Farmers of the Philippines Say ‘No Way’ to GMO Rice
We all know that biotech likes to spew lies about their products like a fire hydrant left on to overflow into the street. Well talk about genetically modified Golden Rice is no different. Fortunately, farmers from the Philippines are rejecting this environmentally irresponsible crop because, “they have plenty of other solutions for Vitamin A deficiency.”
Golden Rice has gotten a lot of hype. Biotech tries to sell it as a miracle cure for blindness due to a genetically altered augmentation of beta-carotene (Vitamin A) within the plant. It is often used as a Trojan Horse to force GM crops into countries that have said very clearly, “NO GMOs!”
The great myth of Golden Rice being some kind of savior for the planet has already been exposed. The original Golden Rice called “GR 1,” supported through funds by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, had such a meager amount of vitamin A in it that you would have to eat twelve times the normal daily intake to get the nutritionally necessary amount to do anything about blindness or Vitamin A deficiency of any kind.
It has also been explained that people who are starving won’t get ‘better’ nutrition from just eating a bowl of GM rice. They have to have enough fats in their diet as well in order to be able to assimilate the vitamins.
Golden Rice is really just a hoax. It poses risks to human health, and definitely compromises the non-GM crops of any country who allows it to be grown within its borders.
Read: GMO Golden Rice Fed to Children Without Warning
Michael Hansen, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist with Consumers Union and thoroughly debunks Golden rice myths. Hansen offered key testimony at a 2011 hearing in the Philippines before their parliament, wherein he challenged the head of PhilRice GR project to present any data on the β-carotene levels in the GR Indica varieties, but the only data offered were from GR2.
Also, Dr. Gerard Barry, head of IIRI’s Golden Rice Project leader, who came to IRRI in 2003 after having worked for Monsanto for 20 years (1983-2003), was in the room. Hansen says that Monsanto’s guy didn’t talk much.
Now, Filipino farmers and activist groups are outraged that biotech would try to plant GM crops via Golden Rice into their country. In response to a campaign waged by biotech called Allow Golden Rice Now!, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) chairperson and RESIST Agrochem TNCs! Convenor Rafael ‘Ka Paeng’ Mariano said:
“We reiterate the opposition of Filipino farmers to genetically modified (GM) crops and we will register our resistance against Golden Rice and other GM crops.”
The “Allow Golden Rice Now!” campaign is led by Dr. Patrick Moore, and aims to convince government officials and the Filipino people to accept Golden Rice as means to solve Vitamin A deficiency, or VAD. They want everyone to believe that the only way to solve the problem is by planting GM rice. Filipino farmers aren’t buying his byline though.
On August 8, 2013, more than 400 farmers uprooted the Golden Rice field trials at the experimental lot of the Department of Agriculture Regional Field Unit 5 in Pili, Camarines Sur. Moore demonized this action, saying that the protesters were committing a crime against humanity by campaigning against the commercialization of Golden Rice.
Filipino farmers think that the commercialization of Golden Rice is abhorrent. In fact, they side predominantly with Ka Bert Autor, coordinator of Sararong Inisyatiba nin Kahinwanmaan na Wasakon ang Agrokemikals na Lasong-GMO (SIKWAL-GMO) and secretary general of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Bikol (KMB). He made it clear that the uprooting of Golden Rice trials in Bicol was a principled action to protect the health, life, and quality of the environment, not only for farmers, but for Filipinos:
“Those who uprooted the Golden Rice field trials are landless farmers and rural poor sectors from far-flung provinces of Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, and Sorsogon. As rice producers and consumers, they have every right to protest against the ill-effects of Golden Rice.”
We stand with Filipino farmers against biotech’s Golden Rice. Its reputation has already tarnished.
You can view an 18-minute documentary produced by Greenpeace International on the subject here.
Philippines doesn’t need GMO rice. There are lots of food in the Philippines that are rich in Vitamin A! Why not the government promote those natural food (organic, I hope) like malunggay (Moringa Olifeira), camote (sweet potato) and food/crops alike? In Metro magazine in NZ, there was an article that only the Philippines in Souteast Asia embraces GMO… not something that Filipinos need to be proud of. This means PH is a puppet of US!!!
This comment is a product of the lack of iodized salt in diets. I think we need GMO crops with Iodine so we can avoid these kinds of comments. FFS
hahaha… you made me laugh,Ein. In the first place, humanity doesn’t need GMOs or GE food to resolve hunger in the world. Genetically engineered food has no good health benefit to people and the environment anyway. I think you need to read the book “The World According to Monsanto” and the “Silent Spring”. And besides, I am not into iodized salt. You can get iodine from the boiled eggs, shrimp, fish, and Himalayan Crystal salt. Iodine is also an essential mineral that is important to the proper functioning of the thyroid. So what’s the connection between the iodine and the comments? 🙂
My dear, my dear! You just don’t know what you’re talking about. Just read the book titled “The World According to Monsanto” by Marie Monique Robin, “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson or even the books of Jeffrey Smith titled “Genetic Roulette” and “Seeds of Deception” or just go to his website “Institute of Responsible Technology” so you’d be well-educated and have an informed decision.
Have you heard/researched about Arpad Pusztai, Rachel Parent (watch her in the youtube for debating with Kevin O’Leary), Vandana Shiva and other prominent people who are against GMOs? I can list more people here so you can research on them and not be blinded by what you believe in.
These people write books and had independent research/es without being paid by big biotech companies. Can you site the actual scientific journals that you are referring to? Pretty sure their research/study was funded by big companies who’s own interest is to promote GMO as safe to human and environment.
Same thing with the Golden rice by IRRI in the Philippines. They are only funded by the makers (or rich people who are associated to or with an investment to the company) of golden rice and they are just making Filipinos the guinea pig as their long term experiment.
Big companies get a higher profit, the people suffer from the negative effect of their product that has not been thoroughly tested for long-term effect in human and environment.
Have they tested the long-term effect of GM rice mixed with other GM food on human? Have they tested the effect on babies or children who are less mature in terms of development of body and brain compare to their specimen? If problems arise, we will never know because the cause will not be traceable and many diseases take a very long time to develop if GM food is given to children without proper testing and they will be the experimental animals.
I am not an expert nor paid by anyone to write or voice out the horrible effects of these GMO food/crops. But as an ordinary citizen, that’s what I believe in and I am concerned with this Golden rice introduced to Filipinos.
There are known effects of GM that includes (but not limited to) disruption of hormonal system, immune system damage, behavioural problems, irreversible effects including impaired fertility and danger to unborn children.
So don’t be fooled and be blinded by what the companies pay you. Don’t be such a “bayarin”.
Do you have a source to your latter claims?
Learn from Australia, organic crops were contaminated by gmo crops. The farmer with organic crops, Steve Marsh, was sued by the farmer with ge crops (supported of course by biotech company). So if GE food contaminated your organic rice, expect a disastrous consequence. Also check Canadian farmers’ stressful saga with the biotech company. Look at India’s farmers suicide as effect of this biotech’s GE crops….
Marsh lost his organic certification when a small amount of seed from an adjacent field wound up growing in his field. if your gonna spout nonsense, at least get your facts right.
FYI: Mr. and Mrs. Bill Gates had a ‘top secret’ visit to IRRI, University of the Philippines Los Banos,
Laguna this April 8, 2015. According to an interaksyon article, “Gates Closed”, “…the sprawling campus went on a virtual lockdown…All the social media accounts of IRRi staff were blocked…When Gates finally did arrive, he walked around the field and checked some of the laboratories, politely asking the staff not to look at him or mind him…The IRRI staff also noted very limited connectivity with internet…It was learned that not even UPLB officials were informed of Gates’ visit…Gates a few years ago donated $20 million to research for the ‘promising’ (punctuations mine) Golden Rice…” Other local news sources cited security reasons for the highly confidential visit.
Hala si ateng puro personal basis, walang scientific evidences.