MANILA, May 4 -- A member of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) on Friday reiterated that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are safe for consumption and are helpful to farmers.

The pronouncement came as the Court of Appeals (CA) recently halted the commercial propagation, field testing, and conduct of activities related to Golden Rice and Bt Eggplant, citing the constitutional right to health and maintaining environmental integrity.

Bt Eggplant comes from a genetically modified seed that eliminates the farmers' need to use pesticides, while Golden Rice is genetically modified to contain beta-carotene using maize or corn, according to chief of the NAST's Agriculture Sciences Division Eufemio Rasco Jr.

"We have lon...