People fear what they eat more than injections

African governments have been encouraged to invest in new technologies like gene editing and genetic modification research to wrestle down drought, pests and diseases occasioned by climate change. [iStockphoto]

The recent move by President William Ruto to lift the 2012 ban on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) as a response to the ongoing drought and food insecurity, has kicked off a storm on their pros and cons.

The Kenyan government banned the importation and growing of GMO crops and products following a 2012 study by Prof Gilles-Eric Seralini of the University of Caen in France that linked GMOs to cancer.