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Tuesday, March 02, 2004
Bt toxin found in blood samples of townfolks
By Allen V. Estabillo
GENERAL SANTOS -- A Norwegian scientist on Monday confirmed that residents of a farming village in Polomok, South Cotabato may have been exposed to Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt) toxin.
The residents were downed last year by supposed infection from Bt corn planted in the area.
Dr. Terje Traavik, a scientist from the Norwegian Institute of Gene Ecology, said preliminary results of a study conducted on blood samples taken last year from at least 38 farmers and individuals from Sitio Kalyong, Barangay Landan in Polomolok town allegedly yielded the presence of Bt toxin.
"Antibodies in the human blood show that these people have been exposed to the Bt toxin during the last few months," said Traavik in a statement released Monday morning by the South East Asia Regional Initiatives for Community Empowerment (Searice).
Bacillus thuringiensis is an insecticidal bacterium marketed worldwide for control of many important plant pests. Bt products represent about one percent of the total "agrochemical" market (fungicides, herbicides and insecticides) across the world.
Commercial Bt products are powders containing a mixture of dried spores and toxin crystals. They are applied to leaves or other environments where insect larvae feed. Toxin genes have also been genetically engineered into several crop plants
However, the scientist noted that the results of the preliminary studies are not yet conclusive.
"[The analysis] has shown a coincidence in time which may or may not show a cause and effect relationship between the production of antibodies against Bt toxin and the disease allegedly suffered by these farmers and individuals," he said.
At least 106 lumad (indigenous people) residents, mostly elderly and children, sought medical treatment in July last year due to infections supposedly caused by the pollens of 60-day-old Bt corn planted in at least two sites in Sitio Kalyong.
Sister Susan Bolanio, director of the Social Action Center of the Diocese of Marbel, said the natives, belonging to the B'laan tribe, complained of various illnesses supposedly during the two-week flowering sage of the Bt corn produced by biotechnology firm Monsanto Philippines.
The questioned Bt corn, marketed by Monsanto under the YieldGard 818 brand, were planted separately in May 18 last year in two sites covering one hectare each.
According to documented accounts by at least 51 residents, the symptoms allegedly caused by the Bt corn range from gastrointestinal pain, vomiting, headache, cough, colds and skin allergies.
Polomolok health officer Dr. Edwin Dipus, who examined and treated the patients, doubts whether Bt corn caused the reported illnesses.
He said the patients, who were mostly treated for respiratory tract infections, could have acquired the infections because of the rainy season then.
However, Dipus recommended deeper study on the claims of the supposed Bt corn victims, and to call in toxicology experts.
Searice immediately brought the incident to the attention of Dr. Lynn Crisanta Panganiban, chair of the National Poison Control and Information Service of the University of the Philippines College of Medicine.
Panganiban, based on her analysis on the documented cases, noted the "clustering effect on the manifestation of symptoms at almost the same period is more indicative of a chemical exposure rather than biological exposure."
In September last year, Traavik, who was then conducting an independent research on Bt corn in South Cotabato, got hold of the report and immediately offered to analyze the blood samples of the affected residents in his laboratory at the University of Tromso in Norway.
The blood samples from 38 affected individuals were taken October last year in Polomolok, and blood sampling was reportedly done under the supervision of a municipal health officer and a registered medical technologist.
The blood samples were sent to Dr. Traavik's laboratory at the University of Tromso in Norway last Oct. 12.
When informed about such findings Monday morning, Monsanto officials here immediately raised doubts about the credibility of the findings and recommended an independent study on the matter.
"We really don't know how they were able to determine such findings except that they came from those opposing our product," said Francisco Camacho, Monsanto's technology development executive.
He said the credibility of findings should be substantiated, especially the process by which the blood samples were taken.
"We have to make sure that the samples were taken properly and that the process of the analysis was based of accepted scientific standards," he said.
Camacho also said that the alleged infection of Landan residents from the Bt corn plants was the only report they received out of the hundreds of sites planted with Bt corn in this city and nearby South Cotabato.
The government approved Monsanto's application for the commercialization of Bt corn in December 2002.
Monsanto started the distribution of its Bt corn products through Dekalb and several private seed companies based in Northern Luzon.
Anit-GMO
Earlier, a former nun adjudged last year as "Best Female Farmer" by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) strongly called on consumers to shun food products containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
Virginia Muniņo, who left the convent of the Oblates of Notre Dame in 1994, said food products modified genetically "pose as risk to human health and the environment."
"No one has the right to tinker God's creation whether they are plants or animals. Disturbing the natural genetic structure [of plants and animals] may result to health and environment catastrophe," she said.
Muniņo was recognized as Best Female Farmer for 2003 for transforming her two-hectare farm into a teeming enterprise using organic farming method.
The 55-year-old former nun has been discouraging the public from patronizing GMO products, particularly the controversial Bt corn that was approved for commercial distribution by the Arroyo government in late 2002.
"With regards to Bt corn, there's still no worldwide scientific consensus that it's safe for human consumption as well as its impact to the environment," she said.
(March 2, 2004 issue)
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