Philippines Approves Genetically Modified Rice that Farmers Don’t Want but Bill Gates Funded

Earlier this month (December 2019) the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines announced that they had approved the genetically modified "Golden Rice" for "direct use as food and feed, or for processing." Health Impact News has been covering GM "Golden Rice" for over 8 years now, and the controversy surrounding it. The scientific evidence that GM Golden Rice could improve nutrition and deficiencies in Vitamin A has been very weak, and the product was considered "dead" until the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation intervened in 2011 with $20 million to continue developing the product. After years of field trials in the Philippines with very negative outcomes, farmers in the Philippines have protested against its approval. Dr. Chito Medina, National Coordinator of the farmer-scientist group MASIPAG stated in 2014: “Our opposition to Golden Rice and other GM crops are founded on solid arguments and actual experiences of Filipino farmers on GM crops. Filipino farmers who have been planting GM crops suffered negative income, health problems and poisoned environment.” He cited the study made by MASIPAG in which farmers who adopted GM corn suffered further indebtedness, health problems and a poisoned environment.

Faulty Dengue Vaccine Resulting in Deaths and Increased Diseases in Philippines Seeks FDA Approval for U.S. Market

Health Impact News reported late last year (December 2017) that vaccine manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur admitted that their vaccine for dengue (a deadly tropical disease spread mostly by mosquitoes) was defective. In a press release from France, the pharmaceutical company admitted that the vaccine is harmful to those not previously infected with dengue, and could cause children not previously infected with dengue to contract a severe case of the disease. More than 800,000 Filipino children have received at least one dose of Dengvaxia. Former Philippine President Benigno Aquino III stated recently that he would not have approved a mass immunization program in 2015 using Dengvaxia had Sanofi Pasteur, the French pharmaceutical company that developed the dengue vaccine, made known then that the drug posed risks to the health of some people. Reports of severe cases of Dengue and even some deaths have been related to the Dengvaxia vaccine, and the Philippine Department of Health (DOH) has setup "express lanes" at local hospitals to deal with illnesses and injuries due to the vaccine. In the vaccine marketing trade publication FiercePharma, it is being reported that Sanofi is not going to let the "Dengvaxia mess" in the Philippines stop them from seeking FDA approval for the vaccine to be sold in the U.S.

730,000 Filipino Children Receive Faulty Dengue Vaccine Which Causes Dengue Rather Than Preventing it

In a story that is being mostly censored in the U.S. media, vaccine manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur has admitted that their vaccine for dengue (a deadly tropical disease spread mostly by mosquitoes) is defective. In a press release from France, the pharmaceutical company admitted that the vaccine is harmful to those not previously infected with dengue, and could cause children not previously infected with dengue to contract a severe case of the disease. The Philippines was the first country in Asia to approve the vaccine for individuals aged 9 and 45 years old in December 2015. More than 730,000 Filipino children have received at least one dose of Dengvaxia, the first licensed vaccine for the virus, since the Philippine Department of Health launched the vaccination drive in schools last year.

Filipino Farmers Oppose GMO Rice: Challenge Foreign Lobbyists to Debate

Our opposition to Golden Rice and other GM crops are founded on solid arguments and actual experiences of Filipino farmers on GM crops. Filipino farmers who have been planting GM crops suffered negative income, health problems and poisoned environment.

GMO Golden Rice not so “Golden” After All: Farmers Call to Stop GMO Rice Trials

GM Golden Rice was developed at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines with the hope that it could provide more vitamin A through beta carotene. The project was a huge disaster, however, and basically shelved for years. But then Bill Gates came along, the college-drop-out-turned-billionaire who started Microsoft Corp., looking for something to spend his billions of dollars to promote. All of a sudden, with big money providing jobs to pursue a failed project, GM Golden Rice had new life. There's just one problem: the Asian farmers don't want it. Philippine farmers have called for a halt to field trials after very poor results, large debts, and a concern for their native rice seeds.

10 Years of Failure: Farmers in the Philippines Deceived by GM Corn

The Philippine group MASIPAG (Farmer-Scientist Partnership for Development) released a mini documentary on the deception and 10-year failure of GM corn in the Philippines. That same day, executives from Monsanto and Syngenta were awarded the Nobel award "World Food Prize" for their contribution to GM seed technology. “It is quite tragic that on World Food Day, huge agrochemical companies who wrested away farmers’ rights on seeds, caused environmental degradation and pollution of our valuable genetic resources are put in high regard, while small and resource-poor farmers who nurtured the seeds and who feed the population are left landless and hungry.”

Send Coconut Oil, Not Vaccines, to Typhoon Victims in the Philippines

As we have recently reported here at Health Impact News, UNICEF is taking advantage of the tragedy in the Philippines to advance their polio mass vaccination program, in spite of the fact that there have been no cases of polio in the Philippines since 1993. Unfortunately, this is the live oral polio vaccine, which is known to cause polio and paralysis. It is a strong possibility that a similar mass vaccination program in Syria resulted in recent cases of polio showing up there. The need in the Philippines is still enormous. Helping Traditions is committed to working with local national leaders (as opposed to western aid agencies like UNICEF) in providing relief which includes coconut oil. We might be the only organization in the Philippines currently supplying coconut oil, which is a traditional product with tremendous health benefits. To help supply coconut oil and other needed supplies, please visit the Helping Traditions website.

Are UNICEF Live Polio Vaccines Causing Polio Among Syrians? 1.7 Billion Polio Vaccines Purchased by UNICEF

Syria had no recorded cases of polio since 1999, but in November 2012 UNICEF began giving the live oral polio vaccine to over 2 million children in Syria, in spite of the fact that this dangerous vaccine sheds the live virus and causes cases of polio and paralysis. Now, cases of polio are showing up in Syria, and the response is to vaccinate even more children with the same dangerous live vaccine, targeting over 20 million children under the age of five. In spite of calls from doctors, health officials, and researchers worldwide to eliminate the live oral polio vaccine, the United Nations through its UNICEF program purchased 1.7 BILLION doses of the vaccine this year with taxpayer funds from member nations, the United States being the largest contributor.

No Polio in the Philippines Since 1993, But Mass Polio Vaccination Program Targeted for 500,000 Typhoon Victims Under Age 5

In spite of the fact that there have been no cases of polio in the Philippines since 1993, WHO and UNICEF are taking advantage of the typhoon tragedy to spread their vaccine program into the Philippines, administering the highly controversial and dangerous oral live attenuated polio vaccine, which is no longer used in the U.S., but is still common in poorer countries. 30,000 children have already been vaccinated in an extraordinary effort in the typhoon aftermath, and 500,000 children under the age of five are targeted for the live polio vaccine and the measles vaccine. Will the Philippines now be added to the list of countries where UNICEF works that sees an increase in infant mortality under the age of five? How many Filipino children will now be sacrificed for the vaccine cause, in a country that has no polio and where measles has been declining and is rare?

Helping Traditions to Offer Relief to Typhoon Victims in the Philippines with Coconut Oil and Other Local Healthy Foods

Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda hit the Philippines on November 8, 2013. It is possibly the strongest recorded storm to ever hit land, with winds reaching over 200 mph. Details are still coming in at the time of this writing, but it is feared that thousands are dead and hundreds of thousands are homeless. We will provide regular updates on this page. As we have done with previous disaster relief projects, such as the Tsunami that hit Banda Aceh in Indonesia in 2004, or previous typhoons to hit the Philippines, Helping Traditions is partnering with Christian Aid to send relief funds to native believers in the Philippines who have existing ministries in the areas hardest hit. Unlike western aid organizations, Helping Traditions and Christian Aid only work with local Filipinos - no funds will go to Americans or other foreigners, and neither Helping Traditions nor Christian Aid keeps any portion of the donation for administrative purposes. 100% of the funds given will go directly to relief. Emergency aid first, and later for rebuilding. Our people on the ground in the Philippines are working now to secure healthy, nutrient dense local foods to supply to the needy areas. Western food is not used at all. We are immediately concentrating on supplying the following food items: coconut oil, coconut water, rice, and local sardines. It is very important that sick and injured people get nutritious food as fast as possible. During the 2004/2005 Tsunami tragedy in Indonesia, some people survived for days and even weeks by simply eating coconuts that had fallen to the ground during the storm. Coconut oil has anti-microbial properties to fight off disease and strengthen the immune system.