Kenyan Farmers Suing Government to Uphold GM Crop Ban
First Kenyans demonstrated to try to get through to their government for ‘encroaching on constitutional rights’ and reversing a GM crop ban, and now a small group of farmers has taken their plea to the courts.
This past week, a petition was filed against the Kenyan government representing a group of small-scale farmers, which claims the lifting of the ban will harm indigenous farmers and their ability to grow non-GM food.
The Kenyan Small Scale Farmers Forum argues that the safety of GM crops is undetermined and the reversal of the GM ban impedes upon public rights, imposing safety and economic risks on small farmers.
For months, activists have been irate over Deputy President William Ruto’s full-steam-ahead attitude to reverse a former GM ban. Supposedly relying on a task force to inform him before making the decision, Ruto is said to have ignored public opinion, and also failed to disclose the results of the task force’s inquiry into GM seed safety before forging ahead to lift the ban.
The current lawyer for the Farmers Forum is trying to have the case classified as an ‘urgent’ lawsuit. It will be heard on September 24th.
The safety of GM crops is not based on public opinion. As such, a – quote – “small group of farmers” does not get to dictate national policy based on unsubstantiated beliefs.