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Standing in the frontline of the battle to correct “misconceptions” about genetically modified organisms (GMOs), scientist Jessada Denduangboripant says GMOs cannot be “Frankenstein” creations, as many NGOs have claimed. They were an important and useful technology, he said, that could help farmers improve agricultural productivity.
“Our country needs the Biological Safety Bill as a legal tool to control all living organisms that we use in all sectors of agriculture and industry. It is important that we have this tool to manage biotechnology, or else we will be held back as the rest of the world progresses,” according to Jessada, a well-known scientist from Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Science.
He said opponents of the controversial bill, which recently received Cabinet approval, mistakenly believe it will allow transnational biotechnology companies to control the seed market in Thailand.
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“People still have a misunderstanding about GMOs and this bill, in contrast, will open a large opportunity for our country to develop biotechnology of our own.”
Amid widespread concerns that the bill will be the first step to GMO liberalisation, Jessada said the bill would include strict rules to select safe GMOs before they can be used in an open environment and it did not mean that bill would allow GMOs to be used without testing.
Read full, original post: Thailand needs biological safety bill to manage biotechnology: scientist
