Self-suffiency or Starvation?

Imagine turning the tap to find nothing but a single drop dripping out. Imagine having to go outside and to queue in a line for your water. Imagine flushing your toilet once daily, and showering for one minute per day. In the light of the drought in South Africa, an increase of GM crops (genetically modified) have been considered as an alternative to farming in South Africa because they require less water. (Tamar) With three-fourths of its maize supply being genetically modified, South Africa is the leading country of Africa to use GM crops. However, in South Africa, there is a massive controversy over the continued usage of GM crops in agriculture. So why is such a simple solution being met with such backlash? If the controversy in South Africa is as big as it is in the US, we would see products flying off the shelves in supermarkets. (Tamar) Many South Africans protest GM crops, due to their resulting reliance on western corporations as well as their delibating environmental effects.

Most of the controversy over GM crops in South Africa echo the controversies in the United States during and after the Green Revolution, a post World War II movement that allowed the industrialization and mass production of food in the US. The Green Revolution, with the introduction of mass commercial farming and genetically modified crops, decreased malnutrition in the US and improved food security. It also created negative social and economic changes by increasing farmer reliance on large multinational companies, like the Monsanto Corporation (Joanes). This is bad for the farmers, as they are at the mercy of large GM corporations that can control prices. Because genetically modified crops are intellectual property, farmers cannot replant the seeds that they buy from corporations, even if they are overseas. The proliferation of GM crops may cause a decrease in self-sufficiency for South African farmers as a result. By supporting GMs, South Africa will have to support and coordinate with a company that has worked with the US military to develop chemical weapons that caused millions of cases of birth defects and cancer in warring foreign countries such as Vietnam (Luong). As a result, many South Africans are against supporting foreign influences that may threaten their political and economic independence.

Another reason why GM crops are so controversial is that they have a devastating impact on the environment. This destruction has been shown in the US, where the widespread use of pesticides and GM crops have destroyed a lot of ecosystems such as the river wildlife described in Rachel Carson’s book, Silent Spring. Carson described that:”On the mornings that had once throbbed with the dawn chorus of robins, catbirds, doves, jays, wrens, and scores of other bird voices there was now no sound; only silence lay over the fields and woods and marsh” (1). Pesticides can run off the land and into water sources, contaminating bodies of water with chemicals that can harm both humans and nature. Many South African farmers often abuse conventional pesticides in farming (Stieber). GM crops will only make the problem worse, as many GMOs are specifically created to resist pesticides. As a result, these modified pesticides can also kill conventional crops. They aslo damage wildlife and biodiversity. Pests can adapt to pesticides, which force farmers to use new pesticides in greater quantities. Pests can then adapt to this, causing a negative feedback loop as farmers increase pesticide usage even more. (Stieber)

In the United States, the drawbacks of genetically modified crops are recognized, and even being fought against in the form of the organics sections in the local Safeway and Walmart. However, international companies like Monsanto push for these crops in junction with the US to be introduced into Africa. Given the need for self-sufficiency, many South Africans are reluctant to take in GMOs and instead hope to find alternative sources of food that use less water.

Carson, Rachel. “ A Fable for Tomorrow.” Silent Spring, Penguin Books, in association with Hamish Hamilton, 2015.

Falck-Zepeda, José, et al. Genetically Modified Crops in Africa: Economic and Policy Lessons from Countries 

South of the Sahara. International Food Policy Research Institute, 2013, http://www.ifpri.org/publication/genetically-modified-crops-africa.

Haspel, Tamar. “The Last Thing Africa Needs to Be Debating Is GMOs.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 

25 May 2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/the-last-thing-africa-needs-to-be-debating-is-gmos/2015/05/22/81b76574-fe62-11e4-833c-a2de05b6b2a4_story.html?utm_term=.efabef8e58c9.

Jaffer, Zubeida. “SA Only Country Allowing GM Staples: We Have No Choice.” The Journalist, 

http://www.thejournalist.org.za/kau-kauru/gm-staples.

Joanes, Ana Sofia, director. Fresh. The Video Project, 26 May 2009.

Luong, Dien. “55 Years After Agent Orange Was Used In Vietnam, One Of Its Creators Is Thriving Here.” The 

Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 31 Oct. 2017, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/monsanto-vietnam-agent-orange_us_57a9e002e4b0b770b1a445ba.

Stieber, Zachary. “GMOs, A Global Debate: South Africa, Top GMO-Producer in 

Africa.” The Epoch Times, 19 Oct. 2013, https://www.theepochtimes.com/gmos-a-global-debate-south-africa-top-gmo-producer-in-africa_323635.html.

“Hazardous Harvest: Genetically Modified Crops in South Africa: 2008-2012.” The African Centre for 

Biodiversity, The African Centre for Biodiversity, 15 May 2012, https://acbio.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Hazardous-Harvest-May2012.pdf.

“Fact Sheet: GMOs in South Africa .” Biowatch South Africa, 3 June 2016, http://www.biowatch.org.za/docs/fs/2016/GMOs%20in%20SA%20June%202016%20FINAL.pdf.