GMO - Entry into India and Consequences

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 05 Nov 2009 03:01

Want to start a thread on GMO. While this topic can be addressed under various threads - agri, health, MNCs, environment, it appears to have received very little notice from members. There are 8 odd posts on the subject across the entire forum.
GMO is of significant consequence not just across the world but especially in India. This thread seeks to explore the following
- Consequences of GMO on health
- Consequences of GMO on bio-diversity
- Ramifications on Rural Economy and structure
- Nexus of the GMO MNCs and politicians and long term implications of the same

I plan to put in both primary and secondary research on the subject.

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 05 Nov 2009 03:17

How GMO foods destroy bio diversity

http://en.greenplanet.net/food/gmo/234- ... rsity.html

Today Mr. Schmeiser has no doubt about the damage that GMOs cause to agriculture, foods' health and the agricultural methods: "Once you introduce GMOs - he said - you no longer have coexistence and biodiversity, which is a great concern for the environment too. It all becomes GMOs and you no longer have a choice, there's no use complaining about seeds blowing in the wind". Another important issue Percy Schmeiser highlighted during our conversation is the control that multinationals have over farmers and foods supplies through GMOs. According to him, "GMOs were never meant for bigger yields, as these companies have always stated to defend their position: indeed GMOs use a lot more chemicals and also oblige farmers to buy the seeds from the corporations every year, so that they have to depend on the companies' supplies and spend more money with them", Mr. Schmeiser complained.
The health issue too was claimed by Percy Schmeiser as a very relevant one to be considered against GMOs: "A lot of studies have been done about the bio-resistance and the new bacteria that are in the GMO food, and that make it a lot more unhealthy to eat. Also, the fact that they use a lot more chemical, and more powerful ones, make GMO foods even more dangerous to human health

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 05 Nov 2009 03:22

Is Monsanto driving Indian farmers to suicide

Monsanto driving Indian Farmers to Suicide

http://www.organicconsumers.org/article ... le_511.cfm

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/artic ... nutes.aspx

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 05 Nov 2009 03:25

Bt Brinjal was pushed through in India recently despite strong opposition from the scientific community. Jairam Ramesh was one of the strongest pushers

http://iamnolabrat.com/how%20can%20GM%2 ... 20you.html

How can GM affect you?
When a foreign gene is inserted in to the cell of an organism, it can disrupt the genome (gene sequence) in ways one can't predict. These unintended side-effects of genetic modification can be harmful to those who consume it, to those who grow it and also to the environment. When GM food was tested on rats by independent scientists, the results were alarming. They had stunted growth, impaired immune systems, potentially precancerous cell growth in the intestines, inflamed kidneys and lung tissue, less developed brain, enlarged livers, pancreases and intestines and higher blood sugar. Even their offspring were affected, showing that there are even inter-generational effects with GM crops/foods.

The regulation for such harmful food is surprisingly lax. In US, for example, safety is the company's responsibility and their reports on studies are often not made available for public scrutiny. The food doesn't even carry a label, so the consumer has no knowledge or choice about GM. GM food is all set to be launched in India very soon and in all likelihood these foods may not carry a label. In any case, when the food is not packaged as it is mostly in India, labeling is not possible.

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 05 Nov 2009 09:36

These fox news reporters were fired for telling the truth about Monsanto. The video combines a lot of stuff but please watch it. It talks about how Monsanto got all factions into the fold. It's scary to think of what might be happening in India

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=J ... emb=0&aq=f#

Yayavar · Post by **Yayavar** » 05 Nov 2009 10:02

One side effect is increase in food allergies. Inserting gene sequences i.e. proteins from an allergenic source (for example more people are allergic to Soya) into rice, might cause people allergic to Soya (a rare food in Desh) now being allergic to rice (staple).

There has been dramatic increase in food allergies in US. Not that much in Europe which has clamped down on GMO foods.

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 05 Nov 2009 21:19

Monsanto has patented the Indian wheat gene

NEW DELHI: This is a new gene-grab story. After basmati and neem, Indian wheat has attracted foreign companies on the prowl for money-spinning genes and American seeds giant, Monsanto, has patented wheat invented by crossing a traditional Indian variety with another wheat line.
The wheat variety in question is Nap Hal, a primitive Indian land race. Monsanto says dough from its new wheat will be ideal for making bakery products like biscuits, crackers, wafers and crisps.

But gene-scientists and farmers here say this is a clear case of theft with the potential to stymie further breeding of high-quality varieties utilising this heritage wheat seed. Monsanto Technology was granted the patent last month by the European Patent Office based in Munich. The patent has been given both for the biscuits, flour, and dough produced from the wheat, as well as the plant itself. By owning this kind of patent, Monsanto could, in the future, potentially take legal action not only against farmers and scientists trying to breed wheat varieties with similar genetic traits, but also bakeries, confectioners and supermarkets if they produce or sell biscuits and other foods made from patented wheat.

http://www.indiaresource.org/news/2003/4486.html

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 05 Nov 2009 21:23

News that never came out about Bt cotton - We are now wearing clothes made of that cotton

Medical reports from India say that farm workers handling Monsanto’s GM cotton developed moderate to serious allergic reactions, forcing some to the hospital. There were also reports that numerous animals died after eating the Bt cottonseed.[4]

The Indian government confirmed that Bt cotton’s disastrous yields cost millions. One state even kicked out Monsanto, after they refused to compensate farmers’ losses. Tragically, hundreds of debt-ridden cotton farmers committed suicide.[5]

A three-year UK study showed that GM crops damage biodiversity and threaten birds and bees.[8] Another study surprised scientists when GM crops cross pollinated with a distant relative.[9] And some Indian farmers found that after planting GM cotton, their fields became sterile and could not support subsequent crops.[10]

http://www.responsibletechnology.org/ut ... jectID=320

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 05 Nov 2009 21:31

viv wrote:One side effect is increase in food allergies. Inserting gene sequences i.e. proteins from an allergenic source (for example more people are allergic to Soya) into rice, might cause people allergic to Soya (a rare food in Desh) now being allergic to rice (staple).

There has been dramatic increase in food allergies in US. Not that much in Europe which has clamped down on GMO foods.

Soy is not a rare food in Desh anymore. They are pushing it in a big way in India. Ask people to mix Soy flour with wheat and make rotis etc.
Soy is terrible in it's current form. It has been so GMOfied that it retains few qualities of the original seed consumed by east asian cultures. Additionally the extraction process is quick and does not remove phytic acid and other compunds which traditional extraction processes remove.
Indians have to avoid soy. Given malnourishment the impact on thyroid will be great. Soy also causes feminization of males (through high consumption) and estrogen dependent problems in females. AVOID SOY

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 05 Nov 2009 21:38

How the big food conglomerates use Indian ethos to penetrate rural markets - This sounds awfully like EIC. Beautiful interview with Vandana Shiva
http://www.democracynow.org/2003/11/27/ ... iva_indian

And so what if things go wrong in this one. But globalization has literally changed even that optimism of reaching incarnation in India, and farmers are committing suicide–20,000 farmers–735 suicides in one state in the last month alone. And all of this has happened after the big companies came into the seed sector in India–started to sell costly seed and started to sell expensive chemicals linked to the seed and started to sell them with very aggressive advertising. People always say, “But why do the farmers buy it?” Because Monsanto doesn’t come selling seed as Monsanto. Monsanto comes firstly, selling seed through Indian companies they have bought up, but even more importantly, they hire all our gods and divinities. So in Punjab, they have Guru Nanak posters, who is the founder of the SIkh religion with Round Up and their seeds, and when the farmer suicides started in Andhra Pradesh I wish I had a camera, I never took a camera, but there was a wall—with you know, our lord Hanuman the monkey god, and he had carried a whole mountain to save Lakshmana in the (hamaran). Well, Monsanto seeds are this life-saving miracle. And you can imagine peasants who have some association with the mythology if the advertising of the companies comes through that mythology, you are not suddenly going to have a mind switch in the peasantry and say stop believing in your mythology. You are going to still believe this is the Hanumanji bringing you the ultimate deliverance from poverty. And then they bring lovely videos, they show American farmers with big combines and rich tractors and say, you will be like that. The farmers get trapped within the season. Every year I do a public hearing, and the last public hearing I did was in February and we called, I think, about 200 families where people had committed suicide. In every family, it was the women who were left behind. Because you know, the men go into the town to play a game of cards, drink a bit of Indian liquor, have a smoke. And that’s when they’re trapped by the agents of the companies. Usually the family doesn’t even know that this seed is ten times more costly, that this chemical is a poison. They have no idea, and eventually when the men can’t pay back the debt, they drink the same poisons to end their lives.

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 08 Nov 2009 09:03

Poison on the Platter
A film by Mahesh Bhatt on how GMO will affect our health

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=p ... son+on+the#

AjayKK · Post by **AjayKK** » 11 Nov 2009 18:57

Jarita, good thread.

BT brinjal clearance ignored dissenters

Nitin Sethi, TNN 11 November 2009, 02:54am IST

NEW DELHI: In what is bound to raise the bar for the government to clear GM brinjal, the Supreme Court appointed observer on the GEAC has written to the environment ministry that his and two other members' dissenting voice was ignored while giving a hasty recommendation for the environmental release of the BT brinjal.

Pushpa M Bhargava, appointed to the GEAC by the apex court after a case in which the clearance process was challenged, has warned that enormous scientific literature was ignored in a haste to clear the first genetically modified food crop in India.

The former director of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology has pointed out that the 102-page report thick with scientific information was cleared without giving adequate time for its scrutiny.

He warns that the committee's report has enormous scientific and technical errors and is inconsistent in parts.

The final report of the GEAC did not contain any dissenting report. It instead read like a unanimous view of all the members of the committee.

Bhargava has said that he was in no doubt that the clearance of BT brinjal was pre-planned and the committee was an eye-wash.

Bhargava had suggested the postponement of the meeting for a month and suggested a one- or two-day meeting where other experts would also be called for the review. This suggestion, Bhargava said, was ignored in the haste for granting a clean chit to the proposal.

He has warned in his missive to the ministry that allowing the release of BT brinjal would be a major national disaster and would open up a Pandora's box.

Elsewhere, Bhargava has pointed out that besides him, two other scientists on board had communicated their strong reservations but were ignored. He pointed out that Ramesh Sonti of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, who is a Bhatnagar Prize winner and member of GEAC, was of the opinion that there were fundamental flaws in the technology being cleared.

Bhargava had earlier raised objections to the fact that all crucial and necessary tests had not been carried out. Those that were carried out were either done by the company or in the case where the tests were carried out by accredited labs, the company provided selected samples.

He had also pointed out that GM crops were banned in most parts of the world and were predominant only in the US, Canada, Argentina and Brazil.

From the Green Revolution to the Gene Revolution, GEAC and its honourable members should come clear on why it granted a clean chit to the proposal.

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 17 Nov 2009 08:42

Mods can I shift this to the Tech and Eco forum pls. Really need more people to read this especially given the pace at which GMO is entering India. More folks will read on the Tech and Eco forum.
Muchos Gracias

JwalaMukhi · Post by **JwalaMukhi** » 20 Nov 2009 10:38

Jarita wrote:Is Monsanto driving Indian farmers to suicide

Monsanto driving Indian Farmers to Suicide

http://www.organicconsumers.org/article ... le_511.cfm

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/artic ... nutes.aspx

Once they were peddling suicide seeds that when used would generate yield in multiples to the original. They were selling snake oil idea, so once the harvest is done, the plantings for the next season cannot be derived from previous generation of crops, but one has to beeline to these do-gooder companies(sic) for even simple thing as food.
Currently, If one were to eat a variety of rice everyday and rotate it would take many years before one would get to sample the same variety. Allowing GMO, would create simple 10 to 15 varieties of rice crops (homogenization) from current diversification. Many of the breeds of the rice are well adjusted to their local environments and hence it would be suicidal to even think of reducing the diversity in the interest of corporate greed and homogenization.
Mismanagement and lack of investment in the agriculture by GOI is a major issue.

Neshant · Post by **Neshant** » 20 Nov 2009 23:38

Its called the terminator gene.

Its intent is to gain monopolistic control over seed supply in developing countries.

Yayavar · Post by **Yayavar** » 20 Nov 2009 23:44

Jarita wrote:
viv wrote:One side effect is increase in food allergies. Inserting gene sequences i.e. proteins from an allergenic source (for example more people are allergic to Soya) into rice, might cause people allergic to Soya (a rare food in Desh) now being allergic to rice (staple).

There has been dramatic increase in food allergies in US. Not that much in Europe which has clamped down on GMO foods.

Soy is not a rare food in Desh anymore. They are pushing it in a big way in India. Ask people to mix Soy flour with wheat and make rotis etc.
Soy is terrible in it's current form. It has been so GMOfied that it retains few qualities of the original seed consumed by east asian cultures. Additionally the extraction process is quick and does not remove phytic acid and other compunds which traditional extraction processes remove.
Indians have to avoid soy. Given malnourishment the impact on thyroid will be great. Soy also causes feminization of males (through high consumption) and estrogen dependent problems in females. AVOID SOY

Did not konw the above. What does phytic acid do and why must it be removed?

Overall, used Soy as an example, but it could apply with any genetic intermixture.

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 21 Nov 2009 00:09

Phytic acid is an enzyme inhibitor so basically messes with bodies enzyme pathways.
The great Indian tradition of soaking all legumes/grains prior to consumption neutralizes the phytic acid.
Soya is already processed and therefore one consumes significant quantities of phytic acid along with estrogens

Avinash R · Post by **Avinash R** » 26 Nov 2009 20:56

Govt which is habitually slow in taking important decisions seems to be moving fast on making genetically modified food part of every indian's diet

GM food crops may hit market in near future: Thomas
Nov 26, 2009

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 21 Dec 2009 08:06

Vandana Shivas super speech on GMO
"We'll be 5 cos controlling health and food in the world"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oju86YIO ... L&index=44

K Mehta · Post by **K Mehta** » 21 Dec 2009 17:57

This thread seems to be having only one kind of thinking going on.
So let me play the devil's advocate here and ask
1) How exactly Bt technology is not good for India?
2) Is terminator technology allowed in India?
3) How different is Bt cultivars of crops different in reducing biodiversity as compared to the cultivars which are being traded currently?
4) How is Bt toxin toxic to humans?
And why the phuck should I listen to Mahesh Bhatt on GM foods?
Vandana shiva and Dr Pushp Bhargava are a different issue altogether.

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 26 Dec 2009 05:27

Sri Sri and Vandana Shiva come together to speak abt BT products

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlEcix_KqJA

Yayavar · Post by **Yayavar** » 26 Dec 2009 07:48

K Mehta wrote:This thread seems to be having only one kind of thinking going on.
So let me play the devil's advocate here and ask
1) How exactly Bt technology is not good for India?
2) Is terminator technology allowed in India?
3) How different is Bt cultivars of crops different in reducing biodiversity as compared to the cultivars which are being traded currently?
4) How is Bt toxin toxic to humans?
And why the phuck should I listen to Mahesh Bhatt on GM foods?
Vandana shiva and Dr Pushp Bhargava are a different issue altogether.

Mehta sahab - the thread has pointed out some of the pitfalls and you can find information relevant to your questions. You might find more elsewhere. Please provide your thoughts or counter-examples. If you do not want to listen to any particular person - do not.

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 26 Dec 2009 09:03

Thanks for directly me to Dr. Pushpa Bhargava. Below is her letter to MMS

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/manitham/message/3163
May I in the end say that as India is primarily an agricultural country, with 60 percent of its population deriving its total income from agriculture and agriculture-related activities, it would cease to be a free country if its agriculture is brought under the control of foreign
multinational companies through control of seed and agrochemical production.

K Mehta · Post by **K Mehta** » 26 Dec 2009 21:02

Lets start with the basics here
What is BT
Bt or BT being mentioned in these articles stands for Bacillus thuringiensis (Wiki article)

Spores and crystalline insecticidal proteins produced by B. thuringiensis have been used to control insect pests since the 1920s.

This is in organic form of farming.

The active ingredient(s) in this are the Bt toxins, scientifically called as Cry proteins. There exists more than one Bt toxin.

Upon sporulation, B. thuringiensis forms crystals of proteinaceous insecticidal δ-endotoxins (Cry toxins) which are encoded by cry genes

Mode of action of these proteins:

When insects ingest toxin crystals the alkaline pH of their digestive tract causes the toxin to become activated. It becomes inserted into the insect's gut cell membranes forming a pore resulting in swelling, cell lysis and eventually killing the insect

Point to note : Alkaline pH which means basic pH, unlike mammals which have acidic pH.

Data point:
1)

Bt crops (in corn and cotton) were planted on 281,500 km² in 2006 (165,600 km² of Bt corn and 115900 km² of Bt cotton). This was equivalent to 11.1% and 33.6% respectively of global plantings of corn and cotton in 2006.

2)

Cotton covers 2.5% of the world's cultivated land yet uses 16% of the world's insecticides, more than any other single major crop.

(from wikipedia article on organic cotton.)
3)India has a ban on terminator technology -google it

Minister of State for Agriculture, Shri Sompal in 1998 wrote:I can assure the Members that the Government is aware of the dangers of introduction of terminator gene in the country and all efforts are being made to ensure that such transgenic material does not find legal entry into India. The interests of Indian farmers would be fully protected.

K Mehta · Post by **K Mehta** » 26 Dec 2009 21:03

I request people to post valid normal articles and not articles from NGOs motivated for or against any particular cause and especially not post articles which are self referencing the same individuals. I have no love for Monsanto and its underhanded games. The issue here is larger than just Bt. It is about a technology which can be used for improving our nation.

K Mehta · Post by **K Mehta** » 26 Dec 2009 21:19

pdf of GoI environmental ministry

Fifty percent of the total insecticides consumed in the country are used only for cotton crop. The total loss due to damage to cotton crop is estimated to be more than Rs.1200 crores. The chemical control to suppress these insect pest are proving ineffective as these pests have developed high level of resistance for most of such chemical used for the control of bollworm complex. Such a high level of resistance require repeated application of insecticides leading to heavy expenditure, crop failures, and viscous cycle of debt for farmers.

Article in rediff-2007

Cotton yields have also gone up this year from 478 kg per hectare to 501 in India and if area under cultivation increases in coming season the current yield levels will further raise production. The country may produce 300 lakh (30 million) bales in the coming season as against a production of 270 lakh (27 million) bales in 2006-07.

article in current science in 2004 which says cotton production is declining

Cotton corporation of India (a GoI enterprise) Statistics page Note the increase in cotton yield/hectare after 2004.

Also rediff article states that in 2007 around 38% of cotton produced in India was Bt cotton.

Yayavar · Post by **Yayavar** » 29 Dec 2009 11:16

K Mehta wrote:
When insects ingest toxin crystals the alkaline pH of their digestive tract causes the toxin to become activated. It becomes inserted into the insect's gut cell membranes forming a pore resulting in swelling, cell lysis and eventually killing the insect
Point to note : Alkaline pH which means basic pH, unlike mammals which have acidic pH.

Very interesting and new information to me. I've heard of some foods/medicines being alkaline -- is there any information in this regard.

3)India has a ban on terminator technology -google it
Minister of State for Agriculture, Shri Sompal in 1998 wrote:I can assure the Members that the Government is aware of the dangers of introduction of terminator gene in the country and all efforts are being made to ensure that such transgenic material does not find legal entry into India. The interests of Indian farmers would be fully protected.

That is indeed good to know. Thanks.

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 30 Dec 2009 04:57

The ban has had little effect in that restricted terminator type of seeds have already entered the Indian market and created havoc. There is little to no way and no incentive to track this

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/1999/oct/06/gm.food1

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 30 Dec 2009 06:12

Terminator seeds in guise are already in India

http://angrybear.blogspot.com/2008/07/f ... e-big.html

In 1998, the World Bank's structural adjustment policies forced India to open up its seed sector to global corporations like Cargill, Monsanto, and Syngenta. The global corporations changed the input economy overnight. Farm saved seeds were replaced by corporate seeds which needed fertilizers and pesticides and could not be saved.
As seed saving is prevented by patents as well as by the engineering of seeds with non-renewable traits, seed has to be bought for every planting season by poor peasants. A free resource available on farms became a commodity which farmers were forced to buy every year. This increases poverty and leads to indebtedness.

K Mehta · Post by **K Mehta** » 30 Dec 2009 18:33

Jarita wrote:Terminator seeds in guise are already in India

Proof please!

Remember navBharaT seeds? If the Bt cotton was indeed sterile how was navbharat made possible?

Jarita wrote:The ban has had little effect in that restricted terminator type of seeds have already entered the Indian market and created havoc. There is little to no way and no incentive to track this

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/1999/oct/06/gm.food1

On the contrary there is a quite easily done way for determining whether the seed has terminator technology.

The terminator technology is based upon the presence of Cre protein and LoxP dna sites in the genome of the plant. It can be easily checked with a normal PCR with primers for Cre and LoxP.

And can you please post non-blog posts from neutral individuals? Also where in the guardian news item is the evidence that Terminator tech was used?

From the guardian article wrote:In the event, the cotton set alight in December was not carrying the terminator gene: the peasants had been acting on rumours.

K Mehta · Post by **K Mehta** » 30 Dec 2009 18:46

The problem with this whole issue is hype from the companies Vs the propaganda from the anti-GM lobby.
The truth lies somewhere in between, but unfortunately both these parties want people to see things in their ways!

People who say that GM crops destroy bio-diversity forget the fact that a single variety of wheat destroyed a lot of diversity in India, and was called as "Green revolution". But that step was necessary for feeding Indian people. Today for those lost varieties, we would have to beg from Australia, which collected those seeds as a part of study on "grasses" in "Commonwealth".

Any technology or advantage comes with its side effects.

K Mehta · Post by **K Mehta** » 30 Dec 2009 18:57

Snowbolling-Illegal variants of GM seeds are threatening the future of cotton in India-Outlook India
This article is about illegal Bt cotton hybrids that have been created and are in market in India.

But why can't the farmers go back to using the non-hybrid seeds? What's their fascination with GM seeds despite all the controversies? The answer lies in the fact that the farmers have realised that using GM seeds (especially the local variants) results in lower insecticide and pesticide costs. The profits, as a result, are higher.

Rakshak, Maharakshak, Dhanlaxmi... the list of illegal seeds seems to be growing by the day. In fact, some of them are even named after individuals: Mangubhai's Bt, Shantibhai's Bt, Jayantibhai's Bt.

The real issue now is falling prices of cotton and government allowing import of cotton. Also there needs to be a Bt toxin expression level check so that the farmers who sow the seeds, whether legal or not, should have a good yield.

K Mehta · Post by **K Mehta** » 30 Dec 2009 19:05

"The Economics of Bt Cotton"-Suman sahai
I was travelling through some villages in Wardha district recently, talking to farmers. Wardha is situated in the cotton growing belt of Maharashtra and its farmers are quite aware about agricultural developments, at least compared to their counterparts in many other parts of the country. We talked about the situation of cotton farmers of the region, and the talk quickly turned to Bt cotton, both the new genetically engineered hybrids sanctioned by the government as also the Bt cotton crop planted by the illegal seeds supplied by Navbharat seed company last year. Several interesting points came up during the discussion, many pertinent to the economics of cultivating the Bt cotton varieties of Mahyco-Monsanto.

At present, farmers in Wardha and other regions of Vidarbha, predominantly grow hybrid cotton. Some continue to grow the 'desi' or local cotton but these are a minority. The principal source of the hybrid seeds is private companies although there are some varieties supplied by the Punjab Rao Deshmukh Agricultural University located in Wardha and by the Gujarat government. All the hybrid seeds available are priced between Rs. 300 to Rs. 450 per 450 gm bag . This odd size is standard here although packages of 750 gm. are also sold.

Working out the economics of cotton cultivation, the farmers explained that they need about 1 kg of seed per acre which works out to a cost of Rs. 700 to Rs. 900 per acre depending on the variety. For our calculations, let us take an average of Rs. 800 per acre. Pesticide sprayings work out to another Rs. 1000 per acre. Wardha and almost all of Vidarbha is rainfed so the yields are lower compared to the irrigated areas in Punjab and Haryana. The average cotton yields are around 3 quintals per acre in this region. The farmers here are demanding a monopoly pricing system because cotton prices have been plummeting these past few years, the whole situation being exacerbated by the government's ad hoc decisions to import cotton, causing cotton prices to crash further.

In this situation, two new varieties of cotton, one legal and the other illegal, have become available to farmers. The Mahyco -Monsanto varieties are to be priced at Rs. 1600 per bag . The economics in this case, will work out like this : Cost of seed per acre will go up to Rs 3200. If pesticide use is reduced because of the Bt toxin, say even by as much as a dramatic 60% , savings on pesticide will work out to Rs. 600 per acre. The yield will not be affected much since Bt cotton has not been bred to confer a yield advantage but the advantage of disease resistance. The main reason the yields will not go up in any significant way is because of the lack of irrigation facilities. So the economics of Mahyco- Monsanto's Bt cotton look very unfavourable for the farmer. A total outlay of Rs. 3600 ( 3200 for seed + 400 for pesticide ) as against Rs. 1800 per acre in the old system ( 800 for seed + 1000 for pesticide ). This means an increased net outlay of Rs. 1800, which is exactly double! This increased cost can not be made up by higher yield, for the reasons explained above.

Rumours are rife in the villages of this cotton belt. The propaganda and rumours through the local grapevine have many interesting, if tragic aspects. The farmers are being told that yields will go up phenomenally and the higher seed costs will be more than offset by higher volumes of cotton produced per acre. This still does not solve their problem of getting a decent price but it sounds attractive! Others had heard that the government had made it compulsory to buy the Monsanto cotton and seed of other varieties would only be supplied if the Monsanto variety were also bought. In some villages we heard the farmers describing that credit would be available only for the Mahyco -Monsanto seeds. Another variation on this was that if farmers did not buy the Monsanto seed, their credit lines would be blocked. All these rumours point to one unhappy fact, the perception that the government was adamant on pushing the Mahyco-Monsanto hybrids at all costs. This will have repercussions in various ways later.

On the other hand, is the availability of the cotton seed being supplied from Gujarat by those farmers who had harvested their crops planted with Navbharat's illegal seeds last year. Eleven thousand acres of the illegal crop have yielded a lot of seeds . Since the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee ( GEAC) in a spectacular display of incompetence had failed over a period of several months, to take any action when Navbharat's transgressions came to light, the market is awash with the illegal, unregulated cotton variety , making a public mockery of India's ability to regulate and direct the use of this new and controversial technology. Not just in Maharashtra, these illegal seeds are being sold openly this season in Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and of course, Gujarat. Although the reports from Tamil Nadu have not yet been confirmed but chances are high that Navbharat's seeds are available there too.

Let us look at the economics in this case. Navbharat seeds are selling at Rs. 100 per bag since they are illegal . A little like selling on the black market, at a lower cost. Cost of seed works out to Rs. 200 per acre and there will be some savings on pesticide costs. Certainly a better return than with the officially sponsored Monsanto varieties! For a few seasons at any rate, the farmer will have access to a cotton variety with favourable economics After that when the variety fails, nobody is responsible and the victim as always , is the farmer, left alone to cope with disasters heaped upon his head without his knowledge. Any one who has seen the field will tell you that non-standard seeds of indifferent quality are one of the biggest problems facing cotton farmers . The failure of the GEAC to regulate or to take punitive action against Navbharat has emboldened every fly-by-night seed operator to take the farmer for a ride.

After the Gujarat harvest, large volumes of Navbharat's Bt seed have arrived in the market. Reports are coming in of hole- in- the-wall companies, often one- man operations that are selling magical Bt cotton seeds through advertisements. Many of these phoney operators are not even aware of what Bt means or what its supposed actions are. One source out of Gujarat supplying to gullible farmers in Punjab, claimed he had bred his own Bt cotton. Another sent out leaflets to farmers about the 20 other Bt cotton varieties that would soon be available through other seed companies. As this mayhem plays out, there is not one single action taken by the government. No rebuttals of the crazy claims are being made, no damage control exercise, no information campaign to warn the farmer against fake seed operators out to fleece him. The farmer, as so often before, is being readied once again for the slaughter, this time almost with the complicity of the government .

In this utterly confused scenario where both science and policy have been thrown to the winds, there are those who are arguing that so what if the varieties fail in a few years, why not let the farmers enjoy a few good harvests. The other argument goes that if the farmer finds out (after growing the crop and indebting himself) that the variety is not profitable, he will abandon it by himself. Both these arguments can only be made by city people. If the farmer finds out after the harvest that he has lost money and can not repay his debt, who bails him out then ? And when the variety fails because the bollworm has become resistant to Bt, like the mosquitoes did to DDT, what solutions are there to offer the farmer so that he can continue growing cotton ? At that time these armchair theorists will be hard to find.

As for implementation, the farmers do not see any reason to leave a 20% refuge if they were to grow Monsanto's genetically engineered cotton. The hype extolling the variety has been so excessive and so assiduously promoted by the scientific community and the government departments that almost unrealistic expectations have been built up. If this cotton is so super, why, argue the farmers,should they deny themselves the benefit from the remaining 20 % of their land. The scientific community and the administration has concentrated solely on promoting the new varieties . They have not bothered to educate the farmers about the drawbacks of the technology, its prescribed methodology and the dangers of not following proper procedure, for instance , of not leaving a non-Bt refuge for the bollworm to retain susceptibility to Bt varieties.

Faced with defiant farmers who do not see the logic of 'wasting' 20% of their land, the government is now finding it difficult to convince farmers that this fantastic technology they were promoting all along, does indeed have a downside. Scientists and agriculture departments are already admitting that they have a problem on their hands since the farmers do not intend to follow any instructions about demarcating insect refuges. To make matters worse, populist farm leaders with political ambitions are playing low level vote politics and making dramatic pronouncements about how nobody will tell the farmers what to do. The farmers will decide what to grow and how to grow it ! Little knowledge is indeed a dangerous thing. The government must recognise the chaos it has created and take corrective steps. For instance, a new, more competent and transparent GEAC must be set up immediately, technologies must be relevant to the needs of small farmers and should be introduced only after educating them. India, which has significant technical skills in the field of agriculture, must develop self-reliance in technology. There is no reason for the Indian establishment to function as the purveyors of MNC technologies , specially with their incumbent baggage of patents.

Suman Sahai of Gene Campaign has penned down a travel diary of her visit to the cotton belt in Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Note: Suman sahai is not exactly a neutral source, but this article sums up the situation very well. Posting in full because of the educative content in it.

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 30 Dec 2009 19:12

K Mehta wrote:The problem with this whole issue is hype from the companies Vs the propaganda from the anti-GM lobby.
The truth lies somewhere in between, but unfortunately both these parties want people to see things in their ways!

KM, would really appreciate if you dedicate some effort and expertise to this thread. this is a very important issue and the truth sans all hype needs to be known.

K Mehta · Post by **K Mehta** » 30 Dec 2009 19:19

Roger that.
I will start with primer on GMO, what exactly it means etc. What are the presently used/marketed GMO etc. Crops are just a small part of it.
Current issues ofcourse need attention in greater detail.
Jarita also can help me with this. Thanks for the current and previous contribution and keeping the debate alive!

Yayavar · Post by **Yayavar** » 31 Dec 2009 04:40

K Mehta wrote:Roger that.
I will start with primer on GMO, what exactly it means etc. What are the presently used/marketed GMO etc. Crops are just a small part of it.
Current issues ofcourse need attention in greater detail.
Jarita also can help me with this. Thanks for the current and previous contribution and keeping the debate alive!

I'd also be interested in the Gene transplant and its impact on allergies. This is a personal issue with me due to large number of food allergies in the family. In my assessment it has been contributed to by genetic transplants from an allergenic source into a benign one (benign as in - fewer people are allergic to that food).

I googled Bt-toxin and there seem to be some studies (found a few references) that claim that Bt-toxin does cause allergies (different from above), and has been shown to be deleterious to mice development and their gut. Is there any more information on this? Secondly, would alkaline foods have an impact when eaten with a Bt modified food?

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 31 Dec 2009 20:56

^^^ Yes I remember. I just reached out to the pple that work with areas with high suicide rates.

negi · Post by **negi** » 03 Jan 2010 00:59

Call for moratorium on GM food

ALAPPUZHA: Noted scientist and founder of the Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, P.M. Bhargava, has called for a moratorium of at least eight years on genetically modified (GM) food products in India.

Inaugurating a national seminar on Bt. Brinjal and Alternatives in Agriculture at the Mararikulam Brinjal Festival here on Saturday, Dr. Bhargava said the moratorium period should be used to set up an independent laboratory in the public sector exclusively for risk assessment of GM products. Only after extensive research at this lab should any GM product be considered for approval as a commercial product in the country, he said.

Lambasting the report based on which the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee’s Expert Committee II, headed by Arjula R. Reddy, recommended the approval of Bt. Brinjal, Dr. Bhargava said the report was “full of lies and absurdities,” a “ludicrous document that brought down Indian science in front of the whole world,” and one which looked like it was written by the public relations officer of the Mahyco-Monsanto collaboration, the makers of Bt. Brinjal.

“Further, Arjula R. Reddy confided in me that he was under tremendous pressure to clear it. Many tests that should have been done were not done. Those that were done were not done properly. Further, the report is based more on data supplied by Monsanto, a company with an abominable record,” he said.

“The widespread aversion to GM food products also cannot be ignored. A majority in the U.S., the European Union and Japan among others are against it. Even Zambia and Nigeria have stood up against GM food products. If India still approves Bt. Brinjal, that will be the single, greatest tragedy in the history of independent India,” Dr. Bhargava said.

These points would be conveyed to Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh during the public hearing on Bt. Brinjal in Hyderabad on January 22.

Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac, who said the Mararikulam North Grama Panchayat was “acting locally but thinking globally” through the ongoing Brinjal Festival, added that the panchayat was also attempting a decisive intervention in national policy. The State government had already decided to keep Kerala totally GM-free while the panchayat wanted sufficient precautions and research on Bt. Brinjal.

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 06 Jan 2010 09:58

The Future of Food a scary documentary about GMO food - it focuses a whole lot on Monsanto Round-up Ready Corn and Soy; genetically engineered seeds; reducing crops diversity and the role of Corporations in food production. I turned off after watch after sometime - it was too depressing.

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 13 Jan 2010 00:25

Article from 2007 which talks abt the significant reduction in Indian biodiversity

http://mathaba.net/news/?x=554330

In the 67th Meeting of the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee [GEAC] held on 22 May 2006, the GEAC brushed aside all such concerns and in utter defiance of the spirit of a Supreme Court Order it has rubberstamped an astonishing 91 GM (Genetically Modified) products for multi-location trials [MLTs] - 91 approvals in one meeting.

India had 120,000 varieties of rice seeds; today, no more than 50 are available. This is the result of the United States' war on genetic diversity, ably supported by scientist-criminals like MS Swaminathan

Dr. Robert Mann formerly senior lecturer in biochemistry at the University of Auckland and Advisor to successive Ministry’s of Health in NZ, says, "I regard the 'Bt'-brinjal field-trial proposal as one of the most ill-conceived I have encountered in my three decades of critical appraisal of GM. The risks and hazards, while not exactly known or indeed precisely foreseeable, appear to be so grave that the proposed field-trials should be enjoined pending a thorough assessment such as has yet to be performed."

Head of the large Indian State of Andra Pradesh, Y S Rajasekhara "YSR" Reddy is currently on a visit to the United States of America with daily press releases by his spin doctors presenting him at various forums. He spoke at the World Agriculture Forum (WAF), of which Monsanto is one of the major sponsors, yet the bill for his speech was footed by Indian tax payers, at a whopping 700,000 Indian Rupees. The WAF was founded by Monsanto's former director of public policy Leonard Guarraia. The WAF focuses on lobbying government leaders the world over.

According to New Delhi-based food and trade policy expert Devinder Sharma, more than 10,000 cotton farmers have killed themselves after the introduction of fourth-generation pesticides, called synthetic pyrethroids, less than 20 years ago.