Skip to content
for a responsible, fair & sustainable food system

Victory for small farmers in the Philippines; Guardian article reveals colonial mindset

Posted 30th May 2024 in News

“Today marks a significant victory for the Filipino farmers and people, as well as advocates of food sovereignty worldwide,” announced MASIPAG in April, as the Philippine Supreme Court ordered the commercial release of GM rice and aubergines in the country to stop.

MASIPAG is a farmer-led network of organisations and scientists that has been at the forefront of the Filipino battle against Golden Rice, a GM rice variety with patents owned by Syngenta. It’s a battle that included the mass uprooting of an experimental field by 400 people in 2013, and the subsequent formation of the Stop Golden Rice Network. This pan-Asia network of more than 30 organisations leads the Asian fight against Golden Rice and “the onslaught of corporate control in food and agriculture.”

                       A protest against Golden Rice. Image: GRAIN

A very different story

But the news as it was coming out of the Philippines was in stark contrast to the way the Guardian and Observer chose to report the story a few weeks later. “‘A catastrophe’: Greenpeace blocks planting of ‘lifesaving’ Golden Rice,” shouted the Guardian’s headline, “Thousands of children could die… scientists warn”.

An opinion piece in the Observer echoed its sister paper’s white-man-as-saviour mindset: “When modified rice could save thousands of lives, it is wrong to oppose it,” the outlet opined. “The green movement’s attempts to block the cultivation of a grain enhanced with vitamin A is misguided.”

But describing opposition to Golden Rice as being from the “green movement” was worse than misguided, it was misleading. It is true that Greenpeace Southeast Asia – Philippines was one of the organisations that petitioned the court, but so were thirteen other petitioners, and MASIPAG was at the helm of the coalition. It was most definitely not Greenpeace UK, which ditched GM as a campaigning issue years ago. This is probably at least partially as a result of very similar attacks, for being populated by “well fed environmentalists”, who were responsible for global suffering.

According to Eliseo Ruzol Jr. from MASIPAG:

“The Filipino people’s victory against Golden Rice and Bt Eggplant is everyone’s victory. It is a testament to the correctness of forwarding farmer-led agroecology and food sovereignty and to the resilience and determination of farmers who have tirelessly defended their rights and sovereignty over their seeds, food systems, biodiversity, and people’s health.”[i]

Whose “science”?

Golden Rice has been genetically modified with material from daffodils and soil to contain a precursor of vitamin A. The Guardian Media Group should state the scientific evidence it used to back up the claim that Golden Rice can help Vitamin A deficiency. It should clarify whether or not it relied on the results of clandestine trials in China, during which children were fed Golden Rice without the consent of their parents or the authorities and without scientists disclosing the potential risks.

Furthermore, its articles should adequately reflect the interests of the scientists which it quotes, which, in relation to the case in question, were exclusively involved in either the development or marketing of Golden Rice.

Research, recognition and respect, please

MASIPAG responded to the papers with an open letter asking them to respect the knowledge and agency of the Filipino People. It read:

“As Filipino farmers, scientists, development workers, and citizens dedicated to a sustainable, just, and ecologically sound food and agriculture system, MASIPAG cannot stand by The Guardian’s misinformed and ideologically driven claims that undermine our collective aspirations. Despite overwhelming scientific evidence and the richness of our local and cultural practices, The Guardian has succumbed to the worldview of Golden Rice’s proponents in publishing an article that dismisses the efficacy of our natural vitamin A-rich crops in combating Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) – these doable, people-led solutions. Moreover, the implicit assertion that our local solutions are backward, not at scale, disjointed from reality, and unscientific while positioning corporate lackeys as the saviours, is both condescending and inaccurate.”

                  PAN Asia Pacific and MASIPAG staff oppose Golden Rice during a protest                                  action on October 17 2022. Image: PANAP.

To the best of our knowledge, the Guardian Media Group has ignored this communication, which is regrettable given that this analysis could do much to help the organisation decolonise its narratives. Of particular concern is that the outlets ignored the fact that the court ordered authorities to “obtain the prior and informed consent of farmers and indigenous peoples, and implement liability mechanisms in case of damage, as required by law.”

The bigger picture

It is clear that the pro-biotech lobby has decided to widen the scope of the battle around Golden Rice beyond the fields and courts of the Philippines and back to the hearts and minds of people in the industrialised North. That the supposedly progressive media in the UK is choosing to be its footsoldier in this battle is of significant concern, and something to bear in mind when reading its future articles that relate to biotechnology.

To make a complaint to the Guardian Media Group, email guardian.readers@theguardian.com or observer.readers@observer.co.uk.

[i] By email, 5th May 2024.