. To receive Seedling in paper or electronic format (on a CD Rom), or to inform us of a change of address, please contact GRAIN at the address below. Seedling materials may be reproduced, translated and disseminated freely. We ask only that the original source be acknowledged and that a copy of your reprint be sent to GRAIN. GRAIN, Girona 25 ppal, Barcelona E-08010, Spain. E-mail: [email protected]