lunes, 20 de agosto de 2012


PRESS RELEASE FROM THE AFRICAN CENTRE FOR BIOSAFETY

The African Centre for Biosafety (ACB) has today released its new study titled, “How much glyphosate is on your dinner plate? SA's food safety compromised by lack of testing.” This study highlights numerous risks posed by the herbicide glyphosate to human and animal health as well as worrying regulatory failures, particularly in relation to the monitoring, inspection and testing of food for glyphosate residues.

South Africans consume glyphosatei ridden food on a daily basis: currently, 77% of maize grown in South Africa is genetically modified (GM) and of this 54% (about 1 million hectares) is modified to be glyphosate tolerant. Soya products on our market suffer the same fate: all of the GM soya planted in South Africa is tolerant to glyphosate, planted on 480 000 ha. South Africa also imports bulk shipments of GM grain from countries growing herbicide tolerant crops.

According to Mariam Mayet, Director of the ACB, “the ACB was desirous of testing food samples for glyphosate residues. In the course of trying to get these samples tested, the ACB learnt that while there are numerous private testing laboratories throughout South Africa, nine of which are ISO 17025ii accredited, none were able to test for glyphosate residues in our samples of maize and soya products. Testing could only be achieved if the samples were sent abroad, at considerable expense.”

The main findings of the study include:
  1. Numerous peer reviewed studies on glyphosate exist, documenting the health risks posed to to animal and human health;
  2. There is a complete lack of testing for glyphosate residues in local market produce. The private sector relies on independent laboratories for monitoring, but none of these currently are able to test for glyphosate. Local government health authorities are responsible for the inspection and monitoring of imported foodstuffs in terms of the National Health Act. However, municipalities suffer from severe capacity constraints and do not undertake any testing for exceedance of the Maximum Residue Limit (MRL).
  3. Information from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) with regard to the registration, re-registration and review of glyphosate is veiled in secrecy.
  4. Failure by government to reform current legislation regulating glyphosate, and all pesticides for that matter, despite government itself acknowledging such legislation to be hopelessly outdated and unconstitutional.

According to Mayet, “A moratorium should be placed on the further use of glyphosate until such time that capacity exists in South Africa to monitor and test for residues in locally produced and imported food.”

The ACB calls on government to make the following information available to the public:
  • Data on glyphosate residues in food, water, and soil as a result of the introduction of glyphosate resistant GM crops;
  • Details of its surveillance of glyphosate in food, agricultural and natural systems;
  • What support  it is giving to South African labs to establish the requisite capacity to monitor MRLs in our food; and
  • What progress has been made since the publication of the Pesticide Management Policy with regard to legal reform.

ACB’s Study titled “How much glyphosate is on your dinner plate? SA’s food safety compromised by lack of testing” can be downloaded from its website.

Contact: Mariam Mayet, African Centre for Biosafety
083 269 4309

i Glyphosate is the 'active ingredient' in numerous chemically based herbicides that are used in diverse situations including in food production, timber plantations, sports fields and home gardens.

ii ISO 17025 is the recognised international standard for competence of testing and calibration laboratories. Download the ACB study for further explanation.

The African Centre for Biosafety
www.acbio.org.za
PO Box 29170, Melville 2109 South Africa
Tel: +27 (0)11 486 1156

lunes, 13 de agosto de 2012

African Centre for Biosafety: Sign against "Agent Orange" in South Africa, ACDP submits 'Agent Orange' petition to Parliament

The African Christian Democratic Party is supporting a petition by the African Centre for Biosafety (ACB) to overturn a government decision to allow the import of “Agent Orange” GM Maize into South Africa. The maize is dubbed ‘Agent Orange’ because it has been genetically modified to survive very liberal applications of a weedkiller called 2,4-D, one of the key ingredients of the infamous defoliant chemical used in the Viet Nam war. The GM maize in question belongs to US chemical giant, Dow Chemicals.

YOU CAN SIGN THE PETITION IN AVAAZ:
BAN AGENT ORANGE GM MAIZE IN SOUTH AFRICA

A wide range of experts in the health field in South Africa have supported the Petition, citing worries about the potential health impacts and government’s lack of capacity to monitor the 2,4 D residues left on food crops. Cheryllyn Dudley, Member of Parliament and Chief Whip of the ACDP, today said: “2,4-D GM maize could pose a health risk to Sou th Africans who eat maize as a staple food, unlike in America where maize is grown primarily for livestock. Government has been too hasty in granting the approval”.

Director of the ACB, Mariam Mayet claims that “the introduction of 2,4-D resistant crops is expected to trigger a 30-fold increase in the herbicides’ use by the end of the decade. This chemical has been linked to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (cancer of the white blood cells) and numerous studies on animals have produced a variety of disturbing results”.

The use of 2,4-D is banned completely in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. The World Health Organisation classifies the Chlorophenoxy herbicide group, of which 2,4-D is by far the most widely used member, as ‘possibly carcinogenic to humans’.

The petition, supported by 18 health professionals and academics, 20 South African organisations and over 6000 individual signatories, calls on the South Af rican government to overturn the decision to allow the importation of the maize for “food, feed and processing” and to review the decision-making process around GMOs to ensure that it is “transparent, just and fair”. “We are handing over our food production to massive chemical companies whose interest is to keep farmers on their chemical treadmill. We should be supporting healthy food production systems that will sustain our people and the environment into the future. This decision needs to be interrogated and the public needs to be educated and involved”, Dudley said.

We have prepared a fully referenced Fact Sheet  titled "What you should know about DOW's 2,4 GM maize".
Download thePDF book from this page and please help spread the word via the Facebook Like button.



For more information contact:

Cheryllyn Dudley, MP, Cell: 082 890 6520 (SMS best for urgent response)