SC: On GMO

What is the so-called GMOs?  Simply, plants or animals whose DNA have been altered are known as genetically modified organisms (GMOs).  And in the Internet, foods that have been altered in a biological way usually by modifying them in a laboratory while they are still in their seed or plant stages, by adding nutrients or increasing its resistance to certain pests – are known as the genetically modified foods. [1]

The adoption of GMOs around the world has grown since its commercialization, despite many claims that these products are dangerous and unhealthy. In Philippines, it has been a long battle between small farmers and organic farming advocates and the government with Pro-GMO scientists.

The Supreme Court of the Philippines ordered in its recent decision that field trials of GMO eggplant should be permanently banned. The SC also ordered a temporary stop on approving applications for the “contained use, import, commercialization and propagation” of GMO crops, including the import of GMO products.

The SC ruled in favor of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, as well as several Filipino activists, academics and politicians, in a victory for Filipino farmers around the world. The Court upheld the Writ of Kalikasan originally demanded by Greenpeace and other anti-GMO groups in 2012 and backed by the Court of Appeals in 2013. It also struck down the Department of Agriculture’s Administrative Order No. 8-2002, potentially throwing the Philippines’ GMO assessment and approvals system into unnecessary chaos. [2]

This decision to uphold the ban is a big disappointment to the scientific community and to others who advocate sustainable and progressive agriculture in this country. This decision indicates that SC relied more on the assessment and evidence gathered by Greenpeace and other activists than the expertise and skills of Philippines’ National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) and the Departments of Agriculture and of Environment and Natural Resources.

The SC should hire competent persons and experts in resolving these issues since their resolutions could determine the direction the entire country will take on GMOs.  The Court should always take into consideration that in the end, it is the consumers who should make the final choice whether or not to patronize GMO products especially food since they are the ones who will suffer if GMOs are not good for the health.

[1] http://www.mb.com.ph/choice-between-gmo-and-non-gmo-part-i/#Vu4zi4YGexFP7ucD.99 [1]

[2] http://opinion.inquirer.net/91175/dark-day-for-science#ixzz3xIjIuYm8