GM maize by-products dumped

The World Food Programme (WFP) in Zimbabwe on Thursday confirmed it had destroyed tonnes of milled genetically modified (GM) maize screenings in compliance with government regulations. Screenings are a by-product of maize, generated during the milling process. WFP's spokesman, Luis Clemens, told IRIN: "In accordance with a request from the government, the screenings were transported and disposed of in disused mine shafts." But according to the Zimbabwean Financial Gazette, local cattle farmers were disappointed at the government order, arguing that the GM residue could well serve as stockfeed. The newspaper noted that the refusal by the government to allow farmers to use the screenings came at a time when the price of stock feed had gone up by 40 percent. "Although it is still unclear why the authorities would prevent the screenings to be used to feed livestock, there has been concern that cattle fed on GM leftovers may not be as attractive for export," an official at National Food Limited (NFL) told IRIN. Last year NFL was contracted to mill 13,000 mt of GM maize to feed some 7 million Zimbabweans.