Thursday, August 30, 2007 Banning of GMO products pushed By Jerome S. Galunan Jr.
THE Provincial Government of Negros Occidental has strongly pushed for the banning of the entry of Genetically Modified Organisms to protect the biodiversity and sustain the status of Negros as organic food island.
This is being strengthened through Provincial Ordinance No. 7 which institutes stringent measures towards the protection of biodiversity and the attainment of the status of the province as organic food island by banning the entry, importation, introduction, planting, growing, selling and trading of GM plants and animals within the territorial jurisdiction with penalties for violations.
Based on this ordinance, no person shall introduce or bring in any area in the province living modified organisms (LMO) including GMOs.
Furthermore, GMO experimentation and field testing is also prohibited.
According to anti-GMO groups, biotech companies can patent GMO organisms that they developed.
This in effect creates monopolies for the production of seeds or propagating stocks leading to the creation of powerful cartels that control production and distribution of these organisms, and thus dictate supply and prices at the expense of small and marginal farmers.
This leaves farmers dependent on the companies that develop the GMO for source of new planting stocks for the next crop thereby ensuring profit for biotech companies.
These would allow the farmer to save and replant seeds from GMO crop but cannot derive the benefits of the GMO without the activating chemical.
This renders the farmers dependent on the biotech companies for the supply of the proprietary chemicals.
Added to this that in the event of environmental damage caused by GMOs, small and marginal farmers are at an extreme disadvantage as they are not protected by insurance and government subsidies as their first world counterparts.
