“GMOs are patented and owned by the companies that develop, produce, and market them as quick-fix solutions to hunger and poverty. After more than 20 years of commercialization, GMOs have only brought us farther from [our] food security goals,” said Greenpeace in a briefing paper.

The group continues to question the safety of GMOs as well as the process being implemented by the Philippine government for GMOs.

“There is a lack of independent studies on GMOs. Doubts about the safety claims of GMOs exist because almost all GMO studies are conducted by the same companies that produce the genetically modified [GM] crops,” said Greenpeace.

The group singled out Bt eggplant, saying that independent studies have shown that genetic modification in Bacillus thurigiensis (Bt) eggplant also affects nontarget organisms. 

Greenpeace also hit the process for approving GM crops in the Philippines. “GMO regulation in the Philippines is not as stringent as the Department of Agriculture [DA] would like us to think. Public consultation is only based on the posting of a piece of an A4 sheet of paper or an announcement in the newspaper,” Greenpeace said.

Earlier, two leading biotechnologists of the DA slammed Greenpeace, saying the group was “simply demonizing” GM crops.

This developed after Greenpeace demanded that the government scrap all field trials for Bt eggplants.

Dr. Candida Adalla, chief of the DA’s Biotechnology Implementing Unit, said it is strange why Greenpeace is opposed to the conduct of field trials on Bt eggplant and would want the government to simply end such experiments without any compelling evidence that Bt eggplant harms the environment and should not be the subject of scientific inquiry.