By Jane Okafor, Abuja
Experts with the knowledge in food safety and nutrition have raised the alarm concerning the health implications of Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) foods in Nigeria.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), genetically modified organisms can be defined as organisms – plants, animals or microorganisms, in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not follow natural process such as mating and/or natural recombination.
The experts said the worrisome cases of diabetes and hypertension in children as well as early memory loss – dementia, in young Nigerians could be traced to GMO foods.
The concerned experts shared their worries in Abuja on Wednesday during a media symposium organised by the Centre for Food Safety and Agricultural Research (CEFSAR), Environmental Rights Action (Friends of the Earth), Alliance for Action On Pesticides in Nigeria (AAPN), Project Print, and HOMEF.
Speaking at the symposium meant to tackle global and local concerns on GMOs,
the executive director of CEFSAR, Professor Qrissturberg Amua, voiced his concern that the importation of GMOs in Nigeria without government regulations was affecting the hormones system of Nigerian citizens, with an attendant consequence of increased diabetes rate even in children.
Amua identified one of the health risks of GMOs as early memory decay, where young people in their 40s were losing memory and intelligence at a disturbing dimension.
He called on security agencies to interrogate, especially the various crop science that are brought from European Union (EU) countries without censorship and foisted on Nigerians to eat it.
“Before today, an ailment like diabetes was known or taken to be a condition for the elderly, people who were advanced in age.
“Today, it has been proven from our research that these GMOs are promoting diabetes ailments in young children, teenagers, twelve-year-olds are going down with diabetes because these things are affecting the hormonal systems of people.
“Also, young people who are not even fat are going down with hypertension. They will deceive you and say it is because you are sitting down in one place for too long or you are eating processed foods.
“The third one is early memory decay where young people in their 40s begin to lose their memories. The rate at which young people are losing memory is alarming,” he lamented.
Also weighing in, the coordinator of Alliance for Action on Pesticides in Nigeria, Donald Ikenna Ofoegbu, called for proper monitoring laws to checkmate GMOs in Nigeria.
According to him, there was no framework or education to help unsuspecting Nigerians determine GMOs in the market.
