In October 2014, participants of the Africa-US Food Sovereignty Strategy Summit committed to working together to contest the development and implementation of the GM Banana. The so called “super banana” was genetically engineered in Australia to contain higher levels of vitamin A for the Ugandan market. Funded by the Gates Foundation, the GM Banana is now scheduled to be tested on undergraduate students at Iowa State University. In response, Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa developed an Open Letter, supported by AGRA Watch and Summit partners, opposing the human feeding trials of the GM Banana. With sign-ons from 127 organizations and 26 individuals, the letter was sent to the Gates Foundation and Iowa State University in December, 2014.
Below are a few articles and websites that picked up the press release. For more information regarding the GM Banana, see this report by our partner, the African Center for Biosafety. You can also access the documents related to the Iowa State Feeding tests on the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) website.
ARTICLES:
Iowa trial of GMO bananas is delayed by Tony Leys, The Des Moines Register
Bill Gates’ human experimentation with GM bananas in Africa condemned by scientists by Ethan A. Huff, Natural News
Organizations Send Open Letter to Gates Foundation Shunning GM Banana Trials by Christina Sarich, Nation of Change
Agri-activist Vandana Shiva plans Sydney visit by Rowena Dela Rosa Yoon, Asian Correspondent
RE-PRINTS OF PRESS RELEASE
US Human Trials of GM banana for Africa Widely Condemned Polity
African Food Experts Slam US Human GM Banana Trials Sustainable Pulse
AFSA Open Letter Opposing Human Feeding Trials Involving GM Banana Your News Line
AFSA Condemns US Human Trials of GM banana Spy Ghana (Ghana)
Africa Condemns US Human Trials of GM Bananas Permaculture (UK)
