IMMUNOLOGIST ALLAYS GMO MAIZE CONSUMPTION FEARS

SENIOR Immunologist Kansenzi Kalenga has allayed fears that Genetically Modified maize is not safe for consumption.

According to Dr Kalenga, assertions that Genetically Modified maize was unsafe were mere rumours that were not scientifically substantiated.

He said there were far more dangers for a child to have malnutrition today than it was for the purported dangers that would affect an individual in the future.

“There are rumours which I will call stories that basically say GMOs are not safe. If you eat cornflakes or biscuits which are imported, the chances are you are eating GMOs anyway. GMOs are far safer than people have said. The truth is GMOs have been around for the past 20 years. Do you honestly think these things were still going to be around if the situation was that they were not safe?” Dr Kalenga asked.

He said Genetically Modified maize neither required fertilizer nor does it need a lot of water.

He explained that the countries in Africa which were experiencing food insecurity due to global warming needed crops that were far more resilient

“I think most people don’t understand what GMO is. What you need to understand about GMOs is that they stand for Genetically Modified Organisms, all that happens is that from the genetic basis, certain genes are removed from a plant or animal and from another plant that comes from another plant or animal which are beneficial to that plant or animal.

“What happens, for example, with maize, is that when you have Genetically Modified maize, that maize does not need fertilizer and you can look at the situation we are in right now where we are going through a drought. Genetically Modified maize could have made a very big difference in that farmers will still have been able to grow maize which was going to be far more resilient, need far less water and need far less fertilizer. This means the country is not spending as much money, importing fertiliser and using foreign exchange in order to bring it through,” he explained.

He said the temperatures and lack of moistures the country was experiencing would continue and get worse as the decades go on hence, GMOs being the answer to the predicament.

“We need to look at GMOs truthfully and assess if there is any real damage. From my scientific background, I have studied genetics at Master’s levels in the United Kingdom(UK). The danger which people profess over GMOs pose is not true,” he said.

He added that the fact was that vaccines that were readily given to children were Genetically Modified.

“If you look at the Coronavirus, that is an RNA strip which has been modified, put into another organism and put into your body in order to elicit the immune response. People must be given an option to choose between GMOs and Non-GMO food. What should be offered is an option where people should be told that these are GMO products but those products must be available to those who want to take the risk of eating them because ultimately, they will be cheaper.

“Let people have options. I have eaten GMOs for years and years but I have not seen the effects…there has been no negative effects,” maintained.