*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
>
----------------------------
*(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.
------------------------------------
*(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.
----------------------
*(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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