Posted: 12 Aug 2013 04:23 AM PDT
Farmers uprooted Golden Riced being tested in Pili, Camarines Sur, to stop its commercialization. (Contributed Photo)In an interview with Pinoy Weekly, Bert Autor, a farmer and spokesperson of SIKWAL-GMO, said that they are ready to face any charges that will come their way. “Nakahanda na kami para rito. Sinabi na namin noon sa DA na ito ang gagawin namin kapag ipinagpatuloy ang field trials. (We are ready. We already told the DA before that we will do this if they continue those field trials),” he said.
Feed trials?
Autor claimed that the DA Region 5 reneged on a promise made to them in a dialogue last February that there will be no field trials, after they raised concerns about Golden Rice’s impacts on their health, environment and livelihood.
“However, they still continued these clandestine field trials. We are very concerned as news about feed testing will start this year and that the harvest will be used in these feed experiments… We do not want our people, especially our children to be used in these experiments,” Autor said in an earlier statement.
He cited that in China, children have been secretly used in feed trials of Golden Rice.
SIKWAL-GMO is an alliance of farmers, church people, students, academicians and consumers based in Bicol who are against GMOs. Last August 8, SIKWAL-GMO and Kilusang Magbubukid ng Bicol led around 400 farmers in uprooting Golden Rice to show their opposition to GM rice being developed by the Philippine government, together with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and Swiss agrochemical giant Syngenta.
Below is a video clip of the uprooting of Golden Rice:
In response, Abelardo Bragas, DA Region 5 Executive Director, warned that farmer leaders responsible for the uprooting will be charged in court. “The action of the violent rallyists was a malicious mischief that resulted to the damage of properties, loss of valuable data, and loss of investment. Thus, we are taking legal action against the persons we have identified as directly involved in said mischief,” he said in a statement.
Bragas also said that farmers were merely used as “fronts” and “shields” by infiltrators. He did not elaborate who these alleged “infiltrators” were.
Autor said that the uprooting was a legitimate form of protest action by farmers themselves, who have been pressing the DA to stop the Golden Rice field trials.
Golden Rice is genetically-modified with genes coming from bacteria and corn to produce beta-carotene, the precursor to Vitamin A. Proponents say that Golden Rice will be used to address Vitamin A Deficiency or VAD.
But farmers’ groups insist that Golden Rice “is not an answer to the country’s problem on hunger and malnutrition,” and that it will create dependence on GM rice seeds and inputs.
Opponents of Golden Rice also say that it puts public health, the environment, and farmers‘ livelihood at risk.Scientific studies show that Golden Rice either does not produce sufficient Vitamin A or tends to lead to its overdose, while creating unpredictable health and environmental risks due to the tampering of genes and the presence of toxins in the inserted genes.
“Eh kung ang binhi pa nga lang, hindi na dinadapuan ng insekto dahil sa lason na taglay nito (Golden Rice), paano pa kaya ang epekto nito sa tao. (You can just imagine how it will poison people, if even insects do not come near its seeds because of its toxin),” Autor said.
He added that there are many native vegetables that are rich in Vitamin A, vegetables which will surely not survive if planted with Golden Rice.
The U.S.’ Rockefeller Foundation and Syngenta, which currently holds the patent to Golden Rice, has funded research on Golden Rice in partnership with the Laguna-based IRRI. The Golden Rice patent is currently owned by Syngenta.
Asian farmers laud action
Meanwhile, the Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) hailed the courageous action of Bicolano farmers.
“We condemn IRRI and Syngenta for raking in huge profits while destroying agriculture. We don’t need GMOs . What we need is genuine agrarian reform to resolve hunger and malnutrition,” said APC deputy secretary general and Indonesian farmer leader Rahmat Ajiguna.
The APC also exposed the ties of Golden Rice developers to big agrochemical transnational corporations (TNCs).
Ajiguna said that the leader of IRRI’s Golden Rice project in the Philippines is Gerald Barry, former research director of Monsanto. Barry worked in Monsanto for 20 years before moving to IRRI in 2003.
The U.S.-based TNC created genetically-modified Bt corn, which is now being commercialized in the country.
In 2001, militant farmers in South Cotabato also uprooted Bt corn planted in a field trial as protest.
The APC called on all farmers across Asia to uproot all GM crops in their country and oppose its commercialization.
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