Filipino scientists speak on GMO (genetically modified organism)

[Flor Lacanilao]

Filipino scientists speak on GMO (genetically modified organism) 

A news story ("Eggplant war: Scientists defend GMO") in the Philippine Star,  May 1, 2012 was posted at PhiliScience forum last night by Stephen Alayon of SEAFDEC (see Item 1 below). This is a good news, to read the president of the country's science academy speaking on a national issue related to science.

I am also posting 3 recent news stories, on GM eggplant, from the journals Nature Biotechnology and Science for your information/reference (Items 2-4).

Perhaps among questions to ask are:  

(a) What is the real state -- e.g., adequately verified safety -- of GMO or GM eggplant   research in the world? 

(b) What SCI-indexed papers on GM eggplant were published by the "top Filipino scientists" who petitioned the Supreme Court, mentioned in the Philippine Star news story?

Florlaca

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(1)  Eggplant war: Scientists defend GMO 

The Philippine Star,  May 1, 2012) 

MANILA, Philippines - Top Filipino scientists have urged the Supreme Court (SC) to junk a petition filed by environmental groups against the field testing of genetically modified (GMO) eggplant in the country.

Emil Javier, president of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) and former president of the University of the Philippines, said “Bacillusthuringiensis (Bt) eggplant is potentially the best environmentally friendly technology for eggplant production.”

Javier asked the high court not to act hastily but also consider the scientific side regarding the petition for the writ of kalikasan and writ of continuing mandamus filed by a group of non-government organizations (NGOs) against the field trials.

He argued that the filing of the petition “is not in the national interest, and the academy, together with UP and the mainstream, reputable scientists from the local and global community strongly support agricultural biotechnology.”...

Full story at,

<http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=802444&publicationSubCategoryId=68>

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(2)  Filipinos back GM eggplant

<http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v29/n1/full/nbt0111-9c.html>

Nature Biotechnology, published online 10 January 2011

Filipino farmers clamoring for the adoption of genetically modified (GM) eggplants in October passed a resolution to support multi-location field trials of the biotech crop. GM crop farmers and agriculture representatives from across the country endorsed a set of resolutions to support the advancement of biotech crops in the country including the pest-resistant eggplant. “When we consulted them, [farmers] asked, 'Are the seeds available already? Why is it taking so long?'” says Reynaldo Cabanao, president of the Asian Farmers Regional Network (ASFARNET). The GM eggplant was developed by the Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II (ABSPII), a global public-private collaboration based at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. It was engineered with the Cry1Ac gene from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) to fend off the fruit and shoot borer, which can destroy up to 50% of the region's number-one food crop. Farmers who have witnessed the success of Bt corn are eager for Bt eggplant to be available, says Desiree Hautea, ABSPII coordinator for South East Asia, at the University of the Philippines, Los Baños. The GM eggplant is currently undergoing confined field tests adhering to biosafety regulations set by the Philippines Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry. Multiple-site trials will follow, though commercialization plans remain undefined.

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(3)  After Acrimonious Debate, India Rejects GM Eggplant

<http://www.sciencemag.org/content/327/5967/767.short>

Science  12 February 2010

Abstract

At a press conference here on 9 February, India's environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, announced a "moratorium" on commercial release of what would have been India's first genetically modified food crop: varieties of eggplant, called brinjal in India, equipped with a protein from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) that's toxic to insect pests. The moratorium overturns a regulatory panel's decision last autumn to clear Bt brinjal for commercial planting, and the future of agricultural biotechnology in India now hangs in the balance.

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(4)  Monsanto to face biopiracy charges in India

Nature Biotechnology, Published online 09 January 2012

An Indian government agency has agreed to sue the developers of genetically modified (GM) eggplant for violating India's Biological Diversity Act of 2002. India's National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) is alleging that the developers of India's first GM food crop—Jalna-based Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco) partnered with St. Louis–based seed giant Monsanto and several local universities—used local varieties to develop the transgenic crop, but failed to gain the appropriate licenses for field trials.

For more,

<http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v30/n1/full/nbt0112-11.html?WT.ec_id=NBT-201201>

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