IMPACT OF

GENETICALLY MODIFIE
D ORGANISMS
WHAT IS GMO?

• Genetic engineering (GE) and genetically

modified organisms (GMOs) provide powerful
tools for sustainable development in agriculture,
healthcare and many other industries.

• GMOs are those which were genetically

engineered in a laboratory by incorporating a small
foreign DNA fragment carrying a gene of interest
into the native DNA of the organism.
• Some of the achievements of GE and
GMO technologies include production of
life-saving drugs in microorganisms, use of
genetically modified (GM) crops and
animals in agriculture, use of GM plants and
animals as bioreactors for production of
enzymes and chemicals for industrial uses,
production of biodegradable plastics,
development of biosensors, superbug etc. for
tackling some of the environmental
problems.
Impact of GMO's on the following
topics:

A. Golden Rice of the International

Rice Research Institute

B.Genetically Modified Organism

produced by Philippine Researchers

C. Issues on Philippine Biosafety

Policy
A.

Golden Rice of the

International Rice
Research Institute
• The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
and its national research partners have developed
Golden Rice to complement existing interventions
to address vitamin A deficiency (VAD). VAD is a
serious public health problem affecting millions of
children and pregnant women globally.

• In the south and southeast Asian countries,

where two-thirds or more of daily caloric intake is
obtained from rice, Golden Rice can help in the
fight against VAD, particularly among the people
who depend mostly on rice for nourishment.
• In 2018, Golden Rice received three successive
positive food safety evaluations from leading
regulatory agencies: Food Standards Australia
New Zealand (22 February 2018), Health Canada
(16 March 2018), and the United States Food and
Drug Administration (24 May 2018).

• Golden Rice regulatory applications are

currently under review in the Philippines and
Bangladesh, and Golden Rice will only be made
available to the public once all necessary permits
have been received.
• Biosafety approval is a prerequisite for inclusion
in the rice variety listing of the National Seed
Board (NSB) of Bangladesh. To complete the
biosafety review process, BRRI lodged an
application to the National Technical Committee
on Crop Biotechnology (NTCCB) at the Ministry
of Agriculture on November 26, 2017, who
forwarded the application to the National
Committee on Biosafety (NCB) at the Ministry of
Environment on December 4, 2017.
• PhilRice and IRRI are committed to
carry out the completion of Golden
Rice development and satisfy all
regulatory requirements under the
Joint Department Circular No. 1,
series of 2016 to have well-
documented, science-based evidence
on the efficacy and safety of Golden
Rice.
 • PhilRice and IRRI jointly filed an application
for review of GR2E Golden Rice for direct use in
food and feed, or for processing (FFP) to the DA-
Bureau of Plant Industry on March 1, 2017. DA-
BPI has published the Consolidated Assessment
Report for the FFP application on its website,
concluding that GR2E Golden Rice is as safe for
human food and animal feed as its conventional
•counterpart.
PhilRice submitted a separate application to
the DA-BPI for a biosafety permit, dated
February 28, 2017, for the conduct of a field
trial, which aims to collect data for further
environmental risk assessment.
• Public consultations,which are a critical
component of the regulatory process under
the JDC, were conducted in the proposed
field trial sites in Science City of Muñoz,
Nueva Ecija (July 18, 2018) and San
Mateo, Isabela (July 19, 2018).
• Local government unit (LGU) resolutions that
emanate from the public consultations and a
report summarizing feedback gathered during the
public comment period will also be assessed as
part of the decision-making process.
• As of 27 September 2018, all required
LGU endorsements have been received by
PhilRice.Golden Rice is intended to be used
in combination with existing approaches to
overcome VAD, including eating foods that
are naturally high in vitamin A or beta-
carotene, eating foods fortified with vitamin
A, taking vitamin A supplements, and
optimal breastfeeding practices.
B.
Genetically Modified
Organism produced
by Philippine
Researchers
• Genetically modified
organisms (GMOs) have been
controversial, with a number of
people around the world saying
they have negative impacts to
the environment, can cause
“genetic pollution” and are not
good for human consumption.
• Yet, as of June 30, more than 110 Nobel
laureates and over 3,500 scientists all
over the world have signed a letter
addressing and urging Greenpeace
International “to reexamine the
experience of farmers and consumers
worldwide with crops and foods
improved through biotechnology;
recognize the findings of authoritative
scientific bodies and regulatory agencies;
and abandon their campaign against
GMOs, in general, and Golden Rice, in
• According to the World Food Program
(WFP), about one out of nine people in
the world do not have enough food to
live a healthy life. This amounts to 795
million people in the world who are
hungry, most of who come from
developing countries, where 12.9
percent of the total population lack food
to eat.
• Furthermore, vitamin A deficiency
(VAD) is a public-health problem.
• A World Health Organization
(WHO) data say an estimated
250 million preschool children
suffer from VAD together with
pregnant women, with 5 percent
of this number leads to death
every year for children within 12
months of losing their sight.
• In the case of the Philippines, it has
the highest poverty incidence among
its Association of Southeast Asian
Nations peers.
• With a national poverty of 25.8
percent, according to World Bank
data, the Philippines has a lot of work
to do to alleviate poverty and address
issues of public health, such as VAD.
• This is where GMO, such as the
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn, Bt
talong (eggplant) and Golden Rice,
enters as a solution to relieve and,
eventually, end the battle against VAD
and hunger; and give the farmers a
chance to provide food while farming
sustainably and efficiently without the
threat of having shortage or attacks of
insects that kill their crops, GMO experts
C.
Issues on Philippine
Biosafety Policy
Biosafety Issues
• Biosafety describes the principles,
procedures and policies to be adopted to
ensure the environmental and personal
safety. Biosafety refers to containment
principles, technologies and practices
that are required to prevent
unintentional exposure to pathogens
and toxins, or their accidental release
into the environment.
• A fundamental objective of any
biosafety program is the containment
of potentially harmful biological
agents, toxins, chemicals or radiation
etc.
• Biosafety is not only a personal
requirement but essential collective
efforts to ensure biological safety for a
clean and safe environment.
• This certainly requires
awareness among the public
along with rules, regulations,
monitoring bodies etc.
Awareness among the
researchers is must so that
biological safety can be well
taken care at the grass root
Applications Of GMOs

• Use of GMOs is common now in

healthcare industry and agriculture,
often for the production of better
quality products.
• Healthcare industry is highly regulated
and the products are generally life-saving
drugs, agriculture is more open and deals
with crops, their protection from insect
pests and diseases, improving their taste,
quality and acceptability to the
consumers.
• GE has been successfully used to produce
more effective and efficient vaccines,
antibiotics, and other therapeutics
Conclusion
• GMOs are emerging as very important tools to
solve several current problems; however
biosafety is an equally important concern. It is
very well understood now that modern life
science research would enhance the quality of
human life, if used wisely and safely.
• On the other hand, if used carelessly, it
may have negative impacts on the
environment and human life.
• Biosafety is important not only
from the safe product development
point of view but also for safe
utilization of the technology.
• Biosecurity and bioterrorism are the
associated issues emerging rapidly,
and need to be taken care in the
interest of the sustainable research,
human health and the environmental
• Therefore to maximize the
benefits of GE technology,
adoption of biosafety measures
must be ensured and doubts related
with general risks and hazards,
long term safety to health,
nutrition, environment and
sustainable agriculture must be
properly dispelled.
Sources:

https://www.irri.org/golden-rice

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2016/07/17/filipino-
scientists-regulators-look-into-gmo-perceptions/

https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/biosafety-
issues-of-genetically-modified-organisms-2167-
0331.1000e150.php?aid=27764
Members:

Deviña, Rolando F.
Asis, Mary Joy S.
Arroyo, Rhezyl Anne
Castillo, Jan Mirei