EXPERTS based in the United Kingdom urged Filipino consumers to push for the labeling of genetically engineered (GE) foods so they would know whether the product they are using or ingesting contains genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Given that the Philippines imports GM products and even propagate GM crops like corn, Dr. Peter Saunders, professor of applied mathematics at King’s College London and cofounder of Institute of Science and Society (ISIS), said Filipino consumers should insist on mandatory GM labeling.

“Labeling is very important. The information [on a particular product] is crucial, so consumers who don’t want to consume GM products can avoid them,” said Saunders in a forum on the failure of GM crops to deliver on its promise of increased food production held in Quezon City on Thursday.

Currently, labeling of GM products is not practiced in the Philippines, since there is no law compelling companies to reveal whether the food or products they sell contain GMOs.

Opponents of GMOs, led by the Network Opposed to Genetically Modified Organisms (NO2GMOs!), said there are pending bills in the House of Representatives which seek to compel companies to practice mandatory labeling, among others.

Unfortunately, NO2GMOs! said House Bills (HB) 1350, 2085 and 1621, authored by Reps. Del de Guzman of Marikina City, Emmylou Taliño-Santos (First District, North Cotabato) and Roseller Barinaga (Second District, Zamboanga del Norte), are still languishing at the Committee on Trade and Industry. The three bills were introduced in 2005.

HBs 1350 and 2085 seek to require the mandatory labeling of food and food products containing GMOs and food produced by genetic-engineering technologies. In effect, the two bills will amend RA 7394, or the Consumer Act of the Philippines.

HBs 1621, meanwhile, seeks to regulate the strict labeling of food and beverage products by manufacturing and distributing companies.

But the best protection against the dangers posed by ingesting GMOs is for the Philippines to consider banning it altogether, said Saunders and Dr. Mae Wan-Ho, director and cofounder of ISIS.

Citing the findings of project Encode (Encyclopedia of DNA elements) organized by the United States National Human Genome Research Institute, Wan-Ho said genetic engineering poses dangers to consumers. This is because the researchers found that “genes appear to operate in a complex network, and interact and overlap with one another and with other components in ways not yet fully understood.”

Apart from the “dangers” of GMOs, she also noted that GM farming is not cost-efficient and is unsustainable, compared with organic farming.

“Only organic agriculture can truly feed the world. More than that, organic agriculture and localized food and energy systems can potentially compensate for all greenhouse emissions due to human activities and free us from fossil fuels, and we need to implement this urgently,” said Wan-Ho.

The experts cited the pronouncement made by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations that there is enough food produced to feed everyone using only conventional crops, and that it will remain the case for at least 25 years.