Fifteen Filipino farmers wearing suits for handling hazardous materials uprooted genetically engineered corn in a farm in this town on Mindoro Island, south of Manila, yesterday.
"It is clear that small farming towns such as Naujan do not want genetically modified organisms [GMO]," said Greenpeace Genetic Engineering Campaigner Danny Ocampo. "But companies are intent on gaining profits at the expense of farmers and our environment.
"Farmers in Naujan reject the genetically engineered Corn as an option," added Ocampo.
The owner of the farm had voluntarily offered the farm for decontamination and did not disturb the protesting farmers. Among those who watched the action was Naujan Mayor Bert Mendoza, who supported the farmers.
More than 30 Naujan residents joined the farmers in uprooting the corn which was packed in plastic bags and sealed in drums. Mendoza said GMOs have been banned since June last year in Oriental Mindoro, the eastern side of Mindoro Island which lies between the main island of Luzon and Palawan island.
"We need to go back to the basics ... Let us support organic farming and prohibit the entry of genetically modified organisms in the province," said Mendoza.
But GMO seed developers have ignored the ban, he added. A Greenpeace statement said BT Corn seeds cost as high as 5,000 pesos (Dh 333) per 18-kg bag as against 1,500 pesos for hybrid seeds and 480 pesos for open pollinated varieties.
