The U.S sent to Zambia in November 350,000 metric tons of food. The Zambian government has been sent scientist to research and study the potential effects of importing GM crops. After they studied issues of these kinds of grains the president Levy Mwanawasa referred to the food as "poison" and was not willing to accept it. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2371675.stm).
Agriculture Minister Mundia Sikatana said. "The country should thus refrain from actions that might adversely affect human and animal health as well as harm the environment," (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2371675.stm).
There is a very critical ethical decision that the administration in Zambia was facing from the beginning of the donations. On one hand they have a huge amount of people starving and need the most help that they can get, I think that the Africans and third world countries are one of the hardest to describe if you have never been in a third world country you are not going to understand, pictures and news media are not a good tool to pass the situation. What is being missed is the third dimension such as the smell, noise of crying, the beggars, and all the things that are coming in this matter. "Zambia needs 21,000 tons of food aid a month to feed more than 2.5 million people in the drought-hit south of the country." (Famine-hit Zambia rejects GM food aid).
On the other hand there is the principle of not using GM food in this country and not for the reason of eating it, its because of the worries that the seeds will find their way to the soil and contaminate the local crops that are not GM, if the seeds were ground or half ground then there is no issue at sake, and the grains will not contaminate the locally grown crops. And as I say this principle was based on a lack of knowledge.
The way we are as humans on this earth, when we come to something new the first thing that we do is fear and reject it and probably everyone of us have some story to share on that mater.
By blocking access to the market, rich nations end up depriving poor nations of an opportunity to improve their living standards. ... The yearly subsidy the US gives just to American cotton farmers is three times its total aid to Africa. ...
