© AFP    3/9/02 8:31 AM

Earthlife Africa accused the United States on Tuesday of using the UN World
Summit on Sustainable Development to "coerce" African governments into
accepting genetically modified food aid.

Earthlife condemned the United States for "serving the interests of the
biotech industry" and forcing African countries into accepting genetically
modified agricultural assistance.

"We are appalled at the US government's use of famine and hunger to justify
the introduction of GM food aid and [we] join African NGOs and farmers in
condemning this coercive marketing strategy," Earthlife said in a statement.

Earthlife said that $53-million worth of agricultural biotech aid and $50-
million worth of GM food aid is current
ly being offered to Africa in an
attempt to break the four-year-long continent-wide ban on GM food and
crops.

"The most extreme form of coercion is the US government's attempt to force
Southern Africa to abandon their import regulations and accept GM food aid
by denying them GM-free food supplies," Earthlife said.

Earthlife also said there is widespread resistance the world over to GM
technologies and that despite this, the US is using USAid and the World
Food Programme to "dump" unsaleable GM crops on Africa.

Speaking on behalf of a number of African civil society groups, Earthlife
said: "We refuse to be used as a dumping ground for genetically
contaminated food, rejected by the northern countries, and we are enraged
by the emotional blackmail.

"Africa will not allow itself to become a dumping ground. This is another
form of colonisation, first through slavery, then through
economic
colonisation and now through the control of food and medicine".

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