Environmentalist group Greenpeace urged the Philippine government Friday to
reassess its inadequate policies on genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
and revoke its approval of a corn variety that has been banned in Australia
since early this month.
In a statement, Greenpeace said that MON 863 (also known as YieldGard
Rootworm) a GMO corn variety, must be band in the country as it has not yet
been proven 100-percent safe for human consumption.

In fact, the group said, Australia has already banned that corn variety
early July.

MON 863, a GMO BT corn manufactured by Monsanto, had been genetically
tampered to contain bacteria bacillus thuringiensis enabling the grain to
produce its own toxic insecticide to kill rootworm insects in the soil, and
also contains gene coding for
antibiotic resistance.

In 2007, an independent study conducted in France showed that laboratory
rats fed with the GMO corn displayed kidney and liver toxicity.

Taking its cue from the study, the Health Ministry of Austria barred the
corn variety?s importation to Austria last July 16.

?GMOs have never been proven to be safe for the environment. This latest ban
in Austria is a recognition of the grave risks inherent to GMOs. This case
is especially significant to the Philippines where no GMO application has
ever been disapproved, even
while our GMO regulatory body does not in actuality test the veracity of the
GMO?s safety," said Greenpeace Genetic Engineering Campaigner Daniel Ocampo.

MON 863 was approved in the Philippines in October 2003. In March 2007,
Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Arthur Yap ordered that importation
be disapproved after the release of the said French study.

The secretary, however, immediately backtracked on his statement and upheld
the approval after two days, without ordering further reexamination of the
controversial corn.

?The Philippine government must not continue to turn a blind eye to the
threats posed by GMOs. The government must follow similarly strict GMO
regulations that truly protect consumers. As a start, the DA should
irrevocably withdraw the approval for MON 863, and reassess all other
authorized GMO crops while implementing a moratorium on further approvals,"
Ocampo Said.
www.checkbiotech.org