Bayer's "hybrid" seed development in Suphanburi and other thoughts on Food Safety

Bayer CropScience has recently announced it's plans for a "second Green Revolution" for Asia. In a recent article they've stated, "We are convinced that the development and commercialization of seed with a higher yield potential is a major option for making rice production sustainably more efficient." (also on their website). Coming from a company with 5.8 Billion Euros in annual sales - they must be poised to benefit the most from "development and commercialization" of their chatchy (and registered) "Arize" rice in Suphanburi. Developing Jasmine 105 and distributing it around Isaan has already been problematic enough, and given what has already happened in India I'd say there is reason to be concerned about intentions to develop GM rice in Thailand as well. GM contamination is a major threat to the biodiversity and ecology of Thailand's rural environments - its not enough that Thai farmers continue to deal with the lasting impacts of the "first Green Revolution"?

Yet this situation also raises questions about the global, export-oriented agricultural system and it's recent food safety failures. Bayer claims that developing these new seeds in Thailand will help address the 30 % increase in global demand for rice in the next 15 to 20 years and China continues to present new reasons to be concerned, especially given the opposition to GM foods from European consumers and contamination of rice in 2006.

But as James E. McWilliams points out in a recent Nytimes Op-Ed, food importing countries in the Global North need to re-examine their own agricultural production systems - this includes the presence of Melamine (and, in our opinion, GM crops) - in order to create new policies regarding chemical use and agricultural technologies. Food safety can be strengthened by consumer demand or protest, as has been shown in Europe, but it also need to be strengthened by reforming trade policies and promoting sustainable agriculture domestically.

SFS just spent the past few days hosting ciee students in Tamor subistrict as they research the environmental health impacts from pesticide/herbicide misuse and the current situation regarding indigenous seed varieties. The students plan to write a Human Rights report using the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Covenant (ESCR) to document violations of villagers' rights. On a recent morning, while I returned from Samrat Thong-Iam's fields after loading his tractor with part of this season's harvest, we talked about an article he read in the paper about Bayer's current green-washing efforts, specifically a program that supports environmental studies for Thai youth. Even as a small-scale organic rice farmer from Surin, Samrat knew that this corporation was basically gaan saang paap - creating an image - for itself, but it is one that we can see right through.

(image taken from The New York Times)