The War On On Food

ARE genetically modified foods an answer or a curse?

- Warren Robertson

IN Uganda the banana trees are sick and have been for some time. A bacterium known as Xanthomonas has taken hold and is devastating the local plant life. The once-thick and green leaves hang yellow from the tree, and where they break, thick yellow pus-like liquid oozes out. The bananas themselves are clearly off. They rot before they are even ripe.

Everywhere one looks the trees sag as if melting under the hot Ugandan midday sun, a sign of imminent starvation and struggle, and it’s only getting worse. It is the same through many of the countries in the region. Supposedly the Xanathomonas can be stopped by removing the male bud as soon as the fruits have set, using bacteria free planting material, and disinfecting cutting tools before using them on healthy plants. But the people here have tried all of these and yet the diseases still spread, crops fail and people go hungry. This problem has been exacerbated in Uganda by the fact that the starchy cassava has been hit by two deadly viruses, ripping into crops and further destroying food supplies. It’s a seemingly hopeless situation – there is already a cure, but it’s one that the farmers in Uganda are not allowed to use.