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‘A catastrophe’: Greenpeace blocks planting of ‘lifesaving’ Golden Rice (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) by MicroWave to c/world

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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.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 6 months ago (1 children)

This isn't about scarcity, it's about addressing Vitamin A deficiency.

[–] Cypher -5 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Yes Im sure it’s all about addressing dietary deficiencies and not profit motivated at all

[–] [email protected] 16 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Golden Rice was the first transgenic crop to be created that benefited people not companies or farmers, yet its use has been blocked from the start,” Potrykus told the Observer last week. “I am extremely worried about the decision of the Philippines court, not just for its impact on the take-up of Golden Rice but its effect on the growing of other transgenic crops.”

This view is shared by many scientists. In 2016, more than 150 Nobel laureates signed an open letter that attacked Greenpeace for campaigning against Golden Rice and other GM crops

[–] Cypher 14 points 6 months ago (1 children)

This contribution was based on the understanding that Syngenta would retain commercial exclusivity for the technology, including large agricultural setups in developing countries.

Lots of claims about it being for humanitarian purposes but there it is.

Source: http://www.goldenrice.org/Content2-How/how9_IP.php

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Did you read your link?

Eliminating reach-through rights and technologies that don't show up in the most recently developed Golden Rice versions leaves us with only a few patented technologies, all of which have been made available for humanitarian purposes free of charge. The licensing process was quick and simple, contrary to what many onlookers believe. Similar projects are looking at this licensing agreement as a good example of how this kind of arrangements between the public and the private sector can be made, especially for humanitarian purposes.

[–] Cypher 17 points 6 months ago (2 children)

I did. Did you see the part about it being free only for farms which earn under $10,000 annually?

Do you have any idea of the history of litigation around cross pollination from GMO crops?

What happens when a small farmer cross pollinates a larger farm? Do they get sued the same way Monsanto sued farmers for the cross pollination of GMO corn?

There are many unanswered issues that could arise from allowing golden rice and trusting Western philanthropy, which has been weaponised against developing nations in the past, is a surefire path to costly sabotage.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Do you want me to agree with you that big ag is shit? Well, I do.

Do I know about cross pollination? Yep, been keeping bees for a long time, though rice is wind pollinated and you aren't controlling that anymore than my bees flight.

Have you lived in Asia? Most of what is called farms in the west are not for profit, they are a family with a few hectares of land, maybe a water buffalo. Water Buffalo are getting scarce though, what's more common is having someone come in with a rice harvester to gather your crop, which is its own problem.

So $10k means nothing if you aren't selling, or you sell $200.

Golden Rice was developed to address Vitamin A defiency, studies show it helps. It would be great if the whole thing was permissive license, it's not though. This is what we have. So far it has only been grown in trials with local development agencies, Big Ag won't touch it because of potential liability.

ETA: you want a hill to die on, go for anything Roundup Ready™ or GMO corn, not because it's GMO, but because of the bullshit IP and the fact it is used overwhelmingly for ethanol production, not food, and has huge subsidies.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 6 months ago

Do you have any idea of the history of litigation around cross pollination from GMO crops?

I do. In that it was made up by the organic companies to fearmonger about GM crops. The only lawsuits that happened were against people who were purposefully harvesting the GM crops of their neighbors to plant only those. Cross-contamination doesn't result in a subsequent harvest of 99+% GM crops.