EXTRACTS: [Bishop Vicente Navarra] also called on Negrenses not to be carried away by the demands and vested interest of profit hungry groups but discern and come up with the best method of preserving and maintaining life as originally intended by God. The bishop also debunked the claim that GMO is the answer to world hunger and poverty. 
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Church opposes entry of GMOs
Carla Gomez 
Daily Star, June 1 2009
http://www.visayandailystar.com/2009/June/01/topstory4.htm

Bishop Vicente Navarra yesterday stressed that the Diocese of Bacolod is opposed to the entry into Negros Island [in the Philippines] of genetically engineered or modified organisms.

He called on the Negros Occidental and Bacolod governments to continue implementing Provincial Ordinance No. 007 and City Ordinance No. 485 banning the entry of GMO products.

The provincial and city government officials should fully implement the law without fear or favor, knowing that they have done the right thing for the farmers, their constituents and the island of Negros, the bishop said.

They should preserve the reputation of Negros as the organic food bowl of the Philippines, he added.

"Do not succumb to the pressures exerted by business interest groups," Navarra said.

The bishop said the hog raisers and poultry associations in Negros Occidental should explore other alternatives to meet their requirements without jeopardizing the environment and the health of the people.

He also called on Negrenses not to be carried away by the demands and vested interest of profit hungry groups but discern and come up with the best method of preserving and maintaining life as originally intended by God.

High inputs of fertilizers, pesticides and heavy mechanization required by GE/GM crops have devastating environmental effects the bishop pointed out.

GE crops are wind pollinated crops, 98 percent of the pollen may be found within 25 to 50 meters radius, he said. Smaller amounts travel to as far as .8 kilometers under suitable conditions, which means, GE crops will likely contaminate non-GMO crops and destroy the natural traits of the native crops which will ultimately lead to the destruction of biodiversity, Navarra said, quoting a Greenpeace Southeast Asia report.

On the claims that GMO is safe for human consumption, the bishop said there were experiments done on rats fed with GM tomatoes that showed the rats developing stomach lesions or dying after two weeks on this diet.

If it is harmful to animals like rats, why then risk human lives for something that has not been proven to be safe? he asked.

The bishop also debunked the claim that GMO is the answer to world hunger and poverty. 

GMO has been in existence for more than two decades, and statistics show that the world hunger has not abated but rather has escalated, he said.

GMO was designed to monopolize seed production aimed for profit of the few multinational corporations and to the detriment of the small farmers worldwide, the bishop also said.