LOCAL bio-scientist Jonathan Mufandaedza told Parliament yesterday that there were no genetically modified (GM) chickens, adding that the world has not yet produced a genetically modified animal species.
VENERANDA LANGA
He said the big chickens often found in shops were a product of a chicken feed growth stimulant used by farmers to outdo their competitors.
Mufandaedza, who is registrar and chief executive officer of the National Biotechnology Authority, made the remarks when members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement demanded clarity on why most local shops were stocked with imported chickens that were bigger than locally-produced birds.
“A factor that stimulates growth is protein – whether it is in plants or animals – and to some extent sulphates also stimulate growth. For example, nitrogen in AN fertiliser is used to manufacture proteins. There is no animal that is genetically modified and what they do is just to play around with feeds,” Mufandaedza.
“What businesses do on chickens is that they add salt solution. The solution attracts moisture and during the freezing period the chicken grows, but when you cook it the chicken then shrinks,” he said.
When committee members asked him to explain the advantages of adopting basillusthrungiens (BT) cotton, Mufandaedza said the technology produced high yields.
“BT cotton is resistant to troublesome cotton pests. From a scientific perspective basillusthrungiensis (BT) is a protein which does not have any harm to our bodies because the toxins are destroyed. The cotton cake produced from BT cotton is fed to animals. Peope cannot take genes out of animals when they eat them.”
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He said even the cooking oil imported from South Africa made from BT cotton seeds was safe.
“Some people say cotton clothes made from BT cotton cause allergies, but that is not true because we are already wearing imported clothes from BT cotton. Other countries are benefitting from BT cotton and GM products. I see a potential if government decides that Zimbabwe should take the route of BT cotton,” he said.
