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Sout
h Af
rica
is fa
r fro
m a
n id
eal c
ount
ry fo
r cr
op p
rodu
ctio
n. L
ess
than
15
% o
f its
land
is a
rabl
e an
d th
ere
are
serio
us c
limat
ic c
on-
stra
ints
suc
h as
per
iodi
c dr
ough
ts, f
lood
s, et
c. D
espi
te th
ese
circ
um-
stan
ces
SA h
as t
o ac
hiev
e m
axim
um p
rodu
ctiv
ity t
o pr
ovid
e fo
od
secu
rity
for i
ts g
row
ing
popu
latio
n.
• In
the
past
, cro
p yi
eld
and
qual
ity h
as b
een
signi
fi can
tly in
crea
sed
by p
roce
dure
s suc
h as
sele
ctio
n an
d cr
ossb
reed
ing.
But
as o
ur u
n-de
rsta
ndin
g of
gen
etic
s ha
s in
crea
sed,
sci
entis
ts h
ave
foun
d w
ays
of sp
eedi
ng u
p th
e pr
oces
s.
• By
mea
ns o
f gen
etic
mod
ifi ca
tion
tech
niqu
es, d
esira
ble
char
acte
r-ist
ics
can
now
be
inco
rpor
ated
int
o pl
ants
in
a m
ore
accu
rate
w
ay.
• G
enet
ic m
odifi
catio
n al
low
s us
to g
row
bet
ter-
qual
ity c
rops
with
hi
gher
yie
lds w
hile
at t
he sa
me
time
sust
aini
ng a
nd p
rote
ctin
g th
e en
viro
nmen
t, th
ereb
y pr
ovid
ing
a w
ay o
f m
eetin
g th
e gr
owin
g de
man
d fo
r fo
od w
ithou
t pl
acin
g ad
ditio
nal
pres
sure
on
our
scar
ce re
sour
ces.
As w
ith m
any
new
sci
entif
ic in
nova
tions
, gen
etic
mod
ifica
tion
has
gene
rate
d de
bate
s an
d ha
s be
en s
ubje
cted
to
sens
atio
nal m
edia
co
vera
ge. T
he q
uest
ions
raise
d ne
ed c
lear
ans
wer
s.
Wha
t is g
enet
ic m
odifi
catio
n?A
gene
tical
ly m
odifi
ed o
rgan
ism (
GM
O)
mea
ns a
ny o
rgan
ism; t
he
gene
s (o
r ge
netic
mat
eria
l) of
whi
ch h
ave
been
mod
ified
in a
way
th
at d
oes
not o
ccur
nat
ural
ly th
roug
h m
atin
g or
nat
ural
reco
mbi
na-
tion
or b
oth.
(A g
ene
is a
biol
ogic
al u
nit t
hat d
eter
min
es a
n or
gan-
ism’s
inhe
rited
cha
ract
erist
ics)
. An
exam
ple
of a
GM
O is
a p
lant
that
ha
s bee
n m
odifi
ed to
con
tain
a g
ene
from
a c
omm
on so
il ba
cter
ium
Ba
cillu
s thu
ringi
ensi
s, gi
ving
it a
bui
lt-in
resis
tanc
e to
the
mai
ze st
alk
bore
r, an
inse
ct th
at a
ttac
ks a
nd d
estr
oys m
aize
cro
ps.
Wha
t are
the b
enefi
ts of
gen
etic
mod
ifi ca
tion?
• Pl
ants
can
be
mod
ifi ed
to in
crea
se th
eir r
esist
ance
to in
sect
s, di
s-ea
ses
and
othe
r pes
ts th
at a
re c
apab
le o
f des
troy
ing
or s
erio
usly
da
mag
ing
crop
s.
• Th
is no
t onl
y re
sults
in a
n in
crea
se in
the
yiel
d of
thes
e cr
ops,
but
also
redu
ces t
he n
eed
for u
sing
pest
icid
es.
• Re
duce
d pe
stic
ide
use
impl
ies
decr
ease
d po
llutio
n an
d in
crea
sed
safe
ty fo
r far
mw
orke
rs a
nd th
ose
livin
g ne
arby
, as w
ell a
s les
s har
m
to a
nim
al li
fe.
• Fo
od q
ualit
y is
impr
oved
bec
ause
ther
e is
less
fung
al in
fect
ion,
in-
sect
dam
age
and
resid
ual p
estic
ide.
• In
add
ition
, les
s tim
e an
d en
ergy
is sp
ent i
n cr
op p
rodu
ctio
n.
• Pl
ants
can
also
be
mod
ifi ed
to
have
stre
ss-to
lera
nce
qual
ities
, im
-pr
oved
tast
e an
d ap
pear
ance
s and
bet
ter p
roce
ssin
g ch
arac
teris
tics.
• Im
prov
emen
ts c
an b
e m
ade
to n
utrit
iona
l qua
litie
s su
ch a
s vi
ta-
min
A, w
hich
can
pla
y an
impo
rtan
t rol
e in
com
batin
g de
fi cie
ncy
dise
ases
in m
illio
ns o
f peo
ple.
• El
imin
atin
g nu
triti
onal
defi
cie
ncy
help
s to
prom
ote
a he
alth
y po
p-ul
atio
n an
d pr
oduc
tivity
.
Are g
enet
ically
mod
ifi ed
(GM
) foo
ds sa
fe to
eat a
nd ho
w is
hum
an
heal
th ri
sk as
sess
ed?
All g
enet
ical
ly m
odifi
ed fo
ods
are
thor
ough
ly a
sses
sed
durin
g th
e de
velo
pmen
tal p
hase
to
ensu
re t
hat
they
are
saf
e fo
r an
imal
and
hu
man
con
sum
ptio
n. T
his i
s don
e be
fore
they
are
mad
e av
aila
ble
to
the
publ
ic. T
he s
afet
y as
sess
men
ts o
f GM
food
s ar
e ba
sed
on g
uide
-lin
es a
nd p
rinci
ples
dev
elop
ed b
y Co
dex
Alim
enta
rius
(Cod
ex),
an
inte
rnat
iona
l bod
y in
volv
ed in
food
saf
ety,
toge
ther
with
the
Wor
ld
Hea
lth O
rgan
izat
ion
(WH
O) a
nd F
ood
and
Agric
ultu
re O
rgan
izat
ion
(FAO
) of t
he U
nite
d N
atio
ns. C
odex
prin
cipl
es in
clud
e th
e ne
ed fo
r a
case
-by-
case
saf
ety
asse
ssm
ent;
the
use
of s
cien
tific
risk
-bas
ed a
s-se
ssm
ent m
etho
ds, c
onsid
erat
ion
of n
ewly
intr
oduc
ed g
enet
ic m
a-te
rial, n
ew p
rote
ins a
nd o
ther
cha
ract
erist
ics o
f the
GM
food
, con
sid-
erat
ion
of in
tend
ed a
nd u
nint
ende
d ef
fect
s of
gen
etic
mod
ifica
tion
and
a co
mpa
rison
with
con
vent
iona
lly p
rodu
ced
food
s. G
M-fo
ods
that
are
on
the
mar
ket h
ave
been
app
rove
d by
gov
ernm
ent a
nd a
re
cons
ider
ed a
s saf
e as
thei
r con
vent
iona
l cou
nter
part
s.
Shou
ld G
M fo
ods b
e lab
elle
d?Th
e D
epar
tmen
t of H
ealth
is re
spon
sible
for t
he im
plem
enta
tion
of
legi
slatio
n go
vern
ing
the
labe
ling
of G
M fo
ods a
nd c
urre
ntly
requ
ires
that
a G
M fo
od b
e la
belle
d if
it di
ffers
sig
nific
antly
in c
ompo
sitio
n,
nutr
ition
al v
alue
, or i
n m
ode
of st
orag
e, p
repa
ratio
n or
coo
king
from
th
at o
f the
cor
resp
ondi
ng e
xist
ing
food
stuf
f. The
regu
latio
ns a
lso re
-qu
ire a
GM
food
to b
e la
belle
d as
suc
h if
a pl
ant-
deriv
ed fo
od c
on-
tain
s ge
netic
mat
eria
l der
ived
from
a h
uman
or a
n an
imal
, or i
f ani
-m
al-d
eriv
ed fo
od c
onta
ins g
enet
ic m
ater
ial d
eriv
ed fr
om a
hum
an o
r fro
m a
diff
eren
t tax
onom
ic a
nim
al fa
mily
.
The
labe
ling
info
rmat
ion
on t
he t
able
is n
ot a
war
ning
tha
t th
ese
food
s ar
e un
safe
. It i
s im
port
ant t
o re
alise
that
Gov
ernm
ent d
ecla
res
thes
e fo
ods t
o be
safe
as c
onve
ntio
nal f
oods
bef
ore
they
are
rele
ased
fo
r hum
an c
onsu
mpt
ion.
The
labe
l mer
ely
give
s in
form
atio
n on
the
ingr
edie
nts
of th
e fo
odst
uff o
r pro
duct
as
an in
tern
atio
nally
acc
ept-
able
stan
dard
.
Will
a hu
man
or an
imal
who
/that
eats
GM
food
bec
ome a
GM
O?A
hum
an o
r ani
mal
that
eat
s a
tran
sgen
ic fo
od p
rodu
ct w
ill n
ot b
e-co
me
a G
MO
. The
fore
ign
gene
in t
he G
M fo
od a
nd t
he p
rote
in it
pr
oduc
es, a
re d
iges
tible
like
man
y ot
her
food
pro
tein
s. To
cha
nge
the
gene
tic m
akeu
p of
an
orga
nism
, new
DN
A ne
eds
to b
e st
ably
in
sert
ed in
to it
s gen
etic
mat
eria
l.
A co
mm
on m
iscon
cept
ion
amon
g m
any
is th
at o
nly
GM
food
s co
n-ta
in D
NA.
Thi
s is
not
so, h
uman
s ha
ve b
een
expo
sed
to D
NA
from
co
nven
tiona
l cro
ps, a
nim
als a
nd th
eir a
ssoc
iate
d m
icro
orga
nism
s for
as
long
as
we
have
bee
n ea
ting
thes
e pr
oduc
ts. S
o fa
r, th
ere
is no
ev
iden
ce t
hat
DN
A fro
m t
rans
geni
c cr
ops
is da
nger
ous
to h
uman
s co
mpa
red
to th
e fo
ods t
hey
have
bee
n ea
ting
to d
ate.
Wha
t are
the i
ssue
s of c
once
rn fo
r the
envi
ronm
ent?
Th
e m
ajor
env
ironm
enta
l con
cern
is o
utcr
ossin
g, w
here
gen
es fr
om
GM
cro
ps m
ay b
ecom
e es
tabl
ished
in c
onve
ntio
nal c
rops
or c
lose
ly
rela
ted
wild
spe
cies
. The
pro
cess
of o
utcr
ossin
g is
not u
niqu
e to
GM
cr
ops,
but i
s a p
redi
ctab
le p
roce
ss th
at w
ill o
ccur
onl
y am
ong
clos
ely
rela
ted
plan
t spe
cies
that
are
gro
win
g in
clo
se p
roxi
mity
and
flow
er
at th
e sa
me
time.
All G
M c
rops
are
thor
ough
ly e
valu
ated
to a
sses
s the
pot
entia
l of o
ut-
cros
sing.
The
GM
O A
ct re
quire
s th
at G
MO
tria
ls ob
serv
e pr
escr
ibed
iso
latio
n di
stan
ces
from
oth
er c
rops
. If
safe
ty t
o th
e en
viro
nmen
t ca
nnot
be
dem
onst
rate
d, t
he p
rodu
ct is
not
app
rove
d fo
r tr
ials
or
com
mer
cial
rele
ase.
Is ge
netic
mod
ifi ca
tion
rest
ricte
d to
the f
ood
indu
stry
only
?N
o, th
ere
are
man
y us
eful
app
licat
ions
of g
enet
ic m
odifi
catio
n, e
spe-
cial
ly in
med
icin
e an
d he
alth
car
e. M
edic
ines
and
vac
cine
s ar
e al
-re
ady
bein
g pr
oduc
ed t
hrou
gh g
enet
ic m
odifi
catio
n. A
dvan
ces
in
mol
ecul
ar b
iolo
gy,
imm
unisa
tion,
and
gen
etic
eng
inee
ring
have
re
volu
tioni
sed
our
unde
rsta
ndin
g of
dise
ases
and
the
ir m
anag
e-m
ent.
Glo
bally
ther
e ar
e ab
out 3
5 to
40
biot
echn
olog
y-de
rived
ther
-ap
eutic
s and
vac
cine
s in
use.
One
exa
mpl
e is
insu
lin, w
hich
is w
idel
y us
ed b
y di
abet
ics.
Are G
M fo
ods a
sses
sed
diff e
rent
ly fr
om co
nven
tiona
l foo
ds?
Gen
eral
ly c
onsu
mer
s con
sider
con
vent
iona
l foo
ds sa
fe b
ecau
se th
ey
are
fam
iliar
with
it a
nd h
ave
been
con
sum
ing
it fo
r a lo
ng ti
me.
Whe
n ne
w fo
ods
are
deve
lope
d by
nat
ural
met
hods
, som
e of
the
exist
ing
char
acte
ristic
s of f
oods
can
be
alte
red,
eith
er in
a p
ositi
ve o
r neg
ativ
e
UNDE
RSTA
NDIN
G GE
NETI
CALL
Y MOD
IFIE
D OR
GANI
SMS
agric
ultu
re,
fore
stry
& fi
sher
ies
Dep
artm
ent:
Agr
icul
ture
, For
estry
and
Fis
herie
sR
EPU
BLI
C O
F SO
UTH
AFR
ICA
Unde
rsta
ndin
g GM
Os
Let’s
talk
abou
t GM
Os!
The
Dep
artm
ent o
f Agr
icul
ture
, For
estr
y an
d Fi
sher
ies
wou
ld li
ke to
pr
omot
e de
bate
s in
the
are
a of
gen
etic
mod
ifica
tion
to e
nhan
ce
publ
ic u
nder
stan
ding
and
stew
ards
hip
in m
anag
ing
the
tech
nolo
gy.
Info
rmat
ion
and
GM
O st
atist
ics a
re u
pdat
ed co
ntin
uous
ly o
n ou
r web
-sit
e:
http
://w
ww
.daf
f.gov
.za/d
ivisi
ons/
bios
afet
y
Com
men
ts a
nd su
gges
tions
by
the
publ
ic a
re w
elco
med
.
Gov
ernm
ent
has
also
est
ablis
hed
a fo
rum
for
enga
ging
in d
ebat
es
on b
iote
chno
logy
thro
ugh
a pr
ogra
mm
e ca
lled
“Pub
lic u
nder
stan
d-in
g of
Bio
tech
nolo
gy (P
UB)
” und
er t
he D
epar
tmen
t of
Sci
ence
and
Te
ch no
logy
, web
site:
htt
p://
ww
w.p
ub.a
c.za
Impo
rtan
t web
link
s D
epar
tmen
t of H
ealth
: ww
w.h
ealth
.co.
zaD
epar
tmen
t of E
nviro
nmen
tal A
ffairs
(DEA
): w
ww
.dea
.co.
zaD
epar
tmen
t of S
cien
ce a
nd Te
chno
logy
: ww
w.d
st.c
o.za
Publ
ic U
nder
stan
ding
of B
iote
chno
logy
(PU
B): w
ww
.pub
.ac.
zaCo
nven
tion
on B
iolo
gica
l Div
ersit
y: w
ww
.bio
div.o
rgBi
osaf
ety
Clea
ring-
hous
e: w
ww
.bch
.bio
div.o
rgCo
dex
Alim
enta
rius:
ww
w.c
odex
alim
enta
rius.n
etFo
od a
nd A
gric
ultu
ral O
rgan
izat
ion:
ww
w.fa
o.or
gW
orld
Hea
lth O
rgan
izat
ion:
ww
w.w
ho.in
t/fs
f
Cont
act i
nfor
mat
ion
The
Regi
stra
rG
enet
ical
ly M
odifi
ed O
rgan
isms A
ctPr
ivat
e Ba
g X
973,
Pre
toria
, 000
1So
uth
Afric
a
Tele
phon
e: +
27 1
2 31
9 61
99/6
382F
acsim
ile: +
27 1
2 31
9 63
29Em
ail:
Gill
ianC
@da
ff.go
v.za
ww
w.d
aff.g
ov.za
2005
Fir
st p
rint
2008
Rev
ised
Layo
ut a
nd d
esig
n by
Dire
ctor
ate
Agric
ultu
ral I
nfor
mat
ion
Serv
ices
Dire
ctor
ate
Agric
ultu
ral I
nfor
mat
ion
Serv
ices
, Priv
ate
Bag
X144
Pret
oria
, 000
1
way
. Spe
cific
regu
lato
ry s
yste
ms
have
bee
n se
t up
for t
he r
igor
ous
eval
uatio
n of
GM
org
anism
s an
d G
M fo
ods
beca
use
Gov
ernm
ent i
s co
mm
itted
to
ensu
re a
cces
s to
suf
ficie
nt, s
afe
and
nutr
itiou
s fo
od.
Thes
e sy
stem
s ev
alua
te b
oth
hum
an h
ealth
and
the
impa
ct t
hese
or
gani
sms c
an h
ave
on th
e en
viro
nmen
t.
Are t
here
inte
rnat
iona
l saf
ety r
equi
rem
ents
dur
ing
the
mov
emen
t of G
MOs
?Ye
s, th
e Ca
rtag
ena
Prot
ocol
on
Bios
afet
y, (e
stab
lishe
d un
der
the
Conv
entio
n of
Bio
logi
cal
Div
ersit
y), i
s an
int
erna
tiona
l ag
reem
ent
that
aim
s to
ens
ure
an a
dequ
ate
leve
l of p
rote
ctio
n in
the
fiel
d of
sa
fe tr
ansf
er, h
andl
ing
and
use
of li
ving
mod
ified
org
anism
s res
ultin
g fro
m m
oder
n bi
otec
hnol
ogy.
Sout
h Af
rica
is Pa
rty
to t
his
Prot
ocol
, w
hich
mea
ns t
hat
the
Dep
artm
ent
of A
gric
ultu
re,
Fore
stry
and
Fi
sher
ies
has
to a
dher
e to
thes
e in
tern
atio
nal s
afet
y st
anda
rds
whe
n co
nduc
ting
activ
ities
invo
lvin
g G
MO
s.
How
is th
e rev
iew
pro
cess
of G
MOs
in So
uth
Afric
a han
dled
?Th
e Re
gist
rar
for
GM
Os
rece
ives
all
appl
icat
ions
for
act
iviti
es w
ith
GM
Os.
Onc
e he
/she
is sa
tisfie
d th
at th
e ap
plic
atio
n is
com
plia
nt w
ith
the
prov
ision
s of
the
GM
O A
ct, t
he a
pplic
atio
n is
forw
arde
d to
the
Ad
viso
ry C
omm
ittee
. Mem
bers
of t
he A
dviso
ry C
omm
ittee
are
ap-
poin
ted
by t
he M
inist
er fo
r Ag
ricul
ture
, For
estr
y an
d Fi
sher
ies
and
cons
ist o
f sci
entis
ts w
ho a
re e
xper
ts in
fiel
ds re
late
d to
GM
Os.
Thi
s Co
mm
ittee
eva
luat
es r
isk a
sses
smen
ts (
scie
ntifi
c da
ta r
elat
ing
to
food
, fee
d an
d en
viro
nmen
tal i
mpa
ct) s
ubm
itted
with
eve
ry a
pplic
a-tio
n. B
ased
on
the
findi
ngs
of th
e Co
mm
ittee
, the
app
licat
ion
is re
c-om
men
ded
to th
e Ex
ecut
ive
Coun
cil f
or a
dec
ision
. The
gen
eral
pub
-lic
is a
lso in
form
ed a
nd c
onsu
lted
on in
tend
ed a
ctiv
ities
rela
ted
to
GM
Os
by m
eans
of
notif
icat
ions
in m
ajor
new
spap
ers.
Com
men
ts
from
the
publ
ic a
re a
lso c
onsid
ered
in th
e pr
oces
s of
eva
luat
ing
an
appl
icat
ion.
Thi
s pro
mot
es c
redi
bilit
y an
d tr
ansp
aren
cy in
the
regu
la-
tory
pro
cess
of G
MO
s.
The
Exec
utiv
e Co
unci
l is
the
deci
sion-
mak
ing
body
and
con
sists
of
offic
ials
from
six
gov
ernm
ent
depa
rtm
ents
; th
e D
epar
tmen
ts o
f Ag
ricul
ture
, Fo
rest
ry a
nd F
isher
ies;
Hea
lth;
Envi
ronm
enta
l Af
fairs
; La
bour
, Tra
de a
nd In
dust
ry a
nd S
cien
ce a
nd T
echn
olog
y, as
wel
l as
the
chai
rper
son
of th
e Ad
viso
ry C
omm
ittee
. If t
he E
xecu
tive
Coun
cil
is sa
tisfie
d th
at a
cer
tain
act
ivity
with
a G
MO
may
be
cond
ucte
d, th
e Re
gist
rar i
s aut
horis
ed b
y th
e Co
unci
l to
issue
the
nece
ssar
y pe
rmit.
The
Act a
llow
s fo
r any
one
who
feel
s ag
grie
ved
by a
dec
ision
of t
he
Coun
cil
to a
ppea
l to
the
Min
ister
for
Agr
icul
ture
, Fo
rest
ry a
nd
Fish
erie
s, w
ho sh
all m
ake
a fin
al ru
ling.
Recommended