The President of Zimbabwe, Mr Robert Mugabe, is refusing to accept food aid from the US because it is genetically modified.
The row is affecting the efforts of aid workers who are trying avert famine for millions in Zimbabwe.
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Thousands of tonnes of genetically engineered maize which was due to arrive in Africa this week offered by the US Agency for International Development through the World Food Programme.
A spokesman from the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington DC, Per Pinstrup-Anderson, said: "The reason for Mugabe's resistance is pure politics. He wants to show Western countries he doesn't need them. We've been eating GM maize in the US for six years without any problems."
The Zimbabwe government insist they are legitimately concerned with the safety of eating GM food and all such foodstuffs are banned from the country.
A spokesman from the Zimbabwe High Commission told New Scientist: "No GM foods are allowed in Zimbabwe. Scientifically they haven't proven to be safe."
Charities are concerned about the effects on famine-hit Zimbabwe people.
Ms Alice Wynne-Willson, from ActionAid, said: "We should not reject grain even if it's GM, when it's at the expense of people lives."
She however expressed her concern for the Zimbabwe people's rights, adding: "A food crisis should not be used as a bargaining chip for introducing GM technology. People are losing their right to say no because they are hungry."
AP