Groups advocating organic farming worry on the possible contamination of cornfields in Mindanao after a study conducted by farmers’ group Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa Pag-unlad ng Agrikultura (Masipag) showed a white corn variety in Bukidnon tested positive with the genetically modified Round-up Ready (RR corn) hybrid traits.

A campaign to allow golden rice for tackling Vitamin A deficiency in children, was launched on March 16.

A campaign is set to be launched on March 16 in the country to allow golden rice for tackling Vitamin A deficiency in children.

Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. said yesterday that the provincial government will stand firm in its stand against the entry of GMO (genetically modifiedorganism) products into Negros Occidental.

“We have an ordinance, they cannot come in. In Negros we are GMO-free, we are an organic island,” he said, stressing the need for vigilance against such products.

(.....) Chito Media, MASIPAG national coordinator, said in a press release that Golden Rice has not been tested for safety.

The testing of golden rice to determine its agronomic traits through open field testing in Pili, Camarines Sur was strongly opposed by farmers and consumers, who uprooted the genetically modified rice, it said.

Even a high-tech problem can be addressed by a simple solution, a non-government organization doctor told participants at a Philippine health situation forum on Sunday.

Jon Sarmiento, a farmer in the Cavite province in southern Manila, plants a variety of fruits and vegetables, but his main crop, rice, is under threat. He claims that approval by the Philippine government of the genetically modified ‘golden rice’ that is fortified with beta-carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A, could ruin his livelihood.

Researchers believe they have found a way to add critical nutrients to rice, a dietary staple in countries like the Philippines. But those changes tap directly into concerns over genetically modified food.

The Supreme Court (SC) has allowed the Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines (BCP) to intervene in the Bt eggplant case as the Bt eggplant “ban” threatens other genetically modified (GM) crops that contribute to food security, the biotechnology group announced Tuesday.

Videos from the Masipag anti-GMO conference in Manilla

We have uploaded in youtube the video interviews of selected participants during the Golden Rice conference. Please share to your network and friends. We will also post these to our website.

MASIPAG Advocacy - YouTube

Thank you very much!

MASIPAG

A year after the uprooting of Golden Rice, more than a hundred farmers, scientists, consumers and basic sectors joined hands to call for the immediate halt of the planned field tests and commercialization of Golden Rice in the country, saying that this will only pose more problems rather than solving the problem on hunger and malnutrition. The group also called for respect for farmers’ rights to land, seeds and technology and pushed for sustainable approaches to attaining food sufficiency and genuine rural development.

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To combat GM rice and Vitamin A deficiency, the group are going to eat organically grown foods that are rich in Vitamin A and other nutrients entitled “Pangudto Organiko, Libre sa GMO!” (Organic Lunch, Free from GMOs). This is to show that there are a multitude of safe and nutritious food available compared to Golden Rice and other GMOs.