Designed Destruction Of Ghana's Economy
Designed Destruction Of Ghana's Economy
Those who know the basics of genetically engineered food also realize that the world's food supply is at risk of being taken over by the huge companies that produce GM seeds. Monsanto, DuPont, and other GM seed producers are aggressively fighting ecological and health concerns and are succeeding in getting the seeds they have created planted in countries that have a strong resistance to these products. Many fear that the introduction of these man-made plants will destroy our food supply because GM plants cross-pollinate with natural plants and organic crops. The fear of our food supply being held hostage by a few companies is not unfounded, as the use of GM seeds is only granted under contracts that state that seeds cannot be saved from one year's crop to plant the next year (and many seeds are sterile, anyway)! While our attention is on GM foods like corn, cotton, and soy, the agricultural giants have been attacking the world's food supply on another front: chicken.
Chicken is one of the cheapest meats per pound and is probably the second most popular meat, trumped only by beef. Chicken consumption is on the rise, and the giant chicken farms that raise 90% of the chickens sent to market in industrialized countries are "factory-farms"
Chickens are either penned up in tiny cages, unable to move (this is common for egg-laying hens), or placed in huge pens with thousands of other chickens. Regardless of their cage, factory-farmed chickens have little to no room to move, and dead and dying birds can be found throughout the pens or cages. The chickens also have to face intense heat. Meat chickens are usually given less than 1/2 a square foot in which to move. Their beaks are cut off to reduce injuries caused by cramped quarters. Disease spreads quickly. Chickens live and breathe in excrement, which not only makes them sick but affects the meat that we eat. They are breathing ammonia-filled air and are walking in feces and dead birds, and while the toxins fill their lungs as they breathe, their meat becomes tainted and unsafe. Meanwhile, chicken farmers are given large subsidies (a monetary grant given by the government to reduce prices for producers and consumers because it is considered to be in the "public interest"), which drive down the cost of the global market price.
Chicken exports are now on the rise, and this is affecting local markets in less-developed countries, such as Ghana. For the last few years, Ghana and other West African countries have been flooded with cheap imported chicken from Europe and the USA. In 2002, more than 26,000 tons of chicken were imported into Ghana; in 2004 the number rose to 40,000 tons. The chicken parts come in packages without labels from overseas, and despite the lack of knowledge of exactly what they are getting, consumers in Ghana are eager to buy the non-local meat, as it is much less expensive than local chicken. Wholesale imported chicken costs a little more than half of the local chicken price.
The practice of exporting extra products that have been heavily subsidized to developing countries is known as "dumping". This practice gets rid of products that are not wanted or needed by the developed country and allows the developing country to buy them at dirt-cheap prices. It ruins local markets.
For example, in 1992, over 95% of Ghana's poultry was supplied by local farmers. By 2001, local farmers were supplying only 11% of the poultry consumed in Ghana! This is devastating for local chicken farmers - most members of the once 400,000-strong National Association of Poultry Farmers in Ghana have gone out of business.
Tariffs and the IMF
Currently, foreign producers of chicken pay a 20% tariff (tax) on the poultry they sell to Ghana. Two years ago, the Ghanaian Parliament passed a law that allowed an additional 20% tariff to be imposed on imported chicken, which would make a total of 40% tax. But, just two months after the law was passed, Customs and Excise Preventative Services (CEPS), the organization responsible for implementing the tax, issued an order to reverse the decision because the IMF (International Monetary Fund) blocked the law. The IMF claimed that higher tariffs would hurt Ghana's poverty reduction program; they claimed that Ghana can only increase tariffs under special circumstances, and in the case of poultry, the increase was not justified. Olivia McDonald from Christian Aid in Ghana said "We pointed out to the government that this [raising of tariffs] was not a good idea, they reflected on it, and we agreed."
The Ghanaian government claims that its decision to stop the increased tariff is because of its obligation to international treaties (World Trade Organization agreements). Experts, however, say increased taxes do not breach WTO agreements; in fact, Ghana can impose a tariff of up to 90% on agricultural products! WTO agreements also allow countries to impose increased customs duties on products that have been subsidized in their countries of origin - products like chicken.
Who is the IMF protecting? Certainly not Ghana and other countries in West Africa; increased tariffs on imported chicken would help level the playing field, allowing local farmers to compete with industrialized chicken. Interestingly, Ghana's rice and tomato industries are threatened due to the same circumstances. Accra has been colored with large billboards advertising American long-grain rice (which is, again, hugely subsidized), which has taken the place of local rice on grocery shelves. In the 1970s and 1980s, Ghana was becoming self-sufficient in rice production, but the IMF structural adjustment program halted farm subsidies to Ghana rice farmers, resulting in a drastic decrease in production. Why is the IMF so eager to halt developments that allow Ghana (and other countries) to become self-reliant?
Health Concerns
Imported chicken does not only pose a serious economic problem for Ghana, but it also introduces health concerns for local people. Local chickens are raised organically and feed on grains and bugs. They are generally not caged and are very healthy. Imported chickens, however, are raised in tiny cages and the birds usually do not even see grass during their entire lives. They are dirty, weak, and overfed. They are also very sick, as they live in their own waste and among dead chickens. Disease spreads quickly in these conditions, and because the industry and those responsible for food safety are not equipped to test the imported chicken for disease, public health is at risk.
SALMONELLA - In the last 20 years or so, Salmonella Enteritidis has become the single most common cause of food poisoning in the United States. Salmonella is particularly adept at infecting chicken flocks without causing visible disease, and it spreads from hen to hen very quickly. Many people have blamed the recent increase in the rise of Salmonella infections on the use of mass-production chicken farms. When hundreds of thousands of chickens live together, die together, and are processed together, a Salmonella infection can rapidly spread throughout the whole food chain.
CAMPYLOBACTER JEJUNI/COLI - Campylobacter jejuni/coli is at the top of the list of pathogenic organisms found in broiler chickens. Studies have shown that this bacteria is very prevalent: in one study, 1144 of 1297 chickens (over 88%) collected from federally inspected slaughter plants in the USA between 1994 and 1995 were infected with the bacteria! In Northern Ireland, 94% of fresh chickens were infected with the bacteria! Campylobacter is said to be the leading cause of foodborne illnesses in the USA and is the most common cause of Guillain-Barre syndrome, a paralytic disease that can cause fatal nerve damage.
LISTERIA - Listeria is a less commonly known illness that can be caused by chicken meat. It has been found in up to 66% of fresh and frozen chicken products, and it has been found to be able to survive microwave cooking. Listeria can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, serious illness in newborns, and death.
Factory-farmed chicken in the USA is often fed with rendered animal parts. Factory-farmed chickens suffer widely from heart and lung problems, weak bones, and obesity. They are simply not the same natural animals that local farmers offer, and the majority of consumers in countries like Ghana are not aware of these facts.
While Europe and the USA continue their propaganda in developing countries that mislead citizens about the modern system encouraging them to dismiss their own culture, healing, and lifestyles for modern ways), they deliberately use these same countries as dumping grounds for unwanted products. While those holding the power in the world claim to be interested in the well-being of the world, they are changing our food supply while holding the reins of food production, endangering the very world that we all share.
Their true feelings for citizens in developing countries are clear - they simply do not care about their health, economic stability, or well-being. A quote from a report called "Farming Dynamics" from the Belgian non-profit SOS Farm sums up very exported to Africa " well this fact. According to the report, much of the chicken has no value within the EU, as there is no demand and no market for these products...If traders sell the product in Africa, it is because the price is higher than the price offered by pet food producers." control. It's about money, and it's about Europe and America feeling no guilt about feeding Africans substandard chicken parts that even pet food producers do not value.