Activists Say U.S. Manipulating Meet to Promote GM Food

WASHINGTON, Jun 23 (IPS) - Activists have gathered at a California conference this week to counter what they call the U.S. administration's attempts to force-feed genetically engineered (GM) crops on developing countriess.

They reject Washington's argument that science and technology provide all the answers to fight against hunger.

'It is a myth that science and technology play a critical role in reducing hunger in developing countries. The claim that we must accept genetically engineered foods if we are to feed the poor in the Third World is simply 'poorwashing',' Anuradha Mittal of California-based Food First told IPS on Monday.

Hunger is a complex phenomenon that cannot be solved by technology alone. We need political commitment and not technology. Countries suffering from hunger need basic social economic change,