AGRICULTURAL NEWS - Maize is South Africa's staple food and some people eat it up to three times a day.
According to the South African Department of Science and Technology, 86 percent of maize and 85 percent of soy in South Africa are genetically modified and most are sprayed with the weed killer Roundup which contains glyphosate.
According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a subdivision of the World Health Organization (WHO), there is strong evidence that glyphosate can cause cancer. Institutes in countries where glyphosate is in high use, for example, Argentina and Canada, have carried out studies assessing whether the use of the weedkiller could lead to kidney diseases, birth defects or childhood cancer.
In the beginning, glyphosate was only used before seeding to get rid of weeds but biotechnology opened up new possibilities through the use of genetic modification. Now plants can be engineered to be resistant to poisons like glyphosate so that the weedkiller can be sprayed directly onto the crops.
Many countries, including Germany, are highly critical of the use of glyphosate. In June 2016, the European Commission reduced its licensing of the product from 15 to 1.5 years following protests from member states. Other institutions, including the US Environmental Protection Agency and the European Food Safety Authority, object to the IARC's findings.
Poison or promise?
"Why is South Africa poisoning its people?" This is how Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the president and founder of South Africa's Inkatha Freedom Party and traditional prime minister of the Zulu nation, titled a recent press release.
"It is disturbing that the government has abandoned its responsibility for the well-being of South Africans," the press release read.
Toren Wing is one of the co-signers of the press release and chairperson of the South African Traditional Doctor's Union. Even though no official statistics on cancer have been published since 2011, Toren Wing stated in an interview with DW that the rate of cancer is rising in South Africa.
"I work with about 500 doctors and the word from the doctors on the ground is that cancer is exploding in the country," he said. "Cancer used to be one in a thousand. Then some twenty or thirty years ago the figure was one in twenty-seven. Now the number is one in three."
Corporations versus farmers
"Our concern is the lack of any kind of research into the possible effects of glyphosate on humans," said Haidee Swanby, a researcher at the African Center for Biodiversity (ACB), in an interview with DW. Her institution campaigns against the activities of Monsanto, the main producer and provider of glyphosate in South Africa.
In the beginning, glyphosate was only used before seeding to get rid of weeds but biotechnology opened up new possibilities through the use of genetic modification. Now plants can be engineered to be resistant to poisons like glyphosate so that the weedkiller can be sprayed directly onto the crops.
Many countries, including Germany, are highly critical of the use of glyphosate. In June 2016, the European Commission reduced its licensing of the product from 15 to 1.5 years following protests from member states. Other institutions, including the US Environmental Protection Agency and the European Food Safety Authority, object to the IARC's findings.
Poison or promise?
"Why is South Africa poisoning its people?" This is how Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the president and founder of South Africa's Inkatha Freedom Party and traditional prime minister of the Zulu nation, titled a recent press release.
"It is disturbing that the government has abandoned its responsibility for the well-being of South Africans," the press release read.
Toren Wing is one of the co-signers of the press release and chairperson of the South African Traditional Doctor's Union. Even though no official statistics on cancer have been published since 2011, Toren Wing stated in an interview with DW that the rate of cancer is rising in South Africa.
"I work with about 500 doctors and the word from the doctors on the ground is that cancer is exploding in the country," he said. "Cancer used to be one in a thousand. Then some twenty or thirty years ago the figure was one in twenty-seven. Now the number is one in three."
Corporations versus farmers
"Our concern is the lack of any kind of research into the possible effects of glyphosate on humans," said Haidee Swanby, a researcher at the African Center for Biodiversity (ACB), in an interview with DW. Her institution campaigns against the activities of Monsanto, the main producer and provider of glyphosate in South Africa.
