NO to BT Talong!!

BT Talong is an eggplant that looks like your ordinary eggplant, but actually contains a gene from the soil-borne bacterium Bacillus Thuringiensis (BT), which does not naturally occur in plants.

The toxin, the cry gene of BT was inserted into the eggplant's structure through a process of genetic engineering* has an insecticidal trait that is expected to kill specific types of insects.  In the case of BT Talong, the specific toxin inserted into the genome of the eggplant is toxic to the fruit and shoot borer, a known pest of the eggplant.

*genetic engineering, a process of altering an organism's genetic structure by rearranging, transferring or inserting (not naturally) genes from one organism to another.

Why Should Filipinos Say NO to BT Talong?

HEALTH RISKS
The lack of comprehensive risk assessment on the potential impacts of  genetically modified (GM) crops on human health and the environment should be enough to pause and reconsider.

Analysis done by Dr. Seralini on the BT eggplant in the Philippines shows that tests were invalid, and the BT Brinjal (eggplant in India) may cause liver, blood and stomach problems.

The tests also do not validly measure the long-term effects of BT eggplant.  Also, as Seralini pointed out, the recommendation of Mahyco, the corporation that partnered with Monsanto that consumption of BT Brinjal be limited to 50-100g for a person per day for five days "for a safe dose level" puts to doubt the safety of BT eggplant as food.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
High Possibility of Contamination through Cross Polination
Eggplant is considered as a cross-polinated plant and the Philippines has a total of 80 known varieties grown all over the country.  There is a high possibility of contamination of non BT eggplant through cross-polination. Farmers planting organic eggplants will seriously suffer because they will no longer be able to guarantee the integrity of their products.  Organic farming standards do not allow the use of GMOs.

CONSUMER RIGHTS ENDANGERED
The Philippines has no law or regulation on labelling of genetically modified organisms (GMO) and products derived from GMOs.  Consumers would not be able to exercise their right to choose between the Talong and the BT Talong, if BT Talong is commercialized.

NO COMPLETE PUBLIC CONSULTATION OR PARTICIPATION
The proponents of BT Talong in the Philippines consider the Public Information Sheet (PIS) regarding the field trials enough for the public to participate in decision making processes in relation to field testing.  This does not comply to the minimum requirements stated in the Philippines' National Biosafety Framework of public participation.  In addition, PIS does not contain substantial information for the public to raise their concerns and usually posted in obscure places and published in newspaper sections that nobody reads.

The Philippines is the sixth largest eggplant producer in the world and figures as a major ingredient in typical Filipino dishes such as in pinakbet, sinigang and tortang talong.  Why risk? Why take the chance? Say NO to BT Talong!!  What else can you do as a Farmer or Consumer?  Email Us!


Petition  to  Dept of Agri

About Professor Gilles-Eric Seralini:

He is a molecular biologist at the University of Caen, team leader and author of books on environment and GMOs.  He was expert of the French government and the European Union on GMOs, currently the president of the scientific council for independent research on genetic engineering (criigen.org).