GMW: 1 in 3 papaya orchards contaminated - Thai Human Rights Commission

[Guest guest]

GMW: 1 in 3 papaya orchards contaminated - Thai Human Rights

Commission

" GM WATCH " <info

Tue, 6 Sep 2005 11:32:15 +0100

 

 

 

 

GM WATCH daily

http://www.gmwatch.org

------

More genetically-modified papaya contamination found - Thai rights

commission

AFX News Limited, 6 September 2005

http://www.forbes.com/finance/feeds/afx/2005/09/06/afx2206796.html

 

BANGKOK (AFX) - Genetically-modified (GM) seeds had contaminated a

third of 31 papaya orchards studied in July, Thailand's Human Rights

Commission said, calling for tough public safeguards against the

technology.

 

Commissioner Vasant Panich said 11 of 31 samples tested on July 14 and

17 were contaminated with GM seeds in the eastern province of Rayong

and the northeastern provinces of Mahasarakham, Chaiyaphum and Kalasin.

 

The first contamination was found last year in the northeastern

province of Khon Kaen, after the environmentalist group Greenpeace

accused the

government of illegally selling genetically-modified papaya seeds from

a research station there.

 

Farmers in the four provinces surveyed in July said they had received

the papaya seeds from the same research station.

 

Greenpeace filed a complaint with the rights commission, alleging the

contamination violated the rights of farmers and consumers, damaged the

environment and breached a 2001 law that banned field trials of

genetically-modified organisms, known as GMOs.

 

Vasant urged the government to destroy the contaminated fields, to

compensate farmers for their losses and tighten laws banning GMO field

trials.

 

'We need a biosafety or consumer protection law before we start open

field trials,' he said.

 

The Human Rights Commission only has advisory powers.

 

The cabinet banned GMO field trials in 2001. The current law forbids

the public sale of GMO seeds and requires products containing more than 5

pct of a genetically-modified ingredient to be clearly labelled.

 

 

-------------------