Media Training on Biosafety

As the world recovers from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are presented an opportunity to define new ways of living and in line with the lessons the pandemic has taught us. One of such lessons is on the need to build our local economies, particularly with regard to food production. During the lockdowns local food producers carried on the responsibility of making food available to the people while many other businesses shutdown.

A second lesson related to food production systems is that we must adopt and promote an agriculture system which do not compromise biosafety or erode biodiversity. This is particularly important because COVID-19 and other zoonotic infections are linked to the erosion of biodiversity. These lessons buttress the concerns that have frequently been raised about the implications of GMOs and other emerging technologies on not just local economies but on human, animal and environmental health.

The role of the media is very crucial to the understanding of the current threats to biosafety including human and environmental health and to our food systems. We are organizing a training with journalists with a focus on the implications of GMOs, and on Agroecology as the way forward for food sovereignty and climate resilience in the post-COVID era.