During a recent seminar in Manila, Dr. Shrimohan Jain, a scientist from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said that while plant-to-plant transfer of gene traits is less risky, plant-to-animal is very dangerous because of unpredictable mutations that may produce monsters such as pesticide-resistant "super-weeds" or "runaway species."

Such is the Bt corn now being produced all over the Philippines by Monsanto as permitted by the government, where gene traits of a pesticide-resistant bacteria are inserted into the corn species. The IAEA scientist predicted that as a result, native varieties will vanish and food and agricultural dependency on US-based multinationals will result irreversibly. Syngenta, another transnational corporation (TNC), has followed the footsteps of Monsanto. Bt corn is spreading like wildfire.

Dr. Jain said that not only can viruses specific to a plant or animal make a "jump" in such transgenic mutations (termed "viral recombination"), but ingestion of such GMO plants have resulted in abnormalities. He cited controlled experiments where mice, newts, and toads fed with GMO plants developed abnormally enlarged kidneys, but only after the sixth generation. It takes a long time to see the bad effects of GMOs, and we do not know if our farmers in Mindanao will exhibit such abnormalities when it is irreversible. Playing "mini-god" may result in many irreversible possibilities.

Recently, more sicknesses among farmers exposed to or eating Bt corn were reported in Tuka, Bagumbayan, Sultan Kudarat, and Kalapagan, San Mariano, Davao Oriental. Farmers clamored for an immediate moratorium on Bt corn production until studies pinpoint causes and effects. Kalapagan residents "turned yellowish" and became weak after eating grilled Bt corn, the Diocese of Mati reported. The case has been reported to the NASSA and CBCP.

Tuka farmers experienced "nose-bleeding, vomiting, fever, and other flu-like symptoms," says Francis Morales of MASIPAG, a farmer association. Why is there no government investigation in spite of these reports? May we request the Health and Agriculture departments to investigate and impose a moratorium during the study. We already know Monsanto's reply -- we have no proof it came from the Bt corn. And the answer is simple -- that is why there should be a moratorium to ascertain it. We cannot take the risk -- lives are at stake.

Two years ago, in the test period which was unlike today's massive production, the same symptoms were already observed in Sitio Kalyong, Landan, Polomolok, South Cotabato, but were largely ignored in spite of a study by Dr. Terje Traavik of the Norwegian Institute of Gene Ecology finding 39 B'laan natives positive of exposure to Bt toxin. Yet nothing was done for the B'laans. Scientists hired by GMO TNCs argued that the Traavik study was inconclusive, thus there was no moratorium to study it further. Last April, the same illnesses were reported in Rotonda, Polomolok. Again, there was no action from the government and from TNCs.

In truth, Bt corn may be headed for failure. In South Cotabato, farmers complained that while they saved on pesticide cost (PhP4,000 per bag) with the use of Bt corn, in the long term, in three cropping sites, fungus problems developed because of the absence of insects. Now they have to spend on fungicide, which may be even more expensive. There are no existing studies on the crossbreeding of Bt corn with native corn.

Jacques Bertrand of Caritas believes it is very dangerous that only four TNCs control GMO production worldwide -- Monsanto, DuPont, Syngenta, and Aventis. These TNCs use diplomatic channels for marketing. They spend a lot to convince the Catholic Church to accept GMOs in vain. Recently, the US embassy at the Vatican co-sponsored a conference at the Gregorian University titled "Feeding a Hungry World --

The Moral Imperative of Biotechnology." But using morality as a marketing ploy failed to convince Church officials to support GMO. Jesuit agricultural experts in Zambia Roland Lesseps and Peter Henriot countered that the conference "was based on faulty premises." They argued that "hunger is a problem not of production, but of distribution. The world produces enough food, but it is not justly distributed. While millions suffer from hunger others suffer from obesity." (John Allen, National Catholic Reporter, 24/9/04.)

The strategy of TNCs is to entice prestigious universities with huge research and development funds for GMO. Thus, the Universities of Hawaii and Missouri have developed GMO bananas. Within two to three years, they will come up with GMO papaya, which is modified to be immune to the ring spot virus, using a gene from the virus itself, a plant-to-animal gene transfer that the IAEA is precisely warning about as very dangerous.

In Mexico, where corn is the national staple, there is a furor in the entry of GMO maize from the US. Unlike other places where corn is an animal feed, it is a "human feed" in Mexico. US maize exports reached 5.5 million metric tons in 2003, about 40% of which were GMOs, according to a Greenpeace paper. As a result, the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) recommended that all US corn imports to Mexico should be milled upon entry and all GMO maize properly labelled. The US succeeded in suppressing the report for a few months, as it would damage their WTO position adversely, until Greenpeace published it.

The GMO corn deluge in Mexico is virtually irreversible as contamination may be currently happening on a massive scale. In the Philippines, it may not be too late if the government imposed a moratorium immediately until further scientific data on its safety is achieved. But it seems Monsanto has a strong hold over government officials, including GMA who remains supportive of GMO in spite of adverse reports in Mindanao. Part of TNC gimmicks are free seeds, t-shirts, and hats. In Mindoro, Monsanto was accused of illegally giving free GMO seeds in spite of a provincial ordinance banning GMOs. The report said provincial agricultural officials were involved. In Cotabato, they conducted a mini-fiesta for farmers to entice them into GMO.

The media allocates very little space on this issue that can have profound and irreversible effects on agriculture in the next decade. Yet, we have an agricultural economy on which 70% of the population depends. In Thailand where there was a GMO panic (featured previously in this column), the government reversed its stand supporting GMO. The effects of GMO rice on our agriculture is even more profound as it is our staple. Corn is to Mexico as rice is to us. We cannot risks the bad effects of GMO rice. Calling on our legislators to please pressure GMA to look into this looming crisis and set a moratorium, before it is too late. We welcome replies from Monsanto, IRRI, and Syngenta.