PA, what is GMO? Why are they talking about it? Is it really that important? How will it affect us and my friends? Is this another project of government to blur the realities of the times? These were some of the questions of my daughter as I caught her reading the headlines last week.

She reacted when she saw that government officials are once again slated to visit Australia for a conference on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). She was frowning because she said that government could still afford to attend conventions while we are simply left here and suffer the effects of their non-efficient solutions to the real problems of the land. She complained that amidst the environmental devastation, the government is so calloused that it still would spend money of the people for useless conventions.

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Government should rechannel budget to aids for the typhoon victims and stop thinking of where they will go and where they will spend the money, my daughter added.

I was a little shock by her reaction. She was thinking aloud. She is now aware of the issues of the day. I tried to dissuade her from these thoughts and told her t study for her examinations. She was quick in telling me that what will she do with her subjects when they are not talking about realities. I told her that before she reacts I would try to explain to her the real issues.

GMO means genetically modified organism. It is a process of either speeding down or up the growth of certain organisms be it flora or fauna. It is the alteration of the genetic build-up of an organism. This was developed in contemporary sciences where alterations of the DNA and RNA of organisms are done to make things smaller or bigger or speed up the growth of organisms.

Businessmen welcomed the entrance of such modifications. They will surely get back their profit in a much lesser time compared to natural growth. Take the case of GMO sugarcanes. It was observed that many varieties came out with faster growth rate than that of the normal and original sugarcane. In the past one must have at least a year before milling, now one can have only 7 to 9-month-old sugarcane and even bigger and heavier than the original one. The problem is that the original one is now extinct and lesser and dangerous sugar is produced from these monsters.

Another case of GMO that had been with us is the 45-days chicken or poultry. The normal and native chicken will take months before they could be used as poultry meat. The 45-days or 1 month and a half chicken is already ready for the table in such a short span of time. Surely, it has become a breed of chicken but for sure, there are alterations in the genes of this all-time favorite Filipino meat.

Look around you and you see a lot of giant vegetables. They are not only big but they are also cheap. These are some of the GMO vegetables. Cutflowers are not also spared from such alterations. Many flowering plants are either induced or genetically modified to produce larger and colorful flowers.

Let me share to you two major effects of these alterations. First, it will eradicate the original species and soon, all the mutants will overtake the original. Secondly, the health effect on us humans is great.

The now newly mutated organism will replace the original species. This simply means that the original or mother plant will no longer exist for the seeds of these original plants will be genetically modified. We will no longer see good, organic and natural plants and animals. Like those of the original water buffalo, we will now have the hybrid one and maybe also an impotent one. I fear much of the effect of GMO where mutants can no longer reproduce or what product will they produce. With the GM organisms around, it will surely eradicate the species soon.

We have heard that what is non-natural is dangerous. GMOs are not natural organisms. The process of producing them is technical and scientific. Their genes are not only technically altered but they are also chemically altered. This simply means that there will be grave effects for us humans who take these organisms as part of the human food chain. The effect on us will come out at a latter time but it will be so that cancer will become a part of our system and so as all other diseases that are potent inside the organisms' bodies and systems.

So, my dear daughter, this does not end here. You have to do something about this. Do not trust your future with the politicians. You have to do it yourselves. Tell those who are steering our country to steer it well for your sake and not for their pockets. The future belongs to you and your generation and not to us and to the pot-bellied politicians and slimy government officials.
Congratulations to the UNO-R Recoletos Educational Assistance for Deserving Students on the celebration of their sportsfest 2009. They have proven their versatility and talents at Gaisano City last Saturday.

For comments, email me at ecaloy1@yahoo.com
Pope John Paul II and St. Ezekiel Moreno, pray for us.