Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram
Search
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Campaigns
    • Ban Highly Hazardous Pesticides
    • Protect Our Children
    • Women Rise Up
    • Agroecology In Action
    • No Land, No Life
  • Resources
  • Media
    • Media Release
    • Features
  • Get Involved
    • Donate
    • Sign Our Petition
    • Subscribe
    • Join our Events
Menu
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Campaigns
    • Ban Highly Hazardous Pesticides
    • Protect Our Children
    • Women Rise Up
    • Agroecology In Action
    • No Land, No Life
  • Resources
  • Media
    • Media Release
    • Features
  • Get Involved
    • Donate
    • Sign Our Petition
    • Subscribe
    • Join our Events
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Campaigns
    • Ban Highly Hazardous Pesticides
    • Protect Our Children
    • Women Rise Up
    • Agroecology In Action
    • No Land, No Life
  • Resources
  • Media
    • Media Release
    • Features
  • Get Involved
    • Donate
    • Sign Our Petition
    • Subscribe
    • Join our Events
Menu
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Campaigns
    • Ban Highly Hazardous Pesticides
    • Protect Our Children
    • Women Rise Up
    • Agroecology In Action
    • No Land, No Life
  • Resources
  • Media
    • Media Release
    • Features
  • Get Involved
    • Donate
    • Sign Our Petition
    • Subscribe
    • Join our Events

Victory against GM Golden Rice and Bt Eggplant in the Philippines court, a momentous win in the global fight against GMOs

Statement by the Stop Golden Rice Network (SGRN)

by PAN Asia Pacific
April 24, 2024
in Media
Victory against GM Golden Rice and Bt Eggplant in the Philippines court, a momentous win in the global fight against GMOs
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A decade ago, more than 400 farmers, women, youth and consumers strongly voiced the people’s overwhelming rejection of the genetically modified Golden Rice by uprooting the field trials in Pili, Camarines Sur, Philippines. This rejection included the premise that vitamins can be artificially ingested through gene editing. Nature has given enough diversity for people to get all the necessary ingredients in various forms, through food diversity. The historic action has now resulted in a major victory as the Philippine Supreme Court on 19 April 2024 issued a cease-and-desist order on the commercial propagation of genetically modified Golden Rice and Bt eggplant in the country.

It re-emphasises the need for precautionary principle, ignored by regulators specifically by The Philippines and New Zealand in this particular case of Golden Rice. Genetic contamination, because of GM products, can have irreversible consequences on plant genetic resources and thus on human beings.

The rejection against Golden Rice has become a symbol of resistance against GMOs and corporate control in agriculture, not just in the Philippines and in other Asian countries but across the world. Thus, the court decision also symbolises victory for farmers and consumers everywhere as the decision goes beyond Golden Rice and Bt eggplant and covers “any application for contained use, field testing, direct use as food or feed or processing, commercial propagation, and importation of GMOs.”

The court recognized that government agencies and other proponents of Golden Rice and Bt eggplant “failed to submit proof of safety and compliance with all legal requirements.” According to the court decision, this order remains indefinite until GMOs proponents could fulfill all the mandated steps and be able to give concrete evidence that these GMOs are indeed safe. Farmers, consumers and civil society organizations across Asia under the banner of Stop Golden Rice Network celebrate this momentous victory.

We do recognize there is a need to address hunger and malnutrition in Asia and around the world, particularly in the face of global food, economic, climate crises and war. But we strongly believe that the solution is not in Golden Rice, nor other genetically modified food crops, but through supporting the traditional and small farmers who remain the main producers and protectors of diverse sources of food. We believe that GM crops are primarily pushed by global monopoly capitalists in food and agriculture. Throughout Asia and the rest of the world, there is already irrevocable evidence of the failure of GM crops and how it has contributed to further indebtedness, crop failures, hunger, and loss of biodiversity.

The resilience of farmers, consumers in the Philippines against Golden Rice, Bt eggplant and other GMO crops in their countries which have been vindicated by the Supreme Court have become a testament that people’s persistence prevails in the face of corporate capture of our agriculture and food system. Securing small farmers’ control over resources such as seed, appropriate technologies, water and land is the real key to improving food production and eradicating hunger and malnutrition.

Further contacts on behalf of Stop Golden Rice Network (SGRN):

Dr. Narasimha Reddy Donthi, climate action expert and public interest campaigner, nreddy.donthi22@gmail.com

Sarojeni Rengam, PAN AP, sarojeni.rengam@panap.net

Kartini Samon, GRAIN, kartini@grain.org

Martin J. Frid, Consumers Union of Japan, office.j@nishoren.org

Tags: Agroecology in Action
ShareTweetPin
Previous Post

Court victory vs. Golden Rice and Bt Eggplant in the Philippines ‘inspiring’

Next Post

Salute to agricultural workers’ struggles for decent work and living

Next Post
Salute to agricultural workers’ struggles for decent work and living

Salute to agricultural workers’ struggles for decent work and living

Discussion about this post

No Result
View All Result

Recent Posts

  • Parties to the Stockholm Convention agree to phase out the Highly Toxic Pesticide Chlorpyrifos
  • On Earth Day, a New Report Reveals Safer Pest Management To Replace Chlorpyrifos
  • PAN Asia Pacific Launches Groundbreaking Report on Pesticide Residue Impacts in South and Southeast Asia
  • Peasants rise for land! Intensify peasant struggle against imperialist plunder, war, and militarism!
  • Landless Voices: Land and Climate Change

Categories

  • Announcement
  • Blog
  • Concept Note
  • Declaration
  • Feature
  • Media
  • Policy Advocacy
  • Publication
  • Uncategorized
  • Update
  • Video
  • Webinar

Our Campaigns

Ban Highly Hazardous Pesticides

Pesticides are a major health and environmental threat that must be eliminated
READ MORE

Protect Our Children

How children are impacted by pesticides and how we can protect them
READ MORE

Agroecology In Action

The movement for an alternative to chemical-based, corporate agriculture
READ MORE

No Land, No Life

Communities fighting back against land and resource grabbing
READ MORE

Women Rise Up

Rural women assert their rights to to health, safe environment and sustainable livelihoods.
READ MORE

Archives

Get Involved

  • Donate
  • Sign Petition
  • Subscribe
  • Join our Events

Connect with our Social Networks

Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram

Networks and Partnerships

Pesticide Action
Network International

Asian Rural
Women's Coalition

International People's
Agroecology Movements

Coalition of Agricultural
Workers International

Contact

Mailing Address:
48,  Persiaran Mutiara 1, Pusat Komersial Bandar Mutiara, 14120 Simpang Ampat, Penang, Malaysia

Telephone: +604 5022337  

Email: info@panap.net

Copyright © 2020 · PANAP · All Rights Reserved.

Logo

[ Placeholder content for popup link ] WordPress Download Manager - Best Download Management Plugin

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.