Biotechnology is any technique that uses a living organism (e.g., plants, animals, microorganisms) or parts of it to improve another living organism for a specific purpose. Mankind has been using biotechnology to, for instance, produce cheese, soy sauce, and bread and beer, as well as lifesaving antibiotics and vaccines for rabies and hepatitis B.

IS BIOTECHNOLOGY A NEW THING IN SCIENCE?

A big No. While it may sound so sophisticated or mysterious—thus, something to be afraid of—biotechnology has been with mankind through the centuries, having been used, as the above cited information states, for both household (cheese, and vinegar) and medicinal (antibiotics, vaccines) purposes, as well as for improving crops (interspecific and intergenetic crossbreeding).

In recent years, the most significant and well-publicized strides in biotechnology have been made in agricultural applications. With the help of biotechnology, scientists seeking to find ways to feed people have come up with plant strains that are either more productive (and therefore can yield more on the same land area and the same inputs), or are pest- and disease-resistant (and therefore substantially preserve yield and reduce crop losses while increasing the food on the table), or are even more enriched and thus boost health—or a combination or all of the above.

No less than the United Nations Human Development Report 2001 declares that biotechnology offers "the hope of crops with higher yields, pest- and drought-resistant properties and superior nutritional characteristics—especially for farmers in ecological zones left behind by the green revolution."

HOW CAN THE PHILIPPINES BENEFIT FROM BIOTECHNOLOGY?

The primary benefit of biotechnology is in agriculture, considering the Philippine situation: a fast-growing population, increasingly less land to cultivate, and the rising cost of farm inputs and of production risks. Such negative factors are being compounded by the steady liberalization of world trade, with tariff barriers for agricultural products being knocked down even as some developed countries continue to subsidize their farm sectors.

As it is, developed countries are already growing biotech crops on an estimated land hectarage exceeding 40 million hectares. We can only keep up by applying biotechnology to complement the conventional methods. With biotechnology, the precarious level of forest cover will not be further jeopardized because there will be no need to clear forests to produce agricultural land. With biotechnology, plants grown on existing land area, as well as those on poor soils or stressful environments, can be made more productive. Savings can be attained from cutting down on agrochemical inputs such as pesticides. Nutritional deficiencies among Filipinos can be curbed because biotech allows staples like rice to be enriched with vitamins and minerals.

IS BIOTECHNOLOGY SAFE TO HUMANS AND THE ENVIRONMENT?

Because it has been extensively researched and reviewed, especially as an agricultural development, the level of safety of biotechnology is repeatedly validated in thousands of field tests with biotech crops—for the past nearly 20 years—and the findings all show the benefits outweighing any potential (because none has been discovered) risk. The biotech crops that are more pest-resistant have in fact greatly reduced the risk of chemical poisoning that has occurred in some places where pesticides were not used prudently.

In Western Europe, where the biotech protest movement is very strong, the European Commission concluded, after an analysis of scientific evidence from 81 research projects, that: "The use of more precise technology and the greater regulatory scrutiny probably make [biotech crops] even safer than conventional plants and foods."

WHAT IS A ‘GM’ CROP?

The biggest debate in biotechnology has centered the past few years on such terms as "GMO" and "GM crops," or genetically modified organisms or crops.

In reality, all crops are really "genetically modified" from their original wild state by various processes of domestication, selection and controlled breeding over along periods of time.

A GM or transgenic crop is one where such natural modification is hastened by a deliberate scientific process. A GM crop contains a gene(s) that has been artificially inserted, instead of the plant acquiring it through pollination. The inserted gene (known as the transgene) may come from another unrelated plant, or from a completely different species.

WHY ARE ‘GM’ CROPS MADE?

Plant breeders have been exchanging genes between plants to produce offspring with desired traits; but this crossbreeding has been limited to exchanges between closely related or the same species—which takes a long time to produce the desired results or changes in features.

With GM technology, scientists can bring together in one plant the useful genes of a diverse range of living sources, not just within the crop species or closely related plants. This speeds up the work of producing superior plant varieties.

The use of the so-called "first-generation" GM crops has yielded significant benefits thus far, primarily, as stated above, in terms of bigger produce, lower farm costs and higher farm profit, and an improvement in the environment. Now, the "second-generation" GM crops have the additional advantage of being infused with nutritive qualities that address the dietary deficiencies of people. Examples of such crops are potatoes with higher starch content; rice enriched with iron and vitamin A; and edible vaccines in maize and potatoes.

AREN’T THERE RISKS IN USING ‘GM’ CROPS?

All emerging technologies and scientific developments carry risks, among them: (1) the possibility transgenes will escape from cultivated crops into wild relatives; or (2) the peril of unintentional introduction of allergens into food; or of (3) pests becoming resistant, through time, to the toxins produced by GM crops.

However, legislation and regulatory institutions dictate processes that entail careful review of applications to precisely avoid or reduce these risks. The technology innovators (i.e., scientists), the producers and the government has the obligation to ensure the safety of novel food and drugs for people and their benign impact on the environment.

WHAT IS THE OFFICIAL PHILIPPINE POLICY ON BIOTECHNOLOGY?

Realizing the tremendous benefits from biotechnology, the government has determined that keeping an open mind to biotechnology is the best option because it will help farmers become more competitive, reduce damage to environment and produce foods with cutting-edge nutritive qualities.

History shows that the most important—because they gave mankind far-reaching, continuing benefits—scientific discoveries and applications underwent years of study, testing and relentless review. Biotechnology is continually being subjected to such scrutiny here and around the world by responsible, competent scientists and other experts; all reviews so far have concluded that the benefits outweigh any potential risk. The alternative, i.e., to shut the door to biotech because of an invalidated fear—will produce a more certain outcome: massive hunger, agricultural trade imbalances, health and nutrition problems.

WHO REGULATES BIOTECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS 
IN THE PHILIPPINES?

For researches under laboratory setting, there is the National Committee on Biosafety of the Philippines or NCBP.

In field trials and the commercial use of GM crops, there is the Department of Agriculture and its four specialized regulatory agencies: (1) The Bureau of Plant Industry or BPI, working with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, for environmental safety; (2) the Bureau of Animal Industry or BAI for feed safety; (3) the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Product Standards for food safety; and (4) the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority or FPA for safety induction of plants with pesticidal properties.

For GM-derived drugs and processed foods, there is the Bureau of Food and Drugs in BFAD, under the Department of Health.

REFERENCES:
• Wambugu, Florence, "Africa needs biotech to fight malnutrition," LA Times 
  World Report in Yomiuri Shimbun, Dec. 3, 2001.
• International Service for the Acquisition of Agricultural-biotech Applications-Southeast Asia Center.
• Philrice-Department of Agriculture.
• United Nations Human Development Report 2001.
• Communication Guidelines for a Better Understanding of Biotechnology Issues, 2002.

Back to top