Confusion Rocks Press Confab �As Anti-GMOs Activist And Scientist In Hot Exchanges

There was drama as confusion ensued between a seasoned anti-Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) campaigner and a pro-GMOs scientist over the validity and truth of their respective positions on the raging debate on the introduction of GMOs in Ghana and the passing of the Plant Breeders Bill (PBB). The commotion broke out during a news conference after a presentation by Dr. Vandana Shiva, the Indian Founder of the Research Foundation for Science and Ecology, on the topic �Food Sovereignty and the Farmers� Right,� which pointed out the harmful effects of GMOs on human health, food security and the environment. The conference, which was organised by the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) in collaboration with Food Sovereignty Ghana (FSG), was held last Tuesday in Accra. After Dr. Shiva made her statement, Mr. Yaw Opoku, the lawyer for FSG, debunked claims made by Dr. Margaret Attipoe, a scientist at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on Accra-base radio stations that FSG was bring paid by certain unnamed foreign organizations to resist the introduction of GMOs into Ghana. When the organizers told members of the audience to ask questions, Dr. Attipoe, Focal Person for the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB), registered her disagreement with the submissions of Dr Shiva and Mr. Opoku. The confusion came in as Dr. Attipoe tried to cast doubt on the credibility of Dr. Shiva by stating that Dr. Shiva had a degree in Philosophy, but the prominent anti-GMOs activist cut in to make a clarification. Dr. Attipoe then entreated Dr. Shiva to allow her to finish her submission. But Dr. Shiva said she would not let her complete her statement if she was giving misleading information about her educational background. As Dr. Shiva tried to explain without letting Dr. Attipow finish her statement, it resulted in an unpleasant exchange of words between the two women who oppose each other in the GMOs debate. In the course of heir loud arguments in the glare of all present at the conference, Dr. Shiva asked Dr. Attipoe, �Were you invited?� �No,� Dr. Attipoe answered. Dr. Shiva then said, �Then you gate-crushed?� The expression �gate-crushed� did not go down well with Dr. Attipoe. So she said she would leave if her presence was not needed. She then picked her bag and headed to the door. While she was approaching the door, Madam Lucy Anin, an elderly woman who was one of the first ten women Ministers appointed by former President Kwame Nkrumah, raised her voice, telling Dr. Attipoe that she was one of the people destroying Ghana. Dr. Attipoe did not let Madam Anin�s statement go unreplied. This led to her exchanging words in a very hot manner with Madam Lucy. Some persons tried to calm Dr. Attipoe and escorted her out. But Dr. Attipoe would not take the fracas lying down. Last Friday, she held a press conference and lambasted FSG and Dr. Shiva, accusing them thus: �Attempts were made to exchange venues in order to prevent attendance by certain individuals and groups. Thus we were told that she had missed her flight when in actual fact she was smuggled in to Paloma Hotel to hold a public forum where she misinformed the public about GMOs and its associated Plant Breeders Bill.�