Senatorial candidate Francis "Chiz" Escudero raised warnings
about the possible spread of genetically modified (GM) crops in the country,
saying it could pose risk to people.
Escudero said he is joining the call of farmer’s groups and
other non-government organizations for the government to ban the entry of
genetically engineered rice and corn and prohibit growing of such crops in the
country.
"I am not being unduly alarmist, but until the question of
safety is settled to the satisfaction of scientists, we must be content with
traditional varieties," Escudero said. "The new rice or wheat plant looks the
same but it carries something in its genetic material that was not there
before."
On the surface, according to Escudero, the reason advanced
for the development of GM seeds is laudable. It boosts harvest and makes plants
harder and more resistant to disease and drought for one thing.
But Escudero said the long-term effects on people and animals
who consume the crops are not yet known.
Its proponents argue there is nothing new about biotech
revolution that underpins genetic engineering. They say it merely accelerates
improvement of plants through selective breeding, a process that takes thousands
of years.
"That is precisely the problem," Escudero said. "The
evolution of a thousand years is accomplished in the laboratory overnight,
giving mankind no time to keep pace with or adapt to the change.
He said once GM plants gain entry to the country, they could
breed with and profoundly change traditional varieties. He noted that field
trials conducted in the US and Great Britain proved beyond the shadow of doubt
that gene transfer does occur among major food crops.
The candidate also said he shares the concerns of activists
who claim that GM plants could lead to monopoly, noting that biotech firms
protect their bioengineered seeds with patents.
A farmer in Canada was prosecuted and convicted for growing
GM plants, although he claimed he had merely planted seeds from traditional
varieties altered by cross-breeding with plants from a neighboring farm.
It has been proved that like those coming from traditional varieties, pollens
from GM plants are carried by the wind for tens of kilometers.
