IN his column of April 30, Manila Times columnist Orlando Mercado hailed the April 17 decision of the Court of Appeals halting the commercial propagation, field trials and other work on two GMO (genetically modified organisms) crops, Golden Rice and Bt Talong (eggplant). Included in Mercado s summary of the decision is this rather frightening result: The CA has also halted all other GMO applications. This is a crucial step.
PRINCIPLE 15 of the 1992 Rio Declaration laid out the premise of the precautionary rule in international environmental law. It states: In order to protect the environment, the precautionary approach shall be widely applied by States according to their capabilities. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.
ABOUT a year ago, I wrote about the dangers of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. I talked about our advocacy against the commercialization of two GMOs. First, Malusog or Golden Rice was touted as the answer to vitamin A deficiency in Asia and Africa.
Genetically modified rice and eggplant products will remain off the market after the Supreme Court issued a writ in favor of farmers and scientists who sought to stop the government from commercially releasing the products.
Groups of farmers, scientists, environmentalists and concerned citizens have filed a petition before the Supreme Court to seek the issuance of a writ of kalikasan and a Temporary Environmental Protection Order against the commercial cultivation of genetically modified rice and eggplant varieties.