The Outstanding Young Scientists Inc., the official organization of outstanding young scientist awardees of the National Academy of Science and Technology, urged the Supreme Court Monday to allow the research on Bt eggplant to continue.
OYSI in a statement asked the high court to reconsider its earlier decision and allow all levels of research on Bt eggplant and other crops to continue until a new set of guidelines on genetically modified organisms was issued.
The group also asked the Supreme Court to allow government regulators to resume acting on applications for the propagation and importation of GM plants.
The Supreme Court in December ordered a ban on the field trials of GMOs, including the Bt eggplant.
The court also ordered a temporary ban on approving applications for the contained use, import commercialization and propagation of GMO crops.
It also noted that DA’s Administrative Order No. 8 lacked the minimum safety requirements.
AO No. 8, which was issued in 2002, set the rules and regulations for the importation and release into the environment of plants and plant products derived from the use of modern biotechnology.
OYSI warned that the Supreme Court’s decision would also cause an increase in the prices of livestock and poultry products, saying GM products were used as ingredients of animal feeds.
“Filipinos, our people, will be deprived of the true benefits of genetically modified crops proven by the best scientific evidence worldwide,” OYSI said.
“We are baffled that opponents of biotechnology keep demanding proof of the
socio-economic benefits in the approval of GM crops for cultivation, glossing over the fact that rapid global growth of GM crop adoption in more than 180 million hectares of cultivated land in 28 countries such as Brazil, Argentina, India and the Philippines increased farm yields by 22 percent and farmers’ net profits by 68 percent during the past 20 years of GM use,” the group said.
OYSI said Bt crops were safer than crops sprayed with synthetic pesticides, noting that Bt sprays had been proven safe not only to humans but also to the environment.
“However, our Supreme Court was swayed into stopping Bt eggplant research that will establish the benefits of this technology, thereby consequently favoring chemical pesticide-soaked eggplant to GM eggplant that has insect protectant in the form of a bacterial protein,” OYSI said.
The group said GM crops not only increased farmers’ yields but also reduced the use of pesticide by 19 percent and lower greenhouse gas emission by 28 billion kilograms, or about 12.4 million cars off the road.
“GM crops are key components of sustainable agriculture and food security, both in our country and worldwide,” OYSI said.
“The Philippines’ 15 years of experience with GM crops, the world’s twenty
years of experience with them, and the billions of meals with GM products consumed daily with zero confirmed health issue, are the best evidence on the safety of GM crops,” OYSI said.