Rights activists on Saturday demanded that the draft Food Safety Bill 2013 remove the conditionality for banning genetically modified (GM) food to ensure people’s right to safe food.
Speaking at a roundtable discussion, titled “Food Security of the People and Food Safety Act 2013 (draft),” they also observed that the definition of GM food in the law must be made clearer and more comprehensive.
The roundtable discussion was jointly organised by Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD) and Actionaid Bangladesh at Dhaka Reporters Unity.
In his keynote presentation, Barrister Abu Raihan M Khalid said it is appreciable that section 21 of the draft law has banned GM food, but the section needs to be more clarified.
“It’s not comprehensible, and also a matter of concern, why some conditionality, including the publishing of government gazettes, is added to the section,” he said. “Genetically modified food or GM food must be banned here without any conditionality.”
Raihan also noted that the law has not proposed any punitive measures to support the ban of GM food. No provision of law becomes mandatory unless there is a punitive measure, he observed.
Speaking on the occasion, Actionaid Bangladesh country director Farah Kabir recommended that the draft law must entail provisions related to the people’s right to food before it is placed to the parliament. “Ensuring the availability and access of food to the poor remains the cornerstone for ensuing safe food to all,” she said.
The law must also give a comprehensive definition of food, incorporating the nutrition aspect to it, added Farah.
Consumer Association of Bangladesh president Kazi Faruq said ensuring people’s right to food means to ensure safe, secure and nutritious food to all and it must be recognised in the law.
ALRD executive director Shamsul Huda noted that the clemency to sellers of unsafe food on condition that they cooperate with the inspection is recommended in section 65 of the law which is totally ‘absurd’. “This section will open up grounds for corruption. We demand this section be removed,” he said.
The discussion meeting was held with ALRD chairperson Khushi Kabir in the chair.
Source: UNBConnect
