Experts call for GMO products to be declassified as harmful
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The government should declassify experimenting with genetic modified organisms as a harmful activity, since many studies during the past 10 years in the US, Canada, Japan and China show that GMO products did not cause any impact on humans and animals, a g
“I don’t understand why the government has put GMOs on to the list of harmful activities under Article 67 of the Constitution,” said Assoc Professor Prasartporn Samitaman, a researcher at Chiang Mai University.
Professor Suthat Sriwattana-pong, president of the Biotech-nology Alliance Association and leader of the group of 365 biotechnological experts and academics, said his group had submitted a petition to Natural Resources and Environ-ment Minister Preecha Rengsom-boonsuk.
“We want Preecha to have a better understanding of the scientific information on GMOs and experiments on GMOs,” he said.
Instead of having to ask the Cabinet, researchers should be allowed to seek approval from the Agriculture Department to conduct GMO experiments, he added.
If GMO experiments are included in the list, that means any study related to GMOs must do an environmental and health impact assessment (EHIA).
“This will delay our development of studies related to GMOs,” Prasartporn said.
Farmers who want to grow GMO plants also need an EHIA.
“They do not have a lot of money like big companies to complete EHIAs,” he added. No studies in Thailand have been performed to prove that GMO products can be dangerous.
Santi Boonprakran, deputy |secretary-general of the Office |of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning, insisted that his agency has not yet listed experiments on GMOs or related activities as a harmful activity under Article 67.
