Rice is daily food for half of the world's population. Genetically engineered (GE) rice, on the other hand, is a threat our agriculture, our biodiversity and a possible risk to our health.

Most countries have shied away from allowing risky experimentation with the world’s most important staple crop and at present, no GE rice is grown commercially anywhere in the world. But Bayer, the German chemical giant, has genetically manipulated rice to withstand higher doses of a toxic pesticide called glufosinate, which is considered to be so dangerous to humans and the environment that it will soon be banned from Europe.

In the coming weeks, the European Union will also decide whether or not this GE rice can enter EU countries, appear on supermarket shelves and end up on our dinner plates. If the European Union approves the import of Bayer GE rice, farmers in the US (and Asia) may soon start planting the manipulated crop.

The iconic Philippine Rice Terraces, a UNESCO Living Cultural Heritage site, and considered as an Eighth Wonder of the World, has been declared a genetically-modified organism (GMO) free zone