GMO, Abu Sakara, And The CPP

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Conventional Youth 12 years ago

All of a sudden, this politician has become a scientist, hoping from radio
station to radio station, making “the most noise”, exactly like a very
familiar object when it is empty! These laws imposing GMOs on Ghanaians a ...
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All of a sudden, this politician has become a scientist, hoping from radio
station to radio station, making “the most noise”, exactly like a very
familiar object when it is empty! These laws imposing GMOs on Ghanaians are
being passed without any form of public awareness and participation in the
decision-making. In fact the Plant Breeders Bill was read in Parliament
during the football match between Ghana and Egypt for the World Cup in
Brazil. Whilst Ghanaians were watching football some far-reaching questions
about our future, and even the powers of Parliament or the Executive, as
well as the Judiciary, how much of it we can keep for ourselves and which
rights to hand over to our new masters, were being considered.
GIRLS SP 12 years ago

Akyea Mensah is a lazy fool.

Akyea Mensah is a lazy fool.
Cynthia 12 years ago

Abu Sakara is a traitor, pure and simple. CPP beware, this is a guy who took money from NDC and never campaigned. STOP such people from literally putting his stomach first before nation. He dares not contest.

Nkrumah wrote ...
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Abu Sakara is a traitor, pure and simple. CPP beware, this is a guy who took money from NDC and never campaigned. STOP such people from literally putting his stomach first before nation. He dares not contest.

Nkrumah wrote and warned Ghana and Africa about re-colonization which infuriated the West(it took CIA, MI5 and Isreali intelligence plus Ghanaian block-headed stupid cows to overthrow Nkrumah. They chased him to where he was residing in Guinea and killed him with cancer.

Nkrumah indeed exposed the West and lo and behold all that he wrote has come to pass and more are coming.
Kofi Annan is one of them so is Abu Sakara.

If GMO is good why has Europe banned it? Why has Scandinavian countries India and many countries banned it? Why is Prince Charles companying so hard against it? We would have sold our food security to Monsanto if Parliament signs the bill. Ghanaian farmers will order from abroad every year seeds for planting. What about the numerous ailments associated with GMO crops? male and female bareness, cancer etc. I'm not shocked Abu has suddenly taken money as usual: he sold his Party and now wants to sell his Country. Guys, remember Nkrumah's book: Neo-Colonialism, the Last Stage of Imperialism. Go find the book and read. Nkrumah is Africa's hero indeed. See how the West and China have now re-colonised Africa? We own nothing: from our mineral resources to our Banks and telecoms. Not even tooth picks. We now wear obroniwawu underwear and brazier. At the time of Nkrumah overthrow Nkrumah was almost 90% complete with the gold refinery. When CIA took over Ghana in 1966, they flooded the country with milk and sardine and told those fools (Afrifa, kotoka, Ankra, Busia etc) to dismantle the gold refinery. As I write the refinery is rotten in the Western Region, go see it for yourselves. Now we send our gold to South Africa and we don't even know how much they will call back to say we got from the gold dust. We are a disgraced generation. We have failed our children and God and He (God) is not coming back soon to save us. We are STUPDLY stupid!!!!
SA Deaf Translator 12 years ago

I don't know about Shakara taking money from NDC but I do know that he received super-cheap govt land from the NPP administration to start his real estate business.

The man is a pro-NPP/PPP mole in CPP. CPP is full of the ...
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I don't know about Shakara taking money from NDC but I do know that he received super-cheap govt land from the NPP administration to start his real estate business.

The man is a pro-NPP/PPP mole in CPP. CPP is full of them - moles from all over.
Dia 12 years ago

Absolutely false.He took no land from the NPP. The media report on this was proved to be false.

Absolutely false.He took no land from the NPP. The media report on this was proved to be false.
Maame 12 years ago

Dear Cynthia,
Thank you for TRYING I say TRYING to make Ghanaians aware.Everything you say
is right and more.
We are sooooo STUPID-we shall be the first to be exterminated by GMO seeds.
Thanks for you being a Ghanaian-ma ...
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Dear Cynthia,
Thank you for TRYING I say TRYING to make Ghanaians aware.Everything you say
is right and more.
We are sooooo STUPID-we shall be the first to be exterminated by GMO seeds.
Thanks for you being a Ghanaian-many more like you and we may just have a CHANCE.JUST.We are too stupid.MBOBO!
AMU 12 years ago

Thank you Cynthia.

Thank you Cynthia.
Brother 12 years ago

Never have I been proud as a Ghanaian than when I read things like this. I can not believe that, Dr Sakara will go to this length.How appalling! That Our parliament will stoop this low and with our executive, think of laying ...
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Never have I been proud as a Ghanaian than when I read things like this. I can not believe that, Dr Sakara will go to this length.How appalling! That Our parliament will stoop this low and with our executive, think of laying such serious bills with such nauseating clauses in secret. Ghana is once again being sold as in 1966. God save us. Are you doing this on your own volition Dr Sakara.
Kwame 12 years ago

The pathetic sight of the African scientist is that how can a Ghanaian support GM foods that will deprive the Ghanaian farmer from producing his own seeds. Not only that it will also let farms near the GM crop to mutate the a ...
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The pathetic sight of the African scientist is that how can a Ghanaian support GM foods that will deprive the Ghanaian farmer from producing his own seeds. Not only that it will also let farms near the GM crop to mutate the animal property that has been transferred to the crop that will not let its seed germinate.
Rice grown on a field near to tomatoes and other crops will just kill them.
Mr. Andre Awuni is preventing Ghanaians from owning a bank because they are not from his party, tribe and also because they are not white.
Some NPP members are saying that no one should comment on the Merchant Band sale to Fortes,but was Mr. Alfred Agbeshi Woyome not found guilty by them even before the case went to court. Even though the case is still in court they are still commenting on it and finding him guilty.
NPP said it believe in property ownership which at times look like those in socialist countries do not own even their heads. The people who stole state houses and lands are against other Ghanaians buying a bank which looks like a bank is not a property which ownership they said they believe in.
I wrote the other day that Dr. Andrei Sakharov owns a number of 15 story buildings in the then Soviet Union with members of his cooperative something that does not exist in property stealing societies like the U.S. and others.
What is happening in Ghana now is that some tribes are moving heaven and earth to deprive Ewhes and Ghas property and will go to the extend to imprison them to deprive them of it. This qualify as an act of genocide.
Esinam Agboka 12 years ago

Pathetic! He is a scientist on paper! No wisdom or discernment to analyse the sinister plans that agribusiness have for Ghanaians and all Africans! He is a traitor to Ghana and all Dr. Nkrumah lived and worked for!
The CPP' ...
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Pathetic! He is a scientist on paper! No wisdom or discernment to analyse the sinister plans that agribusiness have for Ghanaians and all Africans! He is a traitor to Ghana and all Dr. Nkrumah lived and worked for!
The CPP's biggest mistake was to have chosen him as their flagbearer! I hope now that he has shown his true colours, they will cancel his membership of the Party! The most honourable thing he could do is to resign willingly. He should go and join the other traitorous parties, all of whom have kept their oily lips shut about GMOs!

Kpatsanga 12 years ago

During the 2012 IEA Debate Dr. Sakara was on point about what will improve Agriculture in Ghana, talking about irrigation and good roads etc. He didnt tell Ghanaians about GM and since i hear the biosafety act was inacted 201 ...
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During the 2012 IEA Debate Dr. Sakara was on point about what will improve Agriculture in Ghana, talking about irrigation and good roads etc. He didnt tell Ghanaians about GM and since i hear the biosafety act was inacted 2011 he should have been fully aware of that to tell Ghanaians. i think its hypocrisy on his part.
Gbomo Bi 12 years ago

lets not forget that the multinationals involved in GMOs are paying people to do PR jobs for them. I SERIOUSLY SUSPECT THESE PEOPLE (SAKARA AND CO) HAVE BEING BRIBED TO DEFEND GMOs. ITS A BIG SHAME

lets not forget that the multinationals involved in GMOs are paying people to do PR jobs for them. I SERIOUSLY SUSPECT THESE PEOPLE (SAKARA AND CO) HAVE BEING BRIBED TO DEFEND GMOs. ITS A BIG SHAME
Peter Dery 12 years ago

The saddest part of the whole saga is that these idiots are playing the tribal card! Walter Alhassan, Abu Sakara and Yakubu Alhassan, fervently but erroneously believe that they are going to improve socio-economic conditions ...
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The saddest part of the whole saga is that these idiots are playing the tribal card! Walter Alhassan, Abu Sakara and Yakubu Alhassan, fervently but erroneously believe that they are going to improve socio-economic conditions for farmers in the three northern regions. They led on and prioritised field trials of GMOs there.
Actually, they are rather carrying disease, infertility of humans and the land, to our brothers and sisters in the north. Betrayed and sold by their own, it is a 21st century recreation of the Salaga slave stop! Scientists? My foot! Idiots, more like!
Kwaku 12 years ago

This Abu Sakara man has a huge inferiority complex about his own race. He desperately wishes to be anything but black. He has been gromed by foreign interests to do their evil work for them. He should be hounded out of the CP ...
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This Abu Sakara man has a huge inferiority complex about his own race. He desperately wishes to be anything but black. He has been gromed by foreign interests to do their evil work for them. He should be hounded out of the CPP. Here is a man who ran for President but did not want to be president because he had taken bribe from NDC not to campaign at all.
Yamba 12 years ago

Let your head not your heart decide. Abu is a practical scientist and agriculturist too. Listen to his version on the debate. Your ignorance about the topic and shameful insults when you do not understand what is at stake wil ...
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Let your head not your heart decide. Abu is a practical scientist and agriculturist too. Listen to his version on the debate. Your ignorance about the topic and shameful insults when you do not understand what is at stake will not take anything away from his views.
Nana Akyea Mensah, The Odikro. 12 years ago

OFFICE OF THE ODIKRO
a companion of the black star!

Hello Yamba,

What makes you think we did not listen to Abu Sakara first? How could we have known the nonsense he was spewing if we had not listen to him? and why did ...
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OFFICE OF THE ODIKRO
a companion of the black star!

Hello Yamba,

What makes you think we did not listen to Abu Sakara first? How could we have known the nonsense he was spewing if we had not listen to him? and why did you fail to point out what you think has been misunderstood?

We are not saying Dr. Abu Sakara has no right to his views! what we are simply saying is that he must not attack the CPP for coming out against the Plant Breeders' Bill, and claim that GMOs are not harmful and that we should take his word for it!

The one who probably does not understand the issues at stake is Abu Sakara! abu sakara has most probably been paid to do what he is doing, that is why he accuses FSG of being paid to oppose GMOs in our foods!

If you call a spade a spade, you are not insulting the spade. why should it be an insult if you call a charlatan a charlatan? Abu Sakara is clearly a charlatan! The way he comported himself in the interview speaks volumes!

Forward Ever! Backwards Never!

Sincerely,
Pur'gu Saarpe! Esq.,
Secretary to The Odikro.
Nana Yaw 12 years ago

Quite educative, I have learnt a lot from this. However, cut down on the insinuations.

Quite educative, I have learnt a lot from this. However, cut down on the insinuations.
CONCERN GHANA 12 years ago

GMO EFFECTS IN INDIA
Genetically engineered crops and food products pose a threat to your health, resistance to disease, soil, and the global food supply. The biotech industry is riddled with corruption as companies clamor t ...
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GMO EFFECTS IN INDIA
Genetically engineered crops and food products pose a threat to your health, resistance to disease, soil, and the global food supply. The biotech industry is riddled with corruption as companies clamor to sink their claws into the marketplace first, to get their seeds into farmers' fields ahead of the rest.
This pervasive corporate rush to profit at any cost places all of humanity at risk, as the industry barrels ahead without even questioning the consequences of their technology. Industry leaders have failed to slow down long enough to even ponder the long-term consequences of irreversibly manipulating the DNA of your food. And what independent researchers are finding in this regard is truly disturbing and is probably just the tip of the iceberg in this genetics experiment of unprecedented scale.
When you see the term "biotech industry," you might automatically think of Monsanto, the world's Big Dog when it comes to GE seed. Monsanto has shown it will stop at nothing to bully its way across the globe, leaving a trail of planetary devastation in its wake.
Monsanto's unsavory behavior even resulted in Forbes Magazine's retraction of naming Monsanto "Company of the Year" in 2009, admitting they were "wrong on Monsanto... really wrong," citing not only the problems with resistant superweeds but also investigations of antitrust issues and a potential flop in an expensive new variety of GE corn seed. But these high-tech seed wars have now gone global, extending well beyond our Western borders, and there is no better illustration than the latest scandal in India.
GE Scientists in India Found Guilty of Fraud and Cover Up
A group of scientists from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) have been found guilty of infecting and subsequently hiding the fact that indigenously created Bt cotton contained a Monsanto gene1. The variety, called BNBt, was supposed to be a cheaper alternative to the other Indian Bt cotton hybrids. Shortly after its release in 2009, its sales were suspended, and then hearings commenced.
It's now been determined that the Indian scientists intentionally contaminated the GE cotton seed, because "accidental contamination cannot explain what happened." ICAR condemned the scientists' actions as "unethical, unscientific, and irresponsible." It appears these shenanigans occurred in order to somehow speed up the seed's release into India's Bt cotton marketplace.2
The hearing's outcome falls on the heels of a major decision in October 2012 by a committee, appointed by India's Supreme Court, to end all GE field trials until certain conditions have been met. The Committee also recommended a 10-year moratorium on field trials of all Bt food crops and a moratorium on field trials of herbicide-tolerant crops until an independent assessment has performed.
Perhaps India has finally had enough. Over the past 16 years, more than a quarter of a million Indian farmers have committed suicide after being convinced to plant Monsanto's genetically engineered seeds (especially Bt cotton), then having their crops fail, leaving them in financial ruin. Could this be a harbinger of times to come in the United States?
Latest Study Shows Roundup Creates Botulism Breeding Ground in Poultry
A new German study3 by the Institute of Bacteriology and Mycology examined the effects of glyphosate, the active agent in Monsanto's herbicide Roundup, on the gut microbes of poultry. Some birds are heavily exposed to glyphosate when fed genetically engineered feed. The study's findings are quite alarming. Researchers found that highly pathogenic bacteria resisted glyphosate, whereas beneficial bacteria likely succumbed to it.
What does this mean for you and me?
The essential implication is that poultry fed GE corn or soy would fall victim to dysbiosis, meaning unhealthy changes in their gut flora that threaten the health of the birds, as well as anyone consuming them. The good bacteria in the poultry gut, such as Enterococcus, Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus, are killed off, allowing the pathogenic or disease causing bacteria to flourish. Varieties such as Salmonella and Clostridium are very dangerous pathogens for humans. Clostridia bacteria are some of the deadliest, with strains including C. tetani (tetanus) and C. botulinum (botulism).
Chickens bred in CAFOs are already routinely fed antibiotics, arsenic, and even antidepressants, all of which have serious adverse health consequences. But this new study suggests CAFO chickens exposed to glyphosate may become breeding grounds for Botulism, Salmonella and other major pathogenic organisms.4
The implications of this become even clearer when you consider the recently released findings of a decade-long feeding study that showed GE feed can cause significant changes in the digestive systems, immune systems, and major organs (including liver, kidneys, pancreas, genitals and others) of rats, mice, pigs and salmon. If it's doing all of that to animals and fish, what's it doing to you? Clearly, the conventional agribusiness food system has emerged as a major threat to your health. But it may also be contributing to an even greater problem: the destruction of the world's topsoil.
The World is Running Out of Topsoil
The world may be running out of usable topsoil, the layer that allows plants to grow. According to an article in Time World5, soil erosion and degradation rates suggest we have only about 60 remaining years of topsoil. Forty percent of the world's agricultural soil is now classified as either degraded or seriously degraded; the latter means that 70 percent of the topsoil is gone. Our soil is being lost at 10 to 40 times the rate it can be replenished, and our food production systems are to blame, which epitomizes the term "unsustainable." It takes decades or even centuries to regenerate significant levels of soil.
Agriculture accounts for 70 percent of our fresh water use. When the soil is unfit, water is wasted—it washes right through the soil and past the plant's root system. We already have a global water shortage that's projected to worsen over the next 20 to 30 years, so this is the last thing we need to compound it. Soil degradation is projected to cause 30 percent loss in food production over the next 20 to 50 years—while our global food demands are expected to increase by 50 percent over this span of time.
Many don't realize that soil is alive and has an incredible diversity of microorganisms. One handful of soil contains more microbes than the number of people who have ever lived on our planet.
These organisms create a powerful synergy with the plants and recycle organic material, making the soil more resilient and better at holding water and nutrients, and better at nurturing plants. Microbes need carbon for food, and we're depleting our soil of this element by using chemical fertilizers, overgrazing, over-ploughing, and burning stubble in fields to accelerate crop turnover. Add to this genetically engineered crops, and our soil is dealt another deathblow.
GE Crops Help Destroy Soil Fertility—Possibly Irreversibly
The latest science seems to suggest genetically engineered plant cultivation may seriously disrupt soil ecology by reducing microbial diversity, which decreases soil fertility over time—possibly irreversibly.6
As GE plants increasingly take over the major food-producing areas of the world, including the U.S., China, India, Argentina and Brazil, reduced soil fertility could lead to famine on a scale never previously seen. The mechanisms for this are just beginning to be understood, and what was recently only theory has inched closer to reality as science shines more light on the consequences of introducing genetically engineered organisms into the soil.
The mechanism goes something like this...
Special genetic elements (vector DNA) are present in all GE plants. This vector DNA enables unrelated microorganism species to mate, but can also be transferred to soil microorganisms. Soil fertility depends on the presence of a diverse blend of microorganisms, all serving different roles in balancing and optimizing the soil. But when unrelated species mate, the soil ecosystem loses diversity, which is proven to damage fertility.
Until recently, the transfer of genes between GE plants and soil bacteria was only theoretical. However, this mechanism has now been demonstrated by science, and it's our soil's worst nightmare. It should be noted that this same process of gene transfer has been shown to occur in your gastrointestinal tract when you eat GE foods—turning your intestines into a virtual pesticide factory.
Horizontal Gene Transfer Is Now Proven By Science
The following complications underscore the seriousness of the dangers introduced by cultivation of GE crops:
• DNA from GE plants is not readily broken down in the soil and can be taken up by soil particles and microbes. The accumulation of foreign DNA may lead to a cumulative loss of soil diversity over repeated harvests.
• Unlike the claims of Monsanto when it first approved GM crops, Bt genes (Bacillus thuringiensis) are not broken down, for the reasons already stated, so can accumulate in soil and potentially produce Bt toxins. These toxins may build up in the soil, further damaging the organisms crucial for soil fertility. Research from the New York University7 confirms that Bt toxins are not broken down by soil microbes and do indeed accumulate in soil; the toxins maintain their ability to kill insects, potentially creating superbugs that further endanger the ecosystem.
• GE DNA is able to merge with the DNA of other organisms to create new varieties of soil microorganisms that disrupt the ecological balance. These new organisms, if virulent enough, could spread widely via wind erosion and ground water to compromise soil fertility on a broader scale.
• A Swiss study8 showed that adult earthworms feeding on transgenic Bt corn lost 18 percent of their initial weight, suggesting GE DNA may have long-term toxic effects on earthworms. Earthworms are major decomposers of dead and organic matter in the soil and are major contributors to the recycling of nutrients. An earlier study9 showed that both earthworms and collembolans (another small soil-dwelling invertebrate) can be adversely affected by Bt crops.
• Its also been shown that glyphosate can be toxic to rhizobia, a nitrogen-fixing bacterium10. Nitrogen fixing bacteria are important because nitrogen is the nutrient most commonly deficient in soil.
GE crops are adversely affecting our soil biology in numerous ways. There are differences observed in the bacteria occupying plant roots and changes in nutrient availability. Many studies show glyphosate can have toxic effects on microorganisms and can stimulate them to germinate spores and colonize root systems. Glyphosate has also been shown to immobilize manganese, an essential plant nutrient. Overall, glyphosate diminishes the health and nutritional value of the plants it's sprayed on, as well as the soil.
The two main types of GE foods—herbicide-tolerant crops and pesticide-producing crops—are both imprecise technologies riddled with unintended consequences, including hundreds to thousands of genetic mutations that have unknown effects on human health. Glyphosate and GE crops may be leading the human race over a cliff, as Dr. Don Huber explains in the following interview.
Download Interview Transcript
Vote with Your Pocketbook, Every Day
The food companies on the left of this graphic spent tens of millions of dollars in the last two labeling campaigns—in California and Washington State - to prevent you from knowing what’s in your food. You can even the score by switching to the brands on the right; all of whom stood behind the I-522 Right to Know campaign. Voting with your pocketbook, at every meal, matters. It makes a huge difference.
I encourage you to continue educating yourself about genetically engineered foods, and to share what you’ve learned with family and friends. Remember, unless a food is certified organic, you can assume it contains GMO ingredients if it contains sugar from sugar beets, soy, or corn, or any of their derivatives.
If you buy processed food, opt for products bearing the USDA 100% Organic label, as certified organics do not permit GMO’s. You can also print out and use the Non-GMO Shopping Guide, created by the Institute for Responsible Technology. Share it with your friends and family, and post it to your social networks. Alternatively, download their free iPhone application, available in the iTunes store. You can find it by searching for ShopNoGMO in the applications. For more in-depth information, I highly recommend reading the following two books, authored by Jeffrey Smith, the executive director of the Institute for Responsible Technology:
• Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies about the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You're Eating
• Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods.
For timely updates, join the Non-GMO Project on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter.
Please, do your homework. Together, we have the power to stop the biotech industry from destroying our food supply, the future of our children, and the earth as a whole. All we need is about five percent of American shoppers to simply stop buying genetically engineered foods, and the food industry would have to reconsider their source of ingredients—regardless of whether the products bear an actual GMO label or not.
mmrosa 12 years ago

GHANAIANS NEED TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT THIS GM FOODS. PEOPLE HAVE TAKEN MONEY FROM FOREIGN SOURCES AND ARE DEFENDING GM FOODS BEING INTRODUCED INTO THE COUNTRY. HOW CAN WE DEVIATE FROM WHAT GOD HAS CREATED? THIS IS ABOMINABLE! ...
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GHANAIANS NEED TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT THIS GM FOODS. PEOPLE HAVE TAKEN MONEY FROM FOREIGN SOURCES AND ARE DEFENDING GM FOODS BEING INTRODUCED INTO THE COUNTRY. HOW CAN WE DEVIATE FROM WHAT GOD HAS CREATED? THIS IS ABOMINABLE! NOW MOST OF OUR FOOD ITEMS ARE LASED WITH PESTICIDES, FERTILIZER, WEEDICIDE,ETC. WE NOW WANT TO GO INTO NATURAL FOODS THAT HAVE BEEN MODIFIED SCIENTIFICALLY. ARE WE SAFE? GHANAIANS MUST RISE UP AGAINST THIS. THE ENLIGHTENED IN THE SOCIETY MUST TAKE THIS ISSUE UP AND INFORM OUR LESS FORTUNATE BROTHERS AND SISTERS ON THIS ISSUE.WE ARE NOT SAFE AT ALL. WE NEED TO RISE UP IMMEDIATELY AND CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE INTRODUCTION OF GM FOODS INTO GHANA
Whatever 12 years ago

Woe unto any one who tries to bring in GMO because he will see us feeli feeli.

Woe unto any one who tries to bring in GMO because he will see us feeli feeli.

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GMO, Abu Sakara, And The CPP

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