Agri groups go to SC over modified eggplants

Activists in hazmat (hazardous material) suits from the environmentalist group Greenpeace uproot genetically engineered Bt eggplant, locally known as ‘‘talong,” from a field trial site in Bay Laguna province, in this 2011 photo. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Producers, traders and consumers of organic food will file Friday in the Supreme Court a petition to intervene in opposition to government-backed field trials of genetically modified eggplants.

The petitioners include nongovernment organizations Sibol ng Agham at Teknolohiya, the Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka and Consumer Rights for Safe Food (CRSF), along with 10 individual organic farmers from Tarlac.

CRSF head Mara Pardo de Tavera said their petition was in support of the plea for a writ of kalikasan filed in 2012 by activist group Greenpeace and its allies to stop the field trials of the Bt eggplant.

Writ of kalikasan

A writ of kalikasan is a legal remedy for parties who believe their “constitutional right to a balanced and healthful ecology is violated or threatened with a violation” and to stop environmentally destructive acts.

Its grant would lead to appropriate protection orders and mandate court hearings on environment and health matters.

“We want finality for the writ of kalikasan so that it can be implemented,” Pardo de Tavera said in an interview. “We are aware the government is (hell-bent) on proceeding with the field tests.”

She explained the Supreme Court had brought the Greenpeace petition to the Court of Appeals for hearings.

The appellate court granted the petition in May 2013, but the respondents appealed. The latter included the Environmental Management Bureau, Bureau of Plant Industry, Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority, and International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications Inc.

Pardo de Tavera said the Greenpeace petition was upheld again in September 2013, prompting the respondents to file a petition for prohibition and certiorari in the Supreme Court.

She said that since then, there had been three petitions in intervention in support of Bt eggplant field trials.

“Based on these developments, we have discussed and presented the option for some of our allies to file a similar petition in intervention supporting the CA decision to stop the field trials of Bt eggplant for violating the constitutional right of Filipinos to a balanced and healthy ecology,” Pardo de Tavera said.

Organic food trader

Pardo de Tavera, who is a trader in organic food, said the bacteria introduced into the gene of an eggplant—Bacillus thuringenesis, hence Bt—had been observed to produce a dangerous toxin harmful to human health.

She cited scientific studies conducted by at least three medical universities in Europe which warned of severe dangers from planting and consuming genetically modified crops, especially rice and eggplant.

“Bacillus thuringenesis is inserted into the DNA of the eggplant to produce a protein called Cry1Ac, which is a poison harmful to humans, especially infants and small children,” she said.

Pardo de Tavera was referring to the pronouncements of medical doctors Ian F. Pryme of the University of Bergen in Norway, Gilles-Eric Seralini of the University de Caen in France and Christian Velot of the Institut de Genetique et Microbiologie in Paris.

Not for humans

According to the doctors, Cry1Ac has not been approved for human consumption in any food crop and there is concern over its potential to cause allergic reactions when ingested.

“We are raising this public alarm over this issue because we are very much concerned about the ill effects of genetically modified eggplants to the health of our people, especially farmers who will be asked to field test these crops,” Pardo de Tavera said.