Starving in Zimbabwe

[LovetoGiveRoses]

Mugabe is the elected President of Zimbabwe. English farmers established farms there and country gained a reputation as the breadbasket of Africa prior to the change in government. They grew grains as well as cash crops like tobacco. XEnglishX - White farmers owned 80% of the farmland, ran large and efficient farms and employed thousands of people native to the region.

President Mugabe served his first term and the country floundered a bit. In the second election many foreign observers noted that there was a lot of election fraud. Since the second election, President Mugabe has pushed land reform. He wants the XEnglishX white farmers off the land so it can be returned to the native population. Instead of making a smooth and equitable transition where the farmers recieve some sort of compensation for the time and effort they put into establishing the farms and running them successfully, Mugabe encouraged the people of his country to just "take" the land without regard to the people that established them. Many of the former owners have been subjected to inhumane treatment and squatters have taken over their land and property.

Farm production is way down. A drought this year is contributing to the problem, drying up the corn. However, another part of the production drop is that the "squatters" don't know how to farm.

Now Zimbabwe is facing starvation. Several countries have come to the aid of Zimbabwe and are sending food. 80% of the of the donations are from the United States. As you might know, US agriculture is heavily steeped in science and uses a variety of methods to maximize yields including genetic modification. The food that we eat is all genetically modified. The genetic modication does things like increase yield, size, nutrition, drought resistance, etc.

The Europeans don't believe in genetic modification. They've advocated to President Mugabe to reject the food from the USA and he's agreed. The problem is that most of the food is from the USA, there aren't any other alternatives yet.

What are the hungry people going to do?

 

[LovetoGiveRoses]

Article Today in the paper...

By Dennis Avery and Alex Avery - Washington Times 8/20/02.

Are European officials and prestigious science journals truly applauding one of the world's bloodiest dictators for rejecting food aid for his starving people just because some of the corn may be genetically modified?

We're talking about Robert Mugabe, the so-called president of Zimbabwe, who used mobs to strong-arm his way to recent re-election and who has virtually destroyed his nation's economy with graft and violence. Mr. Mugabe was recently invited to bask in anti-biotech virtue, as though he were protecting his people from real danger, by refusing donated U.S. corn in the middle of a desperate southern African drought.

Millions of Zimbabweans are at risk of starvation from a combination of drought and Mr. Mugabe's policies. The drought has dried up the traditional farmers' staple corn crop, as it periodically does. Zimbabwe cannot afford to buy imported corn, as it usually does, because Mr. Mugabe turned loose mobs of "guerrilla veterans" to oust the white farmers from Zimbabwe's commercial farms. The high-yield commercial farms (and their tens of thousands of black employees) used to produce the high-quality tobacco that earned most of the country's foreign exchange. This year, Zimbabwe can neither grow corn nor buy it.

The U.S. corn being offered as food aid is the same corn that Americans themselves have been eating in their corn flakes and tortilla chips with no ill effects. The United States has no other corn to offer, because America does not segregate biotech commodities from conventional ones. (Three U.S. government agencies must be satisfied with the crops' safety before the seeds can even be planted.)

America donates about two-thirds of the food aid offered in the world, and is offering corn to Zimbabwe. It has also offered free grain to Zambia, which is being urged to reject it by European activist groups. Malawi, Lesotho and Swaziland accept U.S. corn with no apparent concern.

Europe has surplus grain, and allows its consumers to believe the mostly American biotech commodities should be feared, even though no health or environmental threat has ever been documented. Europe is not offering its non-biotech wheat as food aid, nor has it offered to buy conventional corn to save Africa from the supposed ravages of genetically engineered seeds.

"I think is it absolutely irresponsible, unless they put their money where their mouth is and come up with non-GM food," said one aid official who asked not to be named. "I don't have the nerve, heart or soul to deny, as a precautionary principle, food to people who are hungry right here, right now."

When African people are starving, here and now, can the journal Nature truly be claiming that America is betraying them by offering the same food we eat? Are the activists truly willing to work in favor of mass starvation for others over the "precautionary principle" that says we should never permit any new technology henceforth, because no scientist can ever prove that any technology is so safe it won't cause even a skin rash?

Why should we expect anti-science activists to develop qualms of conscience now, just because a few million women and children are starving before their eyes? After all, millions of Africans and Asians have been dying of malaria for decades, while many of the same activists blocked the safe and cost-effective indoor use of DDT to repel and kill the mosquitoes. The activists tried to block biotech Golden Rice, developed to save millions of Third World kids from death or blindness due to Vitamin A deficiency. Animal rights campaigners continue to destroy medical research facilities and researchers' lives, endangering tens of millions of people in the long term to "protect' a few white rats who are alive solely for research use. (No labs, no white rats get fed.)

Zimbabwe proves again that the activists don't care about real people losing real lives to real food shortages. They cannot be entrusted with a real world.

 

[LovetoGiveRoses]

What do you do?

 

[bluespoke]

As some of you may know, the Robert Mugabe let the fight for freedom against the English in Rhodesia. They won and formed the new country of Zimbabwe and he was elected President. English farmers established farms there and country gained a reputation as the breadbasket of Africa prior to the change in government. They grew grains as well as cash crops like tobacco. English farmers owned 80% of the farmland, ran large and efficient farms and employed thousands of people native to the region.

President Mugabe served his first term and the country floundered a bit. In the second election many foreign observers noted that there was a lot of election fraud. Since the second election, President Mugabe has pushed land reform. He wants the English farmers off the land so it can be returned to the native population. Instead of making a smooth and equitable transition where the English farmers recieve some sort of compensation for the time and effort they put into establishing the farms and running them successfully, Mugabe encouraged the people of his country to just "take" the land without regard to the people that established them. Many of the former owners have been subjected to inhumane treatment and squatters have taken over their land and property.

Farm production is way down. A drought this year is contributing to the problem, drying up the corn. However, another part of the production drop is that the "squatters" don't know how to farm.

Now Zimbabwe is facing starvation. Several countries have come to the aid of Zimbabwe and are sending food. 80% of the of the donations are from the United States. As you might know, US agriculture is heavily steeped in science and uses a variety of methods to maximize yields including genetic modification. The food that we eat is all genetically modified. The genetic modication does things like increase yield, size, nutrition, drought resistance, etc.

The Europeans don't believe in genetic modification. They've advocated to President Mugabe to reject the food from the USA and he's agreed. The problem is that most of the food is from the USA, there aren't any other alternatives yet.

What are the hungry people going to do?

Robert Mugabe did NOT lead the fight for freedom from the BRITISH it was led by Ian Smith. Robert Mugabe was elected President later.

English farmers did NOT own 80% of the farmland, WHITE farmers did and many of these are South African or Zimbabweans of many generations.

President Mugabe (may he rot in Hell for killing his own people) does not give a flying fuck what the Europeans think. It is mystery to most why he has rejected the GM food as he normally does the exact opposite of anything Europe thinks.

Please try getting your facts straight before you launch into your tirade.

 

[LovetoGiveRoses]

Re: Re: Starving in Zimbabwe

Robert Mugabe did NOT lead the fight for freedom from the BRITISH it was led by Ian Smith. Robert Mugabe was elected President later.

English farmers did NOT own 80% of the farmland, WHITE farmers did and many of these are South African or Zimbabweans of many generations.

You're right, I should do more research first. Mugabe did not lead the fight for freedome and it is white farmers, not English.

He might not be accepting the food because of animosity towards him by the US government. As an example, today the US government said that they'd like to see him replaced. The discussion on 'ousting" was in the context of a statement something like that they wished the people of Zimbabwe would find a new leader..not in the context of any action being considered from this part of the world.

 

[Myrrdin]

I've seen nothing about the UK advocating rejecting GM food aid.
This is what the BBC says.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2207060.stm

Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique are all concerned that some GM food aid could be planted, contaminating their own crops.

But Mr Natsios head of the United States Agency for International Aid (USAid). said that 17,000 tonnes of US GM maize would be exchanged for a similar amount of Zimbabwean maize.

Zimbabwe would then mill the GM maize at its own expense, to ensure that none of the maize was planted.

 

[LovetoGiveRoses]

I think the French are the most vocal objectors to genetically modified food, though I'm not entirely sure.

 

[LovetoGiveRoses]

That was a great BBC article.

How can Mugabe do this to his own people? In effect, he's starving them through poor policy. Is he malicious towards his own people or is he just stupid?

 

[bluespoke]

I think the French are the most vocal objectors to genetically modified food, though I'm not entirely sure.

I think, in general terms, the governments are not sure (though I'm not up on French thinking) and are trying to carry out tests with GM crops.

Unfortunately the Luddite activists are trying to destroy each experimental area they can find.

Given the increasing population of the planet, if GM food can be used safely then it may be possile to eliminate hunger.

 

[bluespoke]

That was a great BBC article.

How can Mugabe do this to his own people? In effect, he's starving them through poor policy. Is he malicious towards his own people or is he just stupid?

Stupid? No.

Mad as a fucking hatter? Most definitely.

Sadly the world is only sitting up and noticing Zimbabwe now and not when Mugabe and his henchmen were murdering a whole tribe of their own people some years back.

 

[LovetoGiveRoses]

Our agriculture policy is probably contributing to the problem. Our government underwrites production and so we end up with hugh overproduction. Maybe they do this on purpose so that they can help in situation like what's happening in Africa now. Maybe it's just because the Farmer's have strong advocates in congress, I'm not sure.

 

[Myrrdin]

The seed companies are their own worst enemy as regards GM crops.
In order to test whether the inserted gene is present, in laboratory tests, they use an extra gene which is antibiotic resistant as a marker gene. One company has just announced that they've planted thousands of acres in the UK using seed contaminated with this marker gene.

The anti activists couldnt buy publicity this good. Hell they're so hard up they cant even afford maps. Half the time they're in the wrong field ripping up the wrong crops.

 

[LovetoGiveRoses]

Wow. I didn't know about the anti-biotic resistant gene. I'd like to find out more about that. Our media is so bent over here that we can't depend on getting the whole story on many subjects.

 

[Gord]

Stupid? No.

Mad as a fucking hatter? Most definitely.

Sadly the world is only sitting up and noticing Zimbabwe now and not when Mugabe and his henchmen were murdering a whole tribe of their own people some years back.

It is the same old African problem - the world looks on as some lunatic decides to fuck up his country, kill whoever disagrees with him and then brings the country to its knees - then when the disaster is total - we send in the aid agencies to see what can be done, while Mugabew will be sitting pretty in Lybia or somewhere with the millions he has taken. makes you want to weep , Zim had the chance of being a prosperous country - ok in our terms the people might not be rich, but they have food, homes , jobs and above all can sleep at night without thugs knocking on their door -

 

[Myrrdin]

Wow. I didn't know about the anti-biotic resistant gene. I'd like to find out more about that.

Antibiotic resistance in GM crops.

http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/sciences/story/0,12243,775702,00.html

 

[LovetoGiveRoses]

That's a very interesting article. Thank you very much. Do you know if the anti-biotic strain is a unique characteristic of this Avantis' product or is it more widespread?

 

[Myrrdin]

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=cache:EJ2xUyk9QjUC:www.rafi.org/documents/news_monsantosub.pdf+antibiotic+marker+GM&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
(Warning ,it's a long ass article)

A new US patent, awarded to Monsanto on 16 January 2001, gives Monsanto exclusive monopoly rights on a crucial method of identifying modified plant cells in the laboratory.US Patent No. 6,174,724 covers all practical methods of making transformed plants that employ antibiotic resistance markers. The technique, though controversial, has been used in virtually all commercial GM crops.

Fivemajor Gene Giants - Pharmacia (Monsanto), DuPont, Syngenta, Aventis, Dow -dominate agbiotech.

Threecountries (US, Argentina and Canada) accounted for 98% of the global world GM planted crop area in 2000.

 

[Bob_Bytchin]

I'm totally ignorant to the exacts on "genetically altered" vegetables...but I always assumed it was an extreme form of hybridization. That certain gene splices that control yield, size, taste, color etc... were implanted into hybridized plants to create "super" plants.

Well, if the plant is essentially the same plant after the splice as before the splice, then what's the harm? I would think that people would jump on the bandwagon of having 10-lb ears of corn that have the greatest taste around. Maybe that's another reason why the rest of the world starves....because they stick to traditional methods that have long been proven to be underproductive.

 

[p_p_man]

That's a very interesting article. Thank you very much. Do you know if the anti-biotic strain is a unique characteristic of this Avantis' product or is it more widespread?

I don't know why you bothered to start this thread. You're not sure of anything and any old information you find interesting.

Why not direct your remarks to the fact that the white farmers have now been driven off their farms to be replaced by high ranking officials and cronies of Mugabe, and in one particular case his own wife.

There's also a rumour that Ghadaffi has one in the offing for supporting Mugabe.

All this with a wide spread famine forecast just around the corner. What price now all those black farmers who expected to have the land divided up between them for the loyalty to the President?

There'll be more trouble in the future in what was once a prosperous country.

And whilst your re-directing your remarks you may as well ask why South Africa, who supply Zimbabwe's electricity, is doing absolutley nothing to control the vicious little bastard...

ppman

 

[LovetoGiveRoses]

I knew that there'd be lots of comments on it and I was interested in learning more. There's a lot of smart people on lit and they often provide very good insight into problems and issues.

What is the UK doing to deal with the situation? It is a former colony after all and many of those displaced farmers are from the UK by heritage even if they are several generations removed.

I don't mean as far as food, I mean:

1) Helping the displaced farmers and
2) Dealing with Mugabe and his cronies

 

[Ishmael]

What do you do?

Let them starve of course. I'm deadly serious. This is a political problem brought about purposely by government policy.

My proposal is certainly Darwinian. But by golly they'll learn to farm or they'll fucking starve. And if they learn to farm, there will be a market there, not artificially deflated by "free" food handouts.

I bit on the "humnanity" of it all during the famines of the 80's. They were sold as victims of 'nature', not idiots bent on personal power trips. The agriculture in those countries never have fully recovered because of the "free" handouts that are being shipped in. The "free" stuff destroys the local agricultural market, thereby insuring that the coutry will NEVER be able to feed itself.

Let them starve. Nature will take care of things.

Ishmael

 

[p_p_man]

I knew that there'd be lots of comments on it and I was interested in learning more. There's a lot of smart people on lit and they often provide very good insight into problems and issues.

What is the UK doing to deal with the situation? It is a former colony after all and many of those displaced farmers are from the UK by heritage even if they are several generations removed.

I don't mean as far as food, I mean:

1) Helping the displaced farmers and
2) Dealing with Mugabe and his cronies

Why should the UK do anything?

It's a Commonwealth problem who in turn are not doing enough to stop Mugabe. Nor is the EU.

The people with the real power to stop him and, as you Americans so cutely put it, have a 'change of regime', are the South Africans and they're doing fuck all about it.

But it ain't gonna help anyone if food, genetic or otherwise, is given to the country. All that will do is keep Mugabe in power. But I supposre food will be sent anyway in the name of 'humanitarianism'...

ppman

 

[Ishmael]

Why should the UK do anything?

It's a Commonwealth problem who in turn are not doing enough to stop Mugabe. Nor is the EU.

The people with the real power to stop him and, as you Americans so cutely put it, have a 'change of regime', are the South Africans and they're doing fuck all about it.

But it ain't gonna help anyone if food, genetic or otherwise, is given to the country. All that will do is keep Mugabe in power. But I supposre food will be sent anyway in the name of 'humanitarianism'...

ppman

And quite frankly we'll see the same thing that we saw in Ethiopia and Somalia and the Sudan. Where the powers that be confiscate and manage the 'distribution' of the food. We will kbe providing them just another weapon that they can use against the people of their nation.

Let the bastard's starve.

Ishmael

 

[LovetoGiveRoses]

<Writing in my journal> A most unusual thing happened today. PP and Ish agreed on something. I don't think that's ever happened before. <looking at the sky to see if this convergence might be the sign of some sort of galactic miracle>

Gotta run for real now, dinner and errands call.

 

[Ishmael]

<Writing in my journal> A most unusual thing happened today. PP and Ish agreed on something. I don't think that's ever happened before. <looking at the sky to see if this convergence might be the sign of some sort of galactic miracle>

Gotta run for real now, dinner and errands call.

Actually we have on more than one occasion. It is rare though.

Ishmael