African_experts_blame_GM_foods_for_rise_in_cancer_cases

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> Subject:

African_experts_blame_GM_foods_for_rise_in_cancer_cases

> " GM_WATCH " <info

> Wed, 28 Jul 2004 13:55:24 +0100

 

>

> GM WATCH daily

> http://www.gmwatch.org

> ------

> Only time will tell if the experts of the Malawi

> National Cancer Registry are right about this, or

> not. That's the nature of a 'massive human

> experiment'.

>

> " [uK Prime Minister] Blair's chief scientific

> adviser denounced the United States' attempts to

> force the technology [GM] into Africa as a 'massive

> human experiment'. In a scathing attack on President

> Bush's administration, Professor David King also

> questioned the morality of the US's desire to flood

> genetically modified foods into African countries,

> where people are already

> facing starvation in the coming months. "

> The Observer, UK, Sep 1, 2002

> http://ngin.tripod.com/forcefeed.htm

> ------

> Malawi experts blame GM foods for rise in cancer

> cases

> Panafrican News Agency, 21 Jul 2004

>

http://www.countrywatch.com/@school/as_wire.asp?vCOUNTRY=106 & UID=1172030

>

> Blantyre, Malawi (PANA) - The Malawi National Cancer

> Registry (MNCR) has warned that consumption of

> Genetically Modified (GM) foods can contribute

> to cancer cases.

>

> MNRC reports that Cancer, which takes five to 10

> years to develop, is dramatically increasing in

> Malawi recording up to 2, 900 cases annually.

>

> MNRC director, Dr Charles Dzamalala said there might

> be a linkage between the increasing cancer cases and

> the proliferation of GM foods on the

> local market.

>

> " Malawi has no capacity to detect prevailing types

> of cancer and treat them using surgical excision,

> the theatre or prescriptions of anti-cancer

> drugs, " he said. " Moreover, some cancer types are

> incurable. "

>

> The country does not have cancer specialists

> (oncologists) hence they refer patients to

> neighbouring South Africa, Zimbabwe and Tanzania for

> treatment. To mitigate the disease, the cancer

> registry has initiated a campaign to educate the

> masses on the problem.

>

> " Urban people are more prone to cancer risk because

> they are more exposed to air, contaminated water and

> industrial pollution, " said Dzamalala.

>

> In Malawi, the commonest types of cancer include

> Karposis sarcoma, cancer of the cervix, of the

> conjunctiva, malignant lymphoma and breast cancer.

> Experts say there is a link between cancer and

> HIV/AIDS, which they claim, has fuelled the cases.

>

> Karposis sarcoma is the major type.

>

> Research has shown that diet rich in fat,

> consumption of large quantities of smoked fish and

> preserved meat with low fibre is related to high

> incidence of cancer.

>

> Available data indicates that up to 30 percent of

> such cancers are caused by bad dietary habits.

>

> A diet rich in fibre may provide 40 percent

> protection from cancer of the large bowel.

>

> Controversy over GM food flared in 2001/2002 farming

> season when Malawi was severely hit by famine that

> inflicted several countries of southern

> Africa due to prolonged dry spells.

>

> Donor states, notably the United States, ferried

> tonnes of biotech maize to the starved region. But

> Zimbabwean and Zambian governments refused to

> distribute the maize to hungry populations for fear

> of its dangers.

>

> Malawi, however, accepted the GM maize. But former

> agriculture minister Aleke Banda expressed fears in

> Parliament that some ignorant farmers were planting

> the GM food. He dispatched officials from his

> ministry to uproot such maize crops.

>

> " We have been warned of the environmental and health

> hazards of GMO foods and no farmer should be allowed

> to use such maize for planting material, "

> he warned.

>

> The Malawi government and the UN World Food

> Programme resolved to mill all GM maize before

> distribution to the needy.

>