The Council of State Support to NGOs under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and "Ughur" (Success) "Awareness of the Youth" Public Union held an event as part of the project "Awareness of Consumers: GMO foods and food safety" at Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University (ASOIU) on May 22.
ASOIU's Vice-Rector for educational affairs Associate Professor Ata Babayev noted the global significance of the topic in question.
Chairperson of the Public Union Alovsat Allahverdiyev talked about the threat of GMO foods and their rapid expansion in the world. Sharing his opinions on the current situation regarding the importation and sale of such products in our country, A. Allahverdiyev pointed out that genetically modified organisms first integrated into the markets at the beginning of 1990's with the aim to eliminate the shortage of foodstuff. In the following years, the number of GMO foods has been speedily increasing in the world markets, said A. Allahverdiyev and noted that such products are a great source of hazard for human health. It was also underlined that the legislation prohibits the importation and sale of GMO foods in our country.
Speaking at the event, Doctor of ANAS expert Zahid Aliyev provided detailed information on production reasons of GMO foods, their harmful effects on human body and complications that they may provoke in the future. Z. Aliyev noted that many illnesses that have broadly emerged in the recent years are caused by GMO foods, and emphasized that allergic diseases especially prevalent in children come from products with an unknown origin.
The expert added that according to observations the youth is uninformed about this issue. Therefore, the experts recommend buying local goods produced by Azerbaijan when purchasing fruits and vegetables.
At the end of the event, the students received answers to their questions about production, sale and harmful effects of GMO foods on human health.
