Filipino scientists dispel
fears on biotech products

Former University of the Philippines (UP) president Dr. Emil Q. Javier has dispelled fears expressed by farmers and non-government organizations (NGOs) about the use of biotechnology products, saying there is scientific basis to conclude that genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) are harmful and could cause a variety of diseases apart from producing dangerous new plant species.

Dr. Javier told newspaper editors in a roundtable discussion at Annabel’s Restaurant on Morato Ave., Quezon City on Monday that “GMOs are very safe, with government agencies undertaking stringent screening of GMO products before they are commercially produced.”

He noted that the risks for consumers are “minimal,” adding that the Department of Health (DOH) has its own regulatory system apart from the National Biosafety Committee that passes judgment on all GMOs.

Javier stressed that in the long run, farmers would benefit from biotechnology since GMOs will be less expensive that traditional varieties and the cost of producing them commercially would be much lower.

The former UP president has been in the forefront of developing new plant varieties that are nutritious, high-yielding and quick growing and his experience has shown that all the hysteria raised about “monster species” and toxic biotechnology products is false.

He noted, along with Dr. Nina Barzaga, that some studies had feed grist to the rumor mill against biotechnology, noting that a Norwegian gene ecologist, Dr. Terje Traavik, took blood samples from members of cultural communities in South Cotabato, subjected them to analysis and conclude that Bt corn had adverse effects on them.

Alarmed by the study, Filipino scientists undertook an investigation into the sampling technique and the method used in the analysis, eventually concluding that GMOs could hardly be blamed for the maladies of the participants in the study.

Dr. Traavik eventually backtracked on his conclusions and said he did not blame Bt corn for the presence of Bt footprints in the blood samples and the current maladies of the farmers.

Dr. Barzaga also took issue with the Traavik study and questioned the manner of collecting blood samples. Confirmatory studies done by other scientists showed that the culprit for the maladies was not Bt corn but farm inputs used in large plantations.

For its part, the World Health Organization (WHO), which has studied biotechnology products for years, has declared that “all Bt products are safe.”

Abe Manalo, executive secretary of the Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines (BCP), said the opposition to biotechnology stems from the fear that local agriculture will be swamped with GMO products supplied by monopolistic transnational corporations (TNCs).

Under the Carta-Henna Protocol, Manalo said, “each country certifies that GMOs products are produced locally.” He added that this is the importance of biotechnology as it can adapt to specific environments.