JAMAICA NEEDS better laws to deal with the issues created by genetically modified (GM) foods, says Dr. Audia Barnett, executive director of the Scientific Research Council (SRC).
Caribbean islands need to share the legislative framework that each has developed, in order to build a stronger overall legislative framework, Dr. Barnett said. She was speaking at the Medical Association of Jamaica's symposium at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, New Kingston, on Friday.
"In the Caribbean we need to learn from each other rather than reinventing the wheel," she said.
There were trends and practices that made the islands more vulnerable to genetically modified foods, Dr. Barnett said. Among them were the region's dependence on imported foodstuff and the relatively low scientific and research capabilities.
Those challenges contribute to the region's exposure and admittance of GM foods, especially since they are not labelled.
Genetically modified foods are products of plants that have been modified in the laboratory to enhance traits, such as increased resistance to pests and herbicide-tolerance or improved nutritional content. Also, they tend to grow at a much faster rate than normal crops.
Labelling food would provide consumers with the opportunity to chose what they wanted to eat, Dr. Barnett said. However, labelling was being strongly opposed by the United States, which is one of the main producers of genetically modified foods.
The call for labelling GM foods has been the centre of much controversy for some years now. This is due mainly to possible health risks associated with the foods. These include allergies and unknown long-term effects.
GM foods are available on the Jamaican market but they are not labelled as such. Among the imported GM foods are soy, maize, cotton, canola, tomatoes, corn and potatoes coming from the United State, Argentina, Canada, China, South Africa and Australia.
GM experiments are being done on rice, wheat, salmon, milk and animals.
