Passionate arguments were heard on Wednesday for and against GM or genetically-modified technology in an event that was held on the sidelines of the CoP MoP 6. Scientists from Europe and Africa presented their studies on the observed health effects of GM foods and the resistance that insects are developing towards GM varieties.

Representatives of the GM industry offered counter-arguments and said the evidence presented in two papers was incorrect. Robin Mesnage, a scientist at the University of Caen in France was part of a study that found tumours developing in rats after they were fed Bt maize with and without a herbicide called Roundup. The paper was published in the prestigious journal, Food and Chemical Technology.