Thousands of children could die after court backs campaign group over GM crop in Philippines, scientists warn

Thousands of children could die after court backs campaign group over GM crop in Philippines, scientists warn

Scientists have warned that a court decision to block the growing of the genetically modified (GM) crop Golden Rice in the Philippines could have catastrophic consequences. Tens of thousands of children could die in the wake of the ruling, they argue.

The Philippines had become the first country – in 2021 – to approve the commercial cultivation of Golden Rice, which was developed to combat vitamin A deficiency, a major cause of disability and death among children in many parts of the world.

But campaigns by Greenpeace and local farmers last month persuaded the country’s court of appeal to overturn that approval and to revoke this. The groups had argued that Golden Rice had not been shown to be safe and the claim was backed by the court, a decision that was hailed as “a monumental win” by Greenpeace.

Many scientists, however, say there is no evidence that Golden Rice is in any way dangerous. More to the point, they argue that it is a lifesaver.

  • dubyakay@lemmy.caEnglish
    303·
    6 months ago

    That’s not their argument though. Their argument is that despite the benevolent sub-$10k payment free licence, at the end of the day it’s still a product that the independent farmers are beholden to. That, plus rice is windpollinating. So it’s very easy for it to cross pollinate adjecent fields and potentially outperform heirloom species against the farmers’ will.

    • ynthrepic@lemmy.worldEnglish
      113·
      6 months ago

      Yeah… There’s a bigger question too that is, why can’t other foods containing Vitamin A be supplied to the starving people of the Philippines? There are so many sources.

      Let’s consider how fucked it is that even considering introducing this crop to the wild is necessary.

      I’ve previously supported golden rice, but you’ve changed my mind. We should just be doing more to support developing nations directly. The world has sufficient abundance we shouldn’t need to take these dangerous shortcuts. Not yet.

      Try me when we’re closer to Mad Max earth.

      • capital@lemmy.worldEnglish
        111·
        6 months ago

        Don’t you think giving them the tools they need to improve things is better than making them dependent on consistent outside charity?

        • ynthrepic@lemmy.worldEnglish
          52·
          6 months ago

          That’s exactly what I’m saying we should do. Brown rice ironically while it is food, might be like giving a baby an economic pacifier instead of trade milk and expecting it to grow. The Philippines has a range of biodiverse crops and other commodities that have more value than just the one food to feed them all, which would undercut the market and stifle local knowledge over time.

          That said someone here suggested a more advanced plan to seed the beta-carotine gene into the native species, which is awesome in theory, but could create patent law violations and just generally be incredibly risky to the very biodiversity we’re trying to protect.

          This is why I think while the science is very cool, we should avoid such irreversible treatments unless it’s a last resort.

          Mosquitos on the other hand. Love the idea of genetically editing those fuckers out of existence. As the world inevitably warms, malaria is only going to spread further and wider. We should be getting ahead of that catastrophic future while we have the chance.

          • capital@lemmy.worldEnglish
            5·
            6 months ago

            Have you ever considered that when you have an idea which seems to be an extremely simple solution to a problem that it might be more complicated than that and those closer to the situation with actual knowledge of the particulars probably already thought of it?

            • Evil_incarnate@lemm.eeEnglish
              31·
              6 months ago

              So tell me what the experts say about eating foods such as Leafy green vegetables (kale, spinach, broccoli), orange and yellow vegetables (carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and other winter squash, summer squash), Tomatoes, Red bell pepper, Cantaloupe, mango, Beef liver, Fish oils, Milk, Eggs

              All of which are sources of vitamin A.

              • capital@lemmy.worldEnglish
                31·
                6 months ago

                I’m not arguing that carrots aren’t a good source of vitamin A.

                I’m asking you if you’ve considered why those closer to the situation haven’t just gone with carrots. You don’t even know what you don’t know. What other constraints are we working with? Do those things grow well there?

                What’s it like going through life thinking you know everything?

                • dubyakay@lemmy.caEnglish
                  11·
                  6 months ago

                  You don’t need to insinuate.

                  Populations have been surviving in the Philippines for millennia without the need for a proprietary spliced rice enriched for Vit A. Just like most other places on earth. Local fauna and flora surely contains a source that met their needs previously.

                  • capital@lemmy.worldEnglish
                    1·
                    6 months ago

                    Populations have been surviving in the Philippines for millennia without the need for a proprietary spliced rice enriched for Vit A.

                    This has a real, “Back in my day, we kids didn’t have these newfangled car seats and we lived!” vibe to it.

                    From the article:

                    Vitamin A is found in most foods in the west but in developing countries it is conspicuously lacking in diets, a deficiency that “is associated with significant morbidity and mortality from common childhood infections, and is the world’s leading preventable cause of childhood blindness,” according to the World Health Organization. Estimates suggest it causes the deaths of more than 100,000 children a year.

      • EatATaco@lemm.eeEnglish
        3·
        6 months ago

        Rice is great because it is something they already eat and know how to cultivate. This is about as direct and unobtrusive support of developing nations can be.

          • EatATaco@lemm.eeEnglish
            2·
            6 months ago

            Why would I keep following the moving goalposts if you won’t even admit the previous point was reasonably addressed?

            • ynthrepic@lemmy.worldEnglish
              2·
              6 months ago

              I don’t follow. What goal posts have I shifted? I don’t deny that rice is easy. My point is that it’s a shortcut that could have other negative consequences that more funding could avoid.

              • EatATaco@lemm.eeEnglish
                1·
                6 months ago

                The question was about why we can’t provide direct support to these countries, and I explained to you why targeting rice makes sense…and then you completely shifted gears to driving farmers out of business with no recognition of this point.

                • ynthrepic@lemmy.worldEnglish
                  1·
                  6 months ago

                  Direct would be doing the farming for them, or handing over food directly. Or sending in workers to train local farmers to grid Vitamin A rich crops.

                  Rice is a shortcut, and sure it might “work”, but there are other potential long-term externalities at play here, that golden rice alone is insufficient to account for. It would be a plaster covering a surface wound when there is internal bleeding to worry about.

                  • EatATaco@lemm.eeEnglish
                    1·
                    6 months ago

                    You’re saying to do the work for them, right after saying that giving them different rice to grow will put them out of business. Lol

                    And, yes, rice is a short cut. It’s unobtrusive as it doesn’t require anyone to change their diet or learn how to grow new things.

                    You want to go in there, drive farmers out of business by doing the work for them, and then expect everyone to just change their diets based on what you want them to eat.

      • zephyreksEnglish
        3·
        6 months ago

        Rice is easy to store and transport because it doesn’t really spoil. Is basically a supercrop in that regard.

        • ynthrepic@lemmy.worldEnglish
          12·
          6 months ago

          Sure, but that doesn’t really address the argument in making. It’s a lazy way out that benefits the western world for its low cost and the fact is carrying a patented gene modification. We should be doing more, not relying on risky shortcuts.

          Maybe one day all rice cultivars will be golden and the world we’ll be better off for it. But if the history of other GM crops is anything to go by, it sucks for the environment, and low prices screw local farmers over.

    • zephyreksEnglish
      82·
      6 months ago

      It’s not exactly the end of the world to implement terminator seeds… The reason it hasn’t been implemented is because it’s not an issue. This is a non-issue that’s getting blown out of proportion.

      Farmers will opt to maximize profits given all else equal. The license is a cost of goods sold and gets factored in when farmers decide what to plant. Farmers aren’t forced to plant golden rice.

      • rahmadEnglish
        85·
        6 months ago

        Seed patent holders have previously, successfully, sued farmers who inadvertantly grew patented plants they did not intentionally plant, but arrived on their property through natural means.

        The point here is, some farmers will be ‘forced’ to plant golden rice by circumstance, not intention. Are they liable for that, or not? In the US and Canada, historically, they have been.

        • EatATaco@lemm.eeEnglish
          81·
          6 months ago

          Seed patent holders have previously, successfully, sued farmers who inadvertantly grew patented plants they did not intentionally plant, but arrived on their property through natural means.

          I’ve heard this claim many times, and have yet to see anyone provide even a single case of it happening. Please don’t try to cite Monsanto v Schmeiser. It’s amazing how often that is used as the example when both the farmer very deliberately planted the seeds, and did not even argue that it was inadvertent in court.

        • JoeBigelow@lemmy.caEnglish
          2·
          6 months ago

          I’m replying to you instead of the first reply to this comment because I would also really appreciate seeing information regarding cases where something like natural migration of seeds has led to a won lawsuit.

        • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          6 months ago

          Citation needed. And don’t give me any Salon crap. I want the exact incident in question where a farmer was sued over this and lost.

          It’s pointless because literally every time I ask people to produce this mythical court case I get some salon article about how it is possible to occur one day.

    • EatATaco@lemm.eeEnglish
      62·
      6 months ago

      That, plus rice is windpollinating. So it’s very easy for it to cross pollinate adjecent fields and potentially outperform heirloom species against the farmers’ will.

      This is true with any type of rice then, and is completely separate from gmos.

      • antimongo@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        6 months ago

        Not sure if this applies to this situation. But there have been instance where non-GMO farmers have had their crops cross pollinated, so are now growing a non-GMO/GMO hybrid. Then because these plants are patented or whatever, they’ve been sued by Monstanto and friends for growing their crop without permission. Edit: might be misinformed on this one, doing some reading about this now

        And for the record, I’m not anti-GMO, I’m anti-GMO Corporation. I have no problem eating them if I’m not supporting the evil corporations that usually develop them.

        Sidebar, humans have been genetically modifying food since we started to farm, the wild version of most food we eat is unrecognizable from the tabletop one.