The world's six billion population should not have any problem with famine if the food available is distributed fairly, and hence there is no need to bring genetically engineered crops into the picture at all.

Participants at the `Science for the People: Challenging Genetic Engineering and Agrochemicals' in Kuala Lumpur today with top-notch scientists and peasants sitting together claimed the world can still support its population without resorting to the genetically modified organism (GMO).

The scientist said that the big companies involved in selling seeds and pesticides, or gene giants, are actually more interested in profits with their reasoning that "they are the solution to the world problems".

Speaker Devinder Sharma, who represented India's Forum for Biotechnology and Food Security, said that the northern countries whose farmers own thousands of acres of land each have always reminded others to produce more every year or the ever increasing world population would be starving to death.

"While one part of the world (southern countries) are producing the food, the other part is looking for the market. In the process, the latter multiplies their crop production (through GMO) and also has its subsidy increased," he said

"Even in the United States, where productivity is high, the farmers are still going for GMO because all they wanted in not productivity, but subsidy," said Sharma, who is also a policy analyst and author.

Health threat

In fact, he claimed that farmers in the north do not even have to produce food in order to enjoy the subsidy.

He said there is no need for the world to go for genetically engineered crops which are an environmental and health threat as the present food production is actually enough to cater for another 800 million people [other than the present world population of six billion], if distributed properly.

The irony now is that millions of people, especially in under developed countries, are without enough food.

An activist with the environmental group Greenpeace, Doreen Stabinsky, said researches on genetic engineering has led giant corporations to produce specific plant or "drug of choice" to cater for their markets.

Knowing the effect of the GMO on health and the environment, she said it is worrying to know that there is no regulations to control the activities of these pharmaceutical companies.

"While they claim that genetic engineering is to feed the world, they are taking the opportunity to turn the Midwest (of the United States) from corn-production to drug producing area," explained Stabinsky.

She said the use of pesticides has resulted in environmental degradation, citing a case in Mexico, where a reservoir has been contaminated from a large GMO farm.

Serious problems

Fellow participant, Fatima Burnad from India, said the use of pesticides in her country has led to serious problems, especially for women.

"As a result, women are suffering from reproduction problem and even those who breastfeed would endanger their children as the milk is contaminated with the poison," she explained.

While little can be done to save consumers from the danger of GMO, South Korean consumer activist Kim Jai Ok said the consumer group in the country has been working hard to pressure the importers who bring in GE food, such as soybean.

"Therefore, we have to get the scientists to provide evidence that the GMO is dangerous for health," she said.

Since there are so few South Korean scientists who are willing to study the impact of GMO, Kim urged the scientists to create a network and assist each other in their researchs.

While some level of awareness on GE food has reached South Korean consumers, Dr Michael Hansen of the United States said that the American citizens are widely exposed to the danger.

"It is not true that the US has its crops fully tested. The fact is, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not required the testing," he said.

FDA, he said, has been merely looking at the new method of agriculture as an "extension to the traditional method".

Ignore people's safety

Fellow scientist, Ricarda Steinbrecher expressed her disappointment with scientists who are fulfilling the corporate agenda with giant companies and thus ignore the safety of the people.

"When profit comes in through the door, safety goes off through the window," she said, describing those who are more concerned in making money above anything else.

To a question as to whether the farmers can live without pesticides, a participant claimed that it is possible to do so.

He said the farmers should stick to planting local seeds and mixed crops to allow nature to take care of them.

According to a participant, 100,000 farmers under the New Agricultural Movement in India have proven the traditional method of farming is the best, where no pesticides are required in the process.

The three-day conference at the Asia Pacific Development Centre (APDC) is the first such international meeting which brings together scientists and peasants to discuss the threat of genetic engineering (GE) on livelihoods and the environment.

Participants from about a dozen countries, offered different views on GE and genetically modified organism (GMO) which giant companies tout as the "solution" to the world's problems such as famine, food and crop production obstacles, and minimising pollution.

It is organised by non-governmental organisations, namely Pesticide Action Network, Era Consumer and Tenaganita.

The conference which ends on Monday is timely as it is held just before the Malaysian government sponsored 'BioMalaysia 2002' conference from Oct 1-4.

According to the organiser, the conference aims to foster major investment in GE and biotechnology development to turn Malaysia into a GE hub in Asia.