"The WFP must take seriously our demands and assume its responsibilities. The WFP must buy any needed food locally, and stop using food aid to introduce GMOs." - Julio Sanchez from Nicaragua (item 2)

Three years after StarLink corn was banned for human consumption, U.S. government still finds it in more than 1% of samples tested. (item 3)

1.WFP and US in the wrong - GM Watch
2.THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME AND THE UNITED STATES ACCUSED OF NOT LISTENING TO THE CONCERNS OF THE CENTRAL AMERICAN SOCIETY
3.StarLink Genetically Engineered Corn in the Food Supply
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1.WFP and US in the wrong - GM Watch

It's interesting to contrast the failure, detailed below, of the World Food Programme to listen to concerns about GM food aid, and its years of failing to even label GM grain, with the statement on the subject of the Nuffield Council on Bio-ethics in their report, "The use of genetically modified crops in developing countries" (2004)

It's important to remember when reading this that the Nuffield working party who drew up this report was dominated by people known to be fervently pro-GM and who argue elsewhere in the report that developing GM for poorer countries is a "moral imperative":

"With regard to donations of GM crops as food aid, we note that the preferences of developing countries dependent on emergency food aid *must be taken seriously*. A genuine choice between GM and non-GM food should be offered, where this is possible. It will therefore be necessary to provide full information about whether or not donated food is derived wholly or in part from GM crops." (paragraph 5.41 - emphasis added)

Compare and contrast this with the stonewalling response of the WFP's representative for Latin America: "the issue of GM food is an old controversy in which the WFP is not going to enter."

They're "not going to enter" means, as can be seen below, that they are not going to listen, that they are going to deny any problem, that they are not going to label and that they are not going to provide any choice.

Of course, the WFP's situation is not assisted by the US's insistence on only providing US grain and its continuing refusal to do what other leading donors do and provide financial assistance. (see: http://ngin.tripod.com/forcefeed.htm)

The lessons from Zambia need to be learned. Here the WFP Country Director said in March 2004, "Buying food locally is an effective way for WFP to boost the domestic economy, while also reducing our own transport costs and delivery time. We have been buying from everyone - farmers, millers and the government - in the hope that this will assist local markets and promote food production, which will ultimately contribute to the longer-term development of Zambia's agriculture." http://allafrica.com/stories/200403170439.html

But that has never been part of the US agenda. Indeed, there is even a US law to prevent the US rendering assistance in such a form: "I have heard . . . that people may become dependent on us for food. I know that was not supposed to be good news. To me that was good news, because before people can do anything they have got to eat. And if you are looking for a way to get people to lean on you and to be dependent on you, in terms of their cooperation with you, it seems to me that food dependence would be terrific." - Senator Hubert H. Humphrey, in naming US Public Law 480 which ensures that food aid never interferes with US "domestic production or marketing". http://ngin.tripod.com/forcefeed.htm
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2.THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME AND THE UNITED STATES ACCUSED OF NOT LISTENING TO THE CONCERNS OF THE CENTRAL AMERICAN SOCIETY
http://www.humboldt.org.ni/transgenicos/denuncia_english.htm

Organizations of the civil society in Central America are presenting today irrefutable proofs of the presence of StarLink a genetically modified maize banned for human consumption in the US - in food aid sent to Centralamerica. The proofs presented contradict earlier declarations from the World Food Programme (WFP ) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which questioned the existence of StarLink in food aid distributed by the WFP.

February 18. Managua, San Jose, Tegucigalpa, San Salvador, Guatemala. An alliance of environmental, consumer, farmers, human rights, and Unions of five CentralAmerican countries have accused the WFP and USDA of not listening to the concerns of the Centralamerican society about the potential risks of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). At the same time they have publicly denied laboratory results that show with precision presence of StarLink in food aid in Centralamerica.

The organizations expressed outrage about the lack of seriousness of the WFP and USDA and their response to revelations presented on the 16th of February by the civil society Alliance in Central America. Representatives of the WFP have stated that the introduction of GMOs is already an old issue that does not deserve any discussion.(1)

"The WFP must take seriously our demands and assume its responsibilities. The WFP must buy any needed food locally, and stop using food aid to introduce GMOs", said Julio Sanchez from Centro Humboldt/Friends of the Earth Nicaragua.

At the same time the organizations have publicly presented irrefutable proof from the independent laboratory Genetic ID, which certificates the presence of StarLink in food aid, in response to the statements from WFP and USDA representatives denying the veracity of the assertions of the Centralamerican organizations. Representatives from WFP and USDA have declared that in the US all food aid is tested for StarLink in order to guarantee that it is not sent to any food aid recipient, and continued denying the distribution of this maize in the region. (2)

"The presence of StarLink was verified in food aid already in 2002 in Bolivia and now it comes up again two years later in Guatemala. The USDA and the WFP do not have any excuse to ignore our demands, either they are deliberately misleading us, or they simply do not care", said Mariano Godinez of Ceiba/Friends of the Earth Guatemala.

For more information visit: http://www.humboldt.org.ni

For more information - contact details for media:
http://www.humboldt.org.ni/transgenicos/denuncia_english.htm

Note

(1) According to Associated Press reports from the 16th of February. World Food Program spokeswoman in Rome, Anthea Web did not give importance to the fact that GM food was sent to those countries. She said that "They're eaten safely by millions of people everyday from Boston to Brussels to Buenos Aires," she said.

Given that many world authorities including the National Academy of Sciences in the United States have called for more safety testing of GMOS, it is not possible to declare whether GMOs are safe or not safe.

Alejandro Lopez, representative from the regional office of the WFP for Latinamerica said, according to IPS report from the 16th of February that "the issue of GM food is an old controversy in which the WFP is not going to enter."

(2) The spokesperson for the USDA Ed Loyd, according to Associated Press Reports from the 16th of February, said the United States requires that any food aid be tested to make sure it doesn't contain StarLink. He added that "we have never had an incident in which there has been a positive test for any food aid shipment."

Mr. Loyd ignored findings of US food aid to Bolivia that was found to be contaminated by StarLink, widely reported in media such as CNN, and presented in writing to U.S. government officials by Friends of the Earth in 2002.

The representative of WFP in El Salvador Jaume Valldaura, according to IPS, said that he is "certain" that StarLink is not used in the region and that "there is no doubt that we do not distribute StarLink".
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3.StarLink Genetically Engineered Corn in the Food Supply
http://www.humboldt.org.ni/transgenicos/docs/starlink_genetically_engineered.pdf

Date Event
18 Sep. 2000 StarLink corn discovered in Kraft Foods "Taco Bell" brand taco shells. Approved only for animal consumption in April 1998, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) refused to approve StarLink for human consumption due to scientific concerns that it could trigger food allergies (Washington Post)

22 Sep. 2000 Kraft Foods recalls millions of boxes of StarLink-contaminated taco shells (Washington Post)

12 Oct. 2000 Safeway Inc., one of America's largest supermarkets, recalls Safeway brand taco shells contaminated with StarLink corn (Washington Post)

21 Oct. 2000 Kellogg USA, maker of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, shuts down factory due to StarLink contamination (Washington Post)

30 Oct. 2000 Japan's Agriculture Ministry asks U.S. government to ensure Japanese corn imports free of StarLink contamination (Wall Street Journal)

03 Nov. 2000 300 varieties of StarLink-contaminated taco shells, tortillas and snack chips made by Mission Foods recalled (Washington Post)

10 Nov. 2000 The Korean Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) recalls 14,528 kilogrammes of tortillas contaminated by StarLink corn and asks U.S. to stop shipping contaminated corn (Reuters)

18 Mar. 2001 Aventis CropScience developer of StarLink corn announces that 430 million bushels of U.S. corn are contaminated with StarLink (Washington Post)

04 Apr. 2001 100 groups worldwide call on President Bush to stop exporting GMO-contaminated food. "The U.S. should not be exporting genetically contaminated food to other countries," said Ricardo Navarro, Chair of Friends of the Earth International and a resident of El Salvador. "If it is not approved for people to eat in the U.S. then it should not be sent elsewhere."

04 July 2001 StarLink detected for first time in product made from white corn (tortilla chips); previously, it had been thought that only yellow corn was contaminated (Washington Post)

09 July 2001 EPA warns doctor who believes he experienced allergic reactions to StarLink not to eat the corn at a hearing on the matter, citing concern for his safety (Wall Street Journal)

28 July 2001 Allergy experts tell the U.S. government that tests for allergies to StarLink were deeply flawed, and that StarLink corn is still a potential cause of allergic reactions (New York Times)

07 Mar. 2002 U.S. judge says he will approve a $9 million settlement of a lawsuit against major U.S. food companies that sold products contaminated with StarLink corn (Wall Street Journal)

12 June 2002 A Bolivian group el Foro Boliviano para el Desarrollo ye el Medio Ambiente criticizes the U.S. Agency for International Development for shipping food aid contaminated with StarLink to Bolivia (El Diario, La Paz, Bolivia).

27 Dec. 2002 Japan once again detects StarLink corn in shipment bound for Tokyo's food supply (Reuters)

01 Dec. 2003 Three years after StarLink corn was banned for human consumption, U.S. government still finds small amounts of StarLink in more than 1% of samples tested (San Jose Mercury News)