Photo screengrab from SEARICE Website

The Southeast Asia Regional Initiatives for Community Empowerment (SEARICE) celebrates the decision of the Philippines Court of Appeals, upholding the lower court’s decision to stop the distribution and commercial propagation of GM Golden Rice and Bt Eggplant.

SEARICE declares this landmark ruling as a huge victory for Filipino farmers and advocates of food sovereignty everywhere, who have been fighting for decades against the promotion, adoption, and widespread cultivation of these genetically modified (GM) crops.

SEARICE challenges the purported benefits of Golden Rice and Bt Eggplant, namely vitamin A supplementation and pest resistance, respectively, stating that these are not worth the potential harm that the GMOs pose to the environment, to farmers’ safety, and to the health of Filipinos in general.

Just as importantly, SEARICE warns strongly against corporate takeover of farms that will inevitably follow when these GMOs and their patented seeds completely replace existing local crop varieties and render farmers hostage to progressively rising input costs.

SEARICE insists that Filipino farmers have enough local varieties that can supply our food and crop needs. All they need are appropriate laws and technical and post-harvest support.

Read full article @www.searice.org.ph