Activism and History Shape the GM Crops Debate in the Philippines

A historical legacy of farmer repression in the Philippines shapes the fierce opposition to Golden Rice and Bt eggplant, even as these crops hold the potential to save lives.

Jun 14, 2024

The Facts:

The Philippines has been at the center of a contentious debate over the implementation of two genetically modified (GM) crops - Golden Rice and Bt eggplant. Golden Rice, developed in the 1990s, is engineered to produce beta-carotene, which the body can convert into vitamin A. This was intended to address the widespread issue of vitamin A deficiency in the Philippines, which can lead to childhood blindness and even death. Vitamin A deficiency is a major problem in developing countries, causing significant morbidity, mortality, and preventable childhood blindness, with estimates suggesting it causes the deaths of more than 100,000 children a year. Bt eggplant, on the other hand, is resistant to the eggplant fruit and shoot borer, a major pest that regularly devastates eggplant harvests in the country. In 2021, the Philippines became the first country in the world to approve the commercial cultivation of Golden Rice. However, this decision was recently overturned by the country's Court of Appeals, which ruled in favor of the farmers' group MASIPAG and Greenpeace Southeast Asia. The court stated that the proponents of both crops must provide more scientific evidence to prove that they will not harm the environment. Despite a 2016 open letter signed by more than 150 Nobel laureates, attacking Greenpeace for campaigning against Golden Rice and other GM crops and stating that there has never been a single confirmed case of a negative health outcome from their consumption.

As Wilhelmina Pelegrina, a Greenpeace Southeast Asia campaigner, stated, "In some ways, you can view the use of [GMOs] as an old-school approach." She further explained, "We need diversity for climate resilience, to absorb some of the shocks of the impacts of climate change. We need to shift our food production away from fossil fuel-based systems."

This ruling has been a major setback for the adoption of these GM crops in the Philippines. As Adrian Dubock, the executive secretary of the Golden Rice Humanitarian Board, stated, "The court's decision is a catastrophe. It goes completely against the science, which has found no evidence of any risk associated with Golden Rice, and will result in thousands and thousands of children dying." Similarly, Maricelis Acevedo, a research professor at Cornell University, expressed that "Filipino farmers and consumers deserve the right to access this technology and are eagerly awaiting it."

The dispute over the implementation of these GM crops in the Philippines is deeply rooted in the country's history. MASIPAG, the farmers' group that filed the lawsuit, was formed in 1985 in response to the Marcos Sr. administration's policies that favored large-scale, corporate-controlled agriculture. These policies, which included the promotion of synthetic fertilizers and herbicides, led to the decimation of indigenous plants and animals, ultimately reducing rice yields. Farmers who criticized these policies were often targeted and killed by state forces, further eroding trust in the government and corporate entities.

Tragically, farmers in rural communities in the Philippines are still being killed in operations apparently linked to state forces, and protesters have been "red-tagged" as communist sympathizers. This ongoing violence and repression have only exacerbated the already tense environment surrounding the debate over GM crops in the country.

The View:

The decision by the Philippine court to block the commercial cultivation of Golden Rice and Bt eggplant is a concerning one, as it has the potential to have catastrophic consequences. Scientists have warned that this ruling could result in the deaths of tens of thousands of children due to the continued prevalence of vitamin A deficiency. The court's ruling goes against the scientific consensus, which has found no evidence of any risks associated with these GM crops. The opposition to these GM crops is driven more by ideology than by a genuine assessment of the scientific evidence. As Ingo Potrykus, who is a professor of cell biology at Freiburg University noted, "Golden Rice was the first transgenic crop to be created that benefited people, not companies or farmers, yet its use has been blocked from the start." This suggests that the resistance to these crops is rooted in a broader ideological opposition to genetically modified organisms, rather than a well-reasoned analysis of the potential benefits and risks.

However, the dispute has often overlooked the core grievances of Filipino farmers, including ongoing issues of state violence and repression against rural communities. The court's ruling will have ripple effects beyond the Philippines, potentially deterring other countries like India and Bangladesh, where vitamin A deficiency is also widespread, from considering the adoption of Golden Rice. This would be a tragic outcome, as these crops have the potential to save thousands of lives and improve the health and well-being of millions of people in the developing world. The Philippine government should challenge the court's decision and work to overturn it, as the stakes are simply too high to allow this ruling to stand. The health and lives of vulnerable children should not be sacrificed to ideological concerns or historical grievances.

TLDR:

The Philippines has been at the center of a contentious debate over the implementation of two genetically modified (GM) crops - Golden Rice and Bt eggplant.
Golden Rice is engineered to produce beta-carotene, which can help address vitamin A deficiency, a major problem in developing countries.
Bt eggplant is resistant to the eggplant fruit and shoot borer, a major pest that regularly devastates eggplant harvests in the Philippines.
In 2021, the Philippines became the first country to approve the commercial cultivation of Golden Rice, but this decision was recently overturned by the country's Court of Appeals.
The court ruled that the proponents of both crops must provide more scientific evidence to prove that they will not harm the environment, despite the scientific consensus on the safety of these GM crops.
The opposition to these GM crops is driven more by ideology than by a genuine assessment of the scientific evidence, as evidenced by the Greenpeace's campaign against them.
The dispute is deeply rooted in the country's history, with the farmers' group MASIPAG, formed in response to the Marcos Sr. administration's policies that favored large-scale, corporate-controlled agriculture.
Ongoing violence and repression against rural communities have exacerbated the already tense environment surrounding the debate over GM crops in the Philippines.
The court's ruling has the potential to have catastrophic consequences, as it could result in the deaths of tens of thousands of children due to the continued prevalence of vitamin A deficiency.
The Philippine government should challenge the court's decision and work to overturn it, as the stakes are simply too high to allow this ruling to stand.