DUMINGAG,
Zamboanga del Sur—At least sixteen municipal mayors planned to start declaring
GMO-free zones thru passing an ordinance and info drive in their respective
towns early next year after learning that such a proactive strategy has worked
in Europe.
“We have long
been into organic agriculture, we have long been defensively against
genetically modified organisms, but bringing the campaign to ban GMOs in a
lighter proactive mood is new for us,” said Dumingag Mayor Nacianceno Pacalioga
Jr., the president of the League of Organic Agriculture Municipalities in the
Philippines.
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Mayor Jun Pacalioga congratulates Ruel Anggi, a
model barangay
captain and organic farmer, as Bernward Geier of
IFOAM-Europe
and Joseph Wilhelm of Rapunzel Naturkost-Germany
look on during
the Awards Night ofAraw ng Dumingag last
December 7 at the
Dumingag Cultural Center. (Photo provided)
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German organic
advocates advised the local organic advocates to re-strategize their anti-GMO
position into a pro GMO-free position in a series of forums held recently.
Poised to
declare as GMO-free zones are the municipalities of Dumingag, Molave and
Mahayag of Zamboanga del Sur, Siayan and Sindangan of Zamboanga del Norte,
Bindoy of Negros Oriental, Kauswagan and Kolambugan of Lanao del Norte, Daram
of Samar, Bagulin of la Union, General Nakar of Quezon, Damulog of Bukidnon,
Alegria of Surigao del Norte, Goa of Camarines Sur, Talisayan of Misamis
Oriental and Jimenez of Misamis Occidental.
“In Europe,
more than 70% of the consumers reject GMO products,” he added.
Joseph
Wilhelm, president of Rapunzel Naturkost, one of the largest organic foodstuff
manufacturers in Germany, also shared his experience in leading Genfrei Gehen,
the 44-day long March in 2009 against GMOs from Berlin, Germany to Brussels,
Belgium.
“When you are
in a festive and positive mood while being passionate to your cause, more
people come along with you, and there is power in numbers,” Wilhelm said.
The Genfrei
Gehen also inspired the Right-To-Know March in the USA, a 16-day march in 2011
to demand labeling of all GMO products in the US markets.
The March
ended at the White House with Wilhelm delivering the closing speech.
The said 16 mayors
are members of LOAM which has a total of 50 members. Pacalioga aims to persuade
the rest of the LOAM members to also declare their towns GMO-free.
“We do this
because organic agriculture and GMOs cannot possibly co-exist, as they
contradict each other,” Pacalioga said.
In November,
the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) of the Philippines announced
that together with the agriculture department it is going to release the
genetically modified Golden Rice for commercialization within two to three
years. Syngenta, the Swiss agrichemical firm, owns the patent of the Golden
Rice.
Geier and
Wilhelm talked in forums organized by the local government unit of Dumingag
last December 4 at the auditorium of College Mass Communications, University of
the Philippines – Diliman Campus, last December 6 at the training center of
Dumingag agriculture office, and last December 7 at the Levi Uy resort in
Dumingag.
The December 4
forum was attended by LOAM mayors, academe and NGOs, the December 6 by organic
farmers, local media, and municipal officials, and the December 7 forum was
attended by public school elementary and high school teachers.
Geier talked
about nature mobilization or genetic manipulation to explain the contradiction
of organic agriculture and GMOs, and he also discussed the trends and updates
of organicagriculture worldwide.
Meanwhile,
Wilhelm talked about the opportunities of organic products and threats of GMOs
in the market, and he also shared his personal views on what drives the active
GMO-free campaign in Europe.
Contacts:
Mayor Pacalioga at 09189061825, Berward Geier at mobile number 0049-160
97988850 or b.geier@colabora-together.de, and Joseph Wilhelm at mobile number
0049-1716768080 or joseph.wilhelm@rapunzel.de. ––With Julius M. Breva
