GMOs ARE SAFE AND BENEFICIAL – CASER
The Citizens Advocacy for Social & Economic Rights (CASER) has responded to the recent call by the House of Representatives on GMOs.
A press statement issued and signed by Convener, FoodAvail Nigeria and CASER’s Executive Director, Mr. Frank Tietie on 24th May, 2024 said that in continuation of its advocacy for greater acceptance of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Nigeria it will be exposing the numerous misinformations among the Nigerian public about the safety and benefits of GMOs.
“CASER’s Response to the Recent Call by the House of Representatives on GMOs.
“The Citizens Advocacy for Social & Economic Rights (CASER) continues its advocacy for greater acceptance of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Nigeria. There is a lot of misinformation among the Nigerian public about the safety and benefits of GMOs. Therefore, those promoting biotechnology and GM crops in Nigeria should use better communication strategies to dispel false information spread by conspiracy theorists and individuals with commercial interests.
“GMO foods have been consumed in the United States and many countries for the last 30 years without scientific evidence of adverse effects on human health, animals, and the environment.
“Recently, there has been a sharp increase in the spread of misinformation (fake news) about GMOs, with social media flooded by subjective amateur videos of pseudo-experts making highly unscientific and unsubstantiated claims, some of which have now assumed dangerous and criminal dimensions that undermine national security.
“This growing misinformation about GMOs has not been met with adequate effort by the community of scientists, technologists, promoters, and officials of the Federal Government, who understand the principles of biotechnology and have a duty to educate the Nigerian public on the safety and benefits of GMOs.
“The recent call by the Nigerian House of Representatives to review the introduction of GMOs in Nigeria did not surprise us at CASER, given the enormity of the wave of misinformation and conspiracy theories about GMOs and biotechnology, which have mainly gone unchallenged with the correct information about the established legal and scientific regimes for the safe application of biotechnology and its products such as GMOs.
“The recent call by the House of Representatives would, however, now serve as an excellent opportunity to educate the parliamentarians and Nigerians in general about not only the benefits and safety of biotechnology and GMOs but also how they serve as strategic tools for national development, especially in the areas of food security. The opportunity should, therefore, be maximised.
“CASER adopts the safe application of biotechnology as part of its mandate to promote the human right to food and to improve the living standards of the citizens of Nigeria.
