Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-01-30-Speech-4-034"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech2
dcterms:Date	"2003-01-30"^^xsd:date2
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:World hunger and the elimination of barriers to trade with the poorest countries2
dcterms:Language	"nl"^^xsd:language2
lpv:document identification number	"en.20030130.1.4-034"2
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2003-01-30-Speech-4-0352
lpv:speaker	lp:Frank Vanhecke2
lpv:spokenAs	member; Delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee (2002-02-07--2003-06-04)3 member; NA (2001-10-03--2003-06-04)3 member; Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs (2002-01-17--2003-06-04)3 unknown; Vlaams Blok (1999-07-20--2003-06-04)3 substitute; AGRI (2002-02-05--2003-06-04)3 substitute; Delegation to the EU-Lithuania Joint Parliamentary Committee (2002-02-07--2003-06-04)3
lpv:translated text	"Almost 30 million people in Africa are threatened with starvation. The aid organisations have been warning of a large-scale disaster since September. The fact that even this Parliament is only paying attention to this five months later says a great deal. Nevertheless, I am pleased about this resolution. In addition to the immediate cause – drought and war – it also looked at the deeper causes: poverty, the high customs tariffs on products from the poorest countries, the burden of debt, the AIDS epidemic and the agricultural subsidies in the West. I have two thoughts on the issue. The rich countries must naturally come up with resources to relieve the distress more quickly and more generously. This food aid, however, must not be used as a political tool by regimes like that in Zimbabwe so that they can shirk their responsibilities and perpetuate their power. Secondly, starvation must not be used as an excuse to push genetically modified food. In the European Union, the approval of GMOs is subject to stringent requirements, and rightly so. In Africa, the uncontrolled dumping of GMOs could have far-reaching consequences, in particular for the environment, agriculture and food safety. Even the milling of genetically modified grain is not a watertight solution. In Zimbabwe, the stores were plundered as soon as the food arrived. The assertion that there is not enough non-GM food available is not correct. India has 65 million tonnes of grain available immediately. During the Cold War, food aid was used as a political and commercial weapon. We must not allow it to be used today to create a market for Western biotech companies, so enabling such companies permanently to bind farmers in developing countries to themselves."@en1

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