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{
    "id": 243120,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/243120/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 204,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Prof. Oniang'o",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 363,
        "legal_name": "Ruth Khasaya Oniang'o",
        "slug": "ruth-oniango"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this Motion. I was in the USA for the last two weeks and I read about this Motion on the internet. I was hoping that I would be around to contribute to it. I was actually shocked to read about the emotional utterances that were being made July 12, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2003 in the name of science. It will be a sorry day if the House passes this Motion in its present state. We will, in fact, show the world what an ignorant Parliament we are. First of all, the Genetically Modified (GM) foods have not been banned in other countries. In fact, if we are to refer to Europe, it is regretting that it is far much behind the USA with regard to this biotechnology. If you listened to Mr. Tony Blair two years ago, he said that the United Kingdom (UK) will have to differ with the rest of Europe because they have to keep up with the science of biotechnology. We know that the people who controversially oppose biotechnology in this country do not go hungry themselves. They are well fed and when they go overseas, they eat biotechnology foods. Even here in South Africa, people eat GM foods. We depend on food aid from other countries. This is because only one-fifth of Kenya's land is arable. The same fraction of our land area is used for settlement. That means that four-fifth of our land area needs to be made productive. It cannot be productive if we continue using Stone age technology. Kenya is way ahead when it comes to technology. We are strategically placed given that we are next to South Africa. However, we need to bypass them when it comes to technology. As far as I am concerned, biotechnology is like a computer; like it or dislike it, it is here to stay. It is good the Assistant Minister for Agriculture is here and he is listening to what we are saying. What we require is biosafety legislation. We are taking too long to bring that legislation in this House for debate. Biotechnology food is, in fact, safer than some of the foods that we are eating at the moment which are subjected to all kinds of chemicals. We do not even know how such foods are produced! I would rather eat biotechnology foods because they have been scrutinised thoroughly over the last ten years. We do not want to be left behind. The Mover of the Motion should go to the internet and keep abreast with science."
}