PRESS RELEASE

AFRICAN GROUPS ACCUSE WFP AND USAID OF DENYING AFRICA'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE TO
REJECT GM FOOD AID

Johannesburg, 4th May 2004. More than 60 groups representing farmer,
consumer, environmental and development organisations from 15 African
countries have today, sent an open letter of protest to the World Food
Programme (WFP). These groups are protesting against the pressure exerted by
the WFP and USAID on Sudan and Angola over their respective decisions to
impose restrictions on GM food aid. The groups are demanding that the WFP
and USAID immediately desist from misleading the governments of Angola and
Sudan with a scenario of NO CHOICE, and forcing them to accept GM food aid.

Sudan has requested that GM food aid be certified "GM free" and Angola will
accept GM food aid only on condition that whole GM grain is first milled.
Despite the Sudanese government having put in place an interim waiver on the
GM food restriction until July 2004, USAID cut off food aid to Sudan. The US
government has since continued to exert enormous pressure on Sudan, with the
result that the Sudanese government has relented and extended the waiver for
a further period of 6 months, allowing the distribution of GM food to
continue until January 2005.

The WFP responded to the Angolan government by saying that the country would
face a significant decrease in the provision of food aid if it continued to
insist the GM grain is first milled.

The African groups are of the view that the WFP responded
inappropriately to Sudan and Angola because it should have guaranteed the
right of these countries to reject or impose restrictions on GM food aid.

"The scenario presented by the WFP and USAID to these African countries, is
either they accept GM food or face dire consequences. These actions are
totally unacceptable" said Bryan Ashe from Earthlife Africa.

The protest letter points out that the WFP knew as long ago as May 2003,
that the Sudanese government intended to impose restrictions on GM food aid.
Furthermore, they allege that the WFP must also have been aware of the
August 2003 recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and
Biosafety of the Southern African Development Community, (SADC), of which
Angola is a member, that its member states mill all GM grain before
accepting it as food aid. Thus they say, the WFP has had adequate advanced
warning to react to the decisions taken by the governments of Angola and
Sudan in an appropriate and timeous manner. The WFP instead chose to make
the entire issue controversial once again.

"The WFP obviously has learnt very little from the Southern African food
aid crisis, when several Southern African countries imposed estrictions
on GM food aid. These countries too, faced overwhelming pressure from USAID
and the WFP. However, Zambia, which imposed an outright ban on the
acceptance of GM food aid, not only managed to cope with its crisis, but is
now even able to export non-GM food to its neighbours" said Mariam Mayet
from the African Center for Biosafety.

A new report titled "GM Food Aid: Africa denied choice once again; was" also
presented today, and shows very clearly that overall, non-GM alternatives
exist at national, regional and international levels, and
donors should make these available to Sudan and Angola. The WFP and the Food
and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations have both
officially recognized that Sudan has an abundance of food available in the
country. Non-GM alternatives need to be fully explored in Angola.
Furthermore, regional and international non-GM alternative sources also
exist.

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For further information contact:

Bryan Ashe, EarthLife Africa: +27 (0) 31 201 1119, or +27 (0) 82 65 21 533
Mariam Mayet, African Center for Biosafety: +27 11 646 06 99

The letter and the document are availible on the the following website:
www.earthlife-ct.org.za