GM crops as trade secrets?

Since 1987, large quantities of genetically modified (GM) corn, soy bean, rice and wheat have been exported by the United States, these are products of experiments on GM traits tested in a huge variety of food crops. Over 40,000 GM test plots on 500,000 acres have been authorized by the United States government. Many of the genes spliced into these experimental GM crops are hidden from the public as trade secrets making it impossible to test for the presence of experimental GM materials in foods exported by the US.

Some had radically altered nutritional content for use as animal feeds or anti-fungal compounds that resemble food allergens. Others include crops engineered to be resistant to chemical herbicides, produce their own insecticides or have sterile pollen or seeds. These proposals could see unapproved, untested GM material not intended for human consumption ending up in the food chain with unknown consequences.

The US proposals to legalize contamination from GM experimental crops are a clear breach of the United Nations on GM crops, the Biosafety Protocol. Taking into account the potential threat of irreversible or serious damage derived from the unknown consequences of introducing untested GM material not intended for human consumption into the food chain, no government in the world should allow the legalization of experimental GM crops in the food supply, this way, the need for expensive and inconvenient product recalls can be avoided. But if US companies are protected from legal liability who would then be liable if contamination is detected in food imported into a country? And who would be responsible if negative impacts on human health are discovered in the US or anywhere else in the world?

The Philippines cannot allow itself to be another Argentina which is a soya GM republic from which no one wants to buy their GM soya and corn products.

The "safety assessment" is based on paper work and two inadequate tests that FDA estimates will take companies just 24 hours to complete. It also sets no limits on the amount of GM contamination allowed in foods.