Background - September 30, 2004
GE papaya poses unpredictable and unexpected risks with unknown consequences to the environment. When GE papaya was introduced five years ago in Hawaii the biotech industry said it was a 'solution' to the papaya ringspot virus problem. But instead it has caused serious environmental and economic problems for farmers in Hawaii.
Thai farmer in his orchard pointing to a traditional papaya variety called Khak Dam.
The rejection of GE papaya in overseas markets has been
devastating. The selling price of GE papaya has fallen to 30-40
percent below production costs, and the price that farmers get for
their GE papaya is 600 percent lower than the price for organic
papaya.
Farmers have also discovered that 'SunUp' GE papaya is more
easily infected by new plant fungi and diseases like 'blackspot'
fungus. This discovery came five years after GE papaya was approved
for commercial growing. Now farmers must spray toxic chemical
fungicides on their SunUp papaya plants every 10 days.
Some organic farmers have been forced to cut down all of their
papaya plants because of contamination by GE papaya. GE papaya seed
has contaminated seed supplies and cross-pollination of non-GE
plants is widespread.
While GE papaya was proving a disaster in Hawaii, the same US
scientists and companies worked with Thailand's Department of
Agriculture and the Department of Science & Technology to
develop GE papaya in Thailand. Backed by the global GE industry
giant, Monsanto, which holds several patents on GE papaya, open-air
field trials of GE papaya were carried out in several locations
throughout Thailand. Now these corporate-sponsored scientists say
that GE papaya is 'safe' and is ready for commercial growing by
farmers.
However this was proven to be false when in July 2004 when
Greenpeace publicly exposed a scandal involving the illegal sale of
GE papaya seeds and the contamination of a farmer's papaya farm 60
kilometres away from the government's Khon Kaen station research
station. Instead of investigating and stopping the spread of
contamination, officials from the Department of Agriculture sat on
the case. Although the government has now admitted that there was
contamination it still has not announced any clean-up
programme.
The European Union and Japan do not allow the import of GE
papaya contamination therefore of papaya farms for export will have
negative ramifications to the processed papaya export industry of
Thailand. The consequences of growing GE papaya in Thailand are
feared to be even more serious than Hawaii. Not only is green
papaya eaten as a daily staple food, it is also grown everywhere -
in farmers' fields, schoolyards and backyard gardens.
In-Depth:
Click here to see a map showing the spread of contamination in
Thailand.
GE papaya scandal in Thailand
The Scent of GE Papaya
Patented Papaya
Precaution Before Profits - GE field trials put our environment,
food and fields at risk.
Patented papaya - Extending control over food & fields
Hawaiian farmers warn Thai farmers about genetically engineered
papaya: Don't do it!