Supreme Court of the Philippines halts GM imports and field trials

The good news is that the government and judicial systems of some countries are not nearly as infiltrated with corporate operatives and industry insiders as the U.S. is. This can be seen in the Philippines, where the Supreme Court of the Philippines recently ordered a permanent ban on field trials of genetically modified eggplant. The judges even put a temporary halt on the import of GM crops and products, and will not begin accepting applications for new GM products until a new "administrative order" takes effect.

The ruling was in favor of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, and is a major victory for Filipino farmers. Virginia Benosa-Llorin, Ecological Agriculture Campaigner for Greenpeace Philippines stated, "This decision builds on a wave of countries in Europe rejecting GE crops, and is a major setback for the GE industry. The Philippines has been used as a model for GE regulatory policy around the world, but now we are finally making progress to give people a right to choose the food they want to eat and the type of agriculture they want to encourage."

The Court is erring on the side of caution; after all, there is no scientific consensus on the safety of GMOs. It's also the first judicial ruling in the world to consider the consequences that GMOs pose on the environment.

"This case vindicates the many cases of genetic contamination we and others have highlighted, as well as the simple fact that there is no scientific consensus on the safety of genetically engineered crops," said Benosa-Llorin. "It's a major victory for Filipinos, especially for farmers struggling with incidents of genetic contamination.

"GE crops promote an ineffective farming model based on industrial agriculture, a system that cannot withstand the impacts of a rapidly changing climate, and which is failing to deliver what Filipinos currently need: food and nutritional security in times of erratic weather patterns," said Benosa-Llorin.

Indeed, this is a victory for native farmers who can now provide a more natural and diverse crop selection, without interference from corporate experiments that take over farmland and destroy human health and the environment.

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