Suspension of eggplant field testing sought

A LAWMAKER called for the immediate suspension of ongoing field tests of Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt) eggplant due to possible hazards on human health and the environment.

Bayan Muna Representative Teddy Casiño said that the test procedure also violates the law on organic agriculture.

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In filing House Resolution 237, Casiño asked the Committee and Agriculture and Food to immediately probe the Bt eggplant testing for being illegal and the uncalculated risk on its field trials.

Bt eggplant is now being tested in seven sites in the Philippines, namely, Sta. Maria, Pangasinan; Bae, Laguna; Pili, Camarines Sur; Baybay, Leyte; Sta. Barbara, Iloilo; UP Mindanao, Davao City; and Kabacan, North Cotabato.

The Maharastra Hybrid Seeds Company Ltd (Mahyco) spearheaded the testing, hoping for its commercial release in 2011. Mahyco is affiliated with Monsanto, a US-based biotech company which introduced the controversial Bt corn in the country.

“I call on the government proponents of Bt eggplant to stop all these tests as these are illegal at the least and can give rise to agricultural and health anomalies in the near future,” Casiño said.

Bacillus Thuringiensis is a toxin-producing germ which, when embedded into eggplant, causes it to become resistant to the Philippine Fruit and Shoot Borer (FSB).

The Bt eggplant is a genetically modified organism (GMO) designed to produce an insecticide in order to fight insects. This insecticide is present in the whole plant and is concentrated in the fruit.

“Alterations result in new characteristics not naturally belonging to that organism and this can be dangerous,” the lawmaker said.

“This is what the government proponents of Bt eggplant do not say,” added Casiño.

He noted the Bt eggplant field testing violates the Organic Agriculture Act that states that the use of biotechnology and other agricultural practices shall not include GMOs.

The fact that government sanctioned the field testing also violates the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to which the Philippines is a signatory, he added.

Article 2 of the protocol states: "The development, handling, transport, use, transfer and release of any living modified organisms are undertaken in a manner that prevents or reduces the risk to biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health."

In 2009, the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests declared a moratorium on distribution and commercialization of Bt eggplant in India as it cited health risk on consumers, especially in the stomach, blood, liver and heart. (Kathrina Alvarez/Sunnex)