Following an appellate court ruling against the genetic engineering of eggplants, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) insisted yesterday that genetically modified food produced through modern biotechnology are safe.

In FDA Advisory No. 2013-014, FDA acting director Kenneth Hartigan-Go noted that “all food derived from genetically modified (GM) crops in the market have met international food standards and are as safe as and as nutritious as the food derived from conventional crops for direct use as food, feeds and for processing.”

Euphoric over the Court of Appeals ruling against the field testing of genetically modified Bt eggplants, organic farming advocates are calling for a ban on a genetically modified breed of rice known as Golden Rice. [...] Alfie Pulumbarit, advocacy officer of the nongovernment Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa Pag-Unlad ng Agrikultura (Masipag) based in Los Baños, Laguna, said the IRRI is “done testing the Golden Rice in five sites and is moving on to the efficacy tests, meaning on humans, but without testing it first on animals or conducting toxicity tests to make sure it’s safe.” “Is there really a need for alternate sources of Vitamin A other than what nature provided us?” said Ann Fuertes, executive director of the Interface for Development Intervention.

The Court of Appeals recently struck a blow to GMO crops in the Philippines by its decision to stop field trials for Bt talong, a genetically modified eggplant. If successful, this biotech crop would have allowed Filipino farmers larger harvests while spraying less pesticides in their fields. We need to strike a note of caution, but not in the way the court ruling suggests. Instead, as we look at GMO crops, we must be careful we understand what they are, why they are an important technology to help us feed our people, and why the scientific community says they are safe.

THE Court of Appeals ruled recently that ongoing field trials for Bacillus thuriengensis talong (eggplant) in the country pose risks to human health and the environment, it was learned on Wednesday. In a 25-page decision penned by CA Associate Justice Isaias Dicdican, the appellate court’s Special 13th Division issued a writ of kalikasan ordering the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and other concerned government agencies to stop the trials. CA Associate Justices Myra Garcia-Fernandez and Nina Antonio-Valenzuela agreed with the decision. According to the court’s ruling, the trials violated the people’s constitutional right to a balanced and healthful ecology.

The new rice was bred by successfully crossing (or mating) two different rice parents – the exotic wild rice species Oryza coarctata and rice variety IR56 of the cultivated rice species O. sativa. What is extra special about this breakthrough is that O. coarctata is extremely difficult to cross with cultivated rice varieties. The location of O. coarctata in the rice genome sequence is at the other end of the spectrum from that of rice varieties such as IR56. Dr. Jena’s team successfully rescued three embryos out of 34,000 crosses. Out of these three, one plant survived to give scientists enough material to back-cross and make sure that only the desired trait - double salt-tolerance - is acquired from the wild species.

Members of the Resistance and Solidarity against Agrochemical TNCs (Resist Network), a broad alliance of 55 organizations and institutions that promotes natural and sustainable farming, said that golden rice is but a “public relations product of transnational agrochemical corporations to push for genetically-modified organisms (GMO).” “The so-called benefits of golden rice are not true,” Dr. Chito Medina, national coordinator of Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa Pag-unlad ng Agrikultura (Masipag), said in a press conference, March 15. Medina said the golden rice, after more than ten years of research and development, has not been subjected to biosafety test, toxicity studies and molecular characterization.

In February, two major stories about Golden Rice appeared in The Guardian and Project Syndicate, sparking a number of other articles. [...] we’ve seen statements that “In a few months, golden rice… will be given to farmers in the Philippines for planting in the paddy fields,” and “Finally, ‘golden rice’ with vitamin A will be grown in the Philippines.” A few headlines indicate that Golden Rice is approved in the Philippines. [...] In short, Golden Rice will only be made available broadly to farmers and consumers in the Philippines if it is approved by national regulators and shown to reduce vitamin A deficiency in community conditions. This process may take another two years or more.

The Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Unit 5 (DA-RFU 5) together with the DA-Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) have completed two seasons of multi-location field trials of Golden Rice in Camarines Sur - a province in the Philippines. [...] Data about Golden Rice collected from these field trials is being compiled and will eventually be submitted to DA-BPI who will evaluate the data as part of their biosafety regulatory process.

People often argue passionately for or against genetically modified crops. Rice Today’s aim here is not to take sides in a debate that has often generated more heat than light, but rather to look at the facts - what is actually happening in relation to GM rice with a separate focus on work underway at the International Rice Research Institute. [...] As of December 2012, commercialized GM rice had not yet become a reality—which means, farmers aren’t growing it and consumers can’t eat it yet. [...] Nevertheless, R&D on GM rice continues to advance in both the public and private sector around the world.

I was already informed that there are moves from some sectors to reintroduce GM corn in the province of Oriental Mindoro despite provincial ordinance banning its propagation. This move is coming from the National Corn Board which submitted a Memorandum of Agreement to the Provincial Government of Oriental Mindoro under the guise of financial assistance of P1 million as part of Sen. Francis Pangilinan’s Sagip Saka Advocacy Project. [...] What’s really wrong about this program, however, is the insistence of the National Corn Board forthe use of genetically modified corn varieties especially in a province where organic agriculture is a priority and a ban on GMOs is in place.