US embassy cable - 02HARARE1611

UNCLAS HARARE 001611 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/PD, AF/S, AF/RA 
NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER 
LONDON FOR GURNEY 
PARIS FOR NEARY 
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, KPAO, ZI 
SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT PAPER TAKES AIM AGAINST BIOTECH 
FOOD DONATIONS 
 
 
  1.   Under the headline "We say NO to GM food" the 
      editorial in the July 9 edition of the government- 
      controlled daily "Chronicle" offered a stunningly 
      uninformed diatribe against the supply of biotech food 
      to hungry Zimbabweans.  Excerpts: 
 
  2.   ".It.boggles the mind to imagine that there are 
      some among us who want us to throw caution to the wind 
      because we face a drought.  Who want us to accept 
      everything that has `drought relief' written on it 
      when in fact it might contain a time bomb.  In a 
      nutshell, the so-called private press is on a campaign 
      to have us believe that the government should accept 
      genetically modified maize or food from the U.S. to 
      `save lives.'  Yet scientific evidence abounds that GM 
      foods disrupt the natural eco-system.  They destroy 
      natural life cycles of plants and even other crops not 
      `resistant' or geared to the `genetics' of the GM 
      organisms.  There is no doubt that Zimbabwe needs 
      every helping hand it can get in terms of food aid. 
      But that does not mean that because we have a disaster 
      or what the FAO describes as `serious food shortages' 
      we should accept food laced with poison.  For the GM 
      maize being dumped on us by the U.S. is nothing but 
      poison.  We cannot expose the entire nation to risk 
      what might result in perennial food shortages for the 
      sake of a mere 10,000 tons of maize that can only feed 
      the nation for just two days.  Even were the U.S. to 
      offer us millions of tons of GM maize, the answer will 
      be and should still be an emphatic NO!  .Scientific 
      evidence shows quite clearly that when Genetically 
      Modified Organisms were introduced in Europe and the 
      U.S., there were problems.  Some experts even venture 
      to say that the lack of forests and wildlife in 
      Europe. is a direct result of GMO effects. We 
      therefore throw our full weight behind the government 
      in rejecting the slap in the face coming in the form 
      of `drought relief.'  It is unfortunate that the 
      opposition press is supporting GM maize or food.  Law 
      enforcement agents should be on the alert as people 
      with ulterior motives are bound to take advantage of 
      the drought by sneaking in all sorts of GM foodstuffs. 
      Any individuals or companies found with any form of GM 
      food must be severely punished.  And any `relief' food 
      must be thoroughly tested and GM food must be burnt 
      without any qualms." 
 
  3.   Comment: While the presumably willful ignorance 
      of biotech science was not surprising from this paper, 
      we were surprised that the editorial showed such 
      ignorance of Government of Zimbabwe's (GoZ) policy on 
      biotech food donations.  The GoZ has raised no 
      objection to biotech food delivered in the form of 
      meal -- only whole-grain food has caused concern.  We 
      have sent the editor a letter and collection of 
      reputable information about biotech crops and food, 
      but will rely on the GoZ to correct the editor's 
      misrepresentation of official policy on the imports of 
      biotech food.  End comment. 
 
SULLIVAN