Courts asking wrong question on Bt talong case – national scientist

MANILA, Philippines – A National Scientist yesterday said the Supreme Court (SC) and the Court of Appeals (CA) were asking the wrong questions when they tackled, and eventually ruled against, the field testing of a variant of genetically modified (GM) eggplants.

Ricardo Lantican, a member of the agricultural sciences division of the National Academy of Science and Technology, said the courts misunderstood the issue when they deliberated on the safety of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) talong when consumed by the public.

He noted that the issue is whether or not it should be allowed to be tested on the field, and that the question should be focused on the effect of the trials on the environment and human health.

“At this stage of the research process, the food safety question is temporarily set aside by the straightforward and stringent risk management measures imposed by the regulators that no plant part of any kind gets out and is consumed by animals and humans outside of the confined field trial area,” said Lantican in a position paper.

“Food safety assessment is typically done in the next stage of the research and development process prior to considering any GM crop or product for propagation or commercial use,” Lantican said.

In December, the SC affirmed the appellate court’s decision to issue a writ of kalikasan prohibiting the field testing of Bt talong, a genetically modified variant of eggplant developed to resist pests.

The high court noted that scientists have no consensus on the safety of Bt talong, and stated that the CA is correct when it applied the precautionary principle in issuing the writ.

The SC said the three conditions – uncertainty, the possibility of irreversible harm and the possibility of serious harm – were present in the current case.

It also voided an administrative order issued by the Department of Agriculture, which provides the rules and regulations for the importation and release into the environment of plants and plant products derived from the use of modern biotechnology.

The ruling temporarily enjoined any application for contained use, field testing, propagation and commercialization and importation of GM products until a new administrative order is promulgated in accordance with law.

Lantican, a known plant breeding scientist, said the SC made a determination not on the safety of the Bt talong trials but on genetically modified organisms in general.