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In print
Don't worry - It's safe to eat: The true story of GM food, BSE and Foot
and Mouth
By Andrew Rowell
Published by Earthscan
Email: earthinfo@earthscan.co.uk
Website: www.earthscan.co.uk
2003, 278pp, ISBN 1 85383 932 9(Hb), £16.99
With the transparency of the British government under serious threat over its justifications for the war in Iraq, this account of arrogance and manipulation in the government's handling of BSE, the foot and mouth epidemic, and ongoing safety tests for GM crops, could hardly come at a more sensitive time. It is also a compelling read. The case being made by Rowell, an investigative journalist with over 12 years' experience writing on environmental, food, health and globalisation issues for respected bodies such as the World Health Organisation, World in Action and WWF, is that on all three issues, internationally acknowledged experts have been marginalised, and UK government policy made on the advice of an elite group of scientists.
Rowell does not shy away from 'naming names'. Most of the elite are members of the Royal Society, and are connected with the zoology departments of Oxford and Cambridge universities. They have, he argues, a "stranglehold on scientific expression in the UK". They are not, however, necessarily expert in the subjects they are called to advise on.
The account of the foot and mouth epidemic in Britain is a case in point. The government policy to cull animals within a 3km radius of any detected cases led to the slaughter of millions of healthy animals. It was argued that this was the best way to stop the virus spreading. Yet the policy, it is alleged, was based on a model of human sexual disease transmission, its author an expert on human epidemics, but not livestock. The model took no account of the varying degrees of infectivity between different types of livestock, nor of how infectivity changes as the virus spreads within a herd or flock. Moreover, despite two subsequent inquiries recommending that vaccination should be used in response to future outbreaks, in reality the government's policy appears to be unchanged. The Devon farmer who ascertained this in an interview with the chief government scientist, David King, believes the authorities are unwilling to change the policy primarily as this would be an admission that their former advice had been wrong.
For those who lost livestock and livelihood during the epidemic, and the consequent closing of the countryside, Don't worry may reopen wounds that had begun to heal. The accounts of government handling of BSE and research into the safety of genetically modified crops are equally disturbing. If widely read and believed, the political fall-out could be immense.
Women
and land in Africa: Culture, religion and realizing women's rights
Edited by L Muthoni Wanyeki
Published by Zed Books
Website: zedbooks.co.uk
2003, 384pp, ISBN 1 84277 097 7(Pb), £16.95
While women dominate the agricultural labour force in much of Africa, their right to own and exploit land is an increasingly contentious issue, particularly in the context of population expansion, land scarcity, liberalisation and privatisation. And even when legislation to support greater equality is in place, customary and religious rules often impede women claiming their theoretical rights. This volume examines women's land rights in the context of religious and statutory regulation of land in seven countries: Cameroon, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Uganda. The opening chapters detail empirical and primary research on the relationship between culture, religion and human rights and their impact on women's land rights. Subsequent sections describe communications and advocacy work conducted in five of the countries. Clearly intended for an academic audience, the editors believe the findings will also assist those campaigning to improve women's rights to land in Africa.
