I can actually relate to people being averse to agricultural biotechnology on the premise that it is not natural and therefore something to be vigilant, if not afraid, about. Before I became extensively exposed to scientists and agriculture experts who did ag biotech research, I pretty much perceived ag biotech in the same way.
Like many, I also have an aversion to anything unnatural so that the first time I heard about agricultural biotechnology close to two decades ago, I instinctively shunned it. I simply detested the idea of scientists tampering with food for human consumption.
[Editor’s note: Charina Garrido-Ocampo is a contributor to Philippine newspaper the Mindanao Times.]
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Thousands of credible scientists, many of them are Nobel Peace Prize Awardees, would categorically say agricultural biotechnology is safe because it is one of the most extensively researched and reviewed agricultural developments.
Ag biotech crops are studied extensively using an internationally-accepted approach to make sure that they are safe for people, animals and the environment as conventional crops are. The crops brought about by ag biotech research are the most researched and tested agricultural products in the history of mankind.
