Withdraw GM Seeds Immediately, Warn Indian Genetic Engineers.

[Guest guest]

GM WATCH daily

http://www.gmwatch.org

---

The cover stories from India's national magazine 'Frontline':

1.Seeds and protests

2.Biotech brinjal

 

EXCERPT: Top biotech scientists are also critical of the manner in

which the GM tests are being conducted. " It is an absolute scandal for us

to allow further trials despite the failure of Bt cotton. The seed

should be withdrawn immediately, just like faulty drugs are removed from the

market. We are being taken for a ride by the MNC [multinational

company]-government nexus. These committees don't even have specialised

scientists. They exist only to promote the interests of powerful companies,

not of the country... " said Dr. Pushpa Bhargava, founder of the Centre

for Cellular and Molecular Biology, a world-renowned pioneer of genetic

engineering in India.

---

FRONTLINE, Volume 23 - Issue 12: Jun. 17-30, 2006

INDIA'S NATIONAL MAGAZINE

from the publishers of THE HINDU

 

COVER STORY: Seeds and protests

 

VENKITESH RAMAKRISHNAN

in New Delhi

http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/stories/20060630004102200.htm

 

EXCERPTS:

The UPA government's decision to allow field trials in GM food crops

may have human and economic costs.

 

[image caption: HARVESTING COTTON IN Coimbatore. Bt Cotton seeds

released by multinational companies this year failed to give increased

yields. In Andhra Pradesh, a large number of cattle and sheep reportedly died

after eating Bt Cotton stalks and leaves.]

 

According to the CFGMFI, these decisions have far-reaching implications

for agriculture and health . This is especially so giventhe contentious

results that experiments with Bt cotton have produced in Andhra

Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. The CFGMFI leadership

pointed out that negative consequences were all the more likely because the

GEAC had said that the Bt gene being used for the brinjal trials was

the same as the one used in Bt cotton.

 

.... reports from the States in which Bt cotton was introduced have indicated

that the tests against effects on human health were not as foolproof as claimed

by

the company. Most farmers and farm workers in different States have

experienced longstanding allergies of different kinds. More recently,

reports from Andhra Pradesh indicated a rise in sheep mortality after

grazing on Bt cotton. According to the CFGMFI, some scientific

investigations have even pointed to a clear correlation between exposure to Bt

Cotton and the adverse health conditions seen among farmers.

 

The CFGMFI asserts that studies have established that the Bt gene is a

known toxin that affects human and livestock health adversely. A note

submitted by the organisation to Union Minister for Health and Family

Welfare Anbumani Ramdoss states: " Published, peer-reviewed papers by

scientists demonstrate that recombinant Cry1Ac protoxin in the Bt gene is a

powerful immunogen and when fed to mice, induced antibody responses

similar to those obtained with the cholera toxin. Research shows that

Cry1Ac actively binds to the inner surface of the mouse's small intestine.

This contests the often-heard argument that Cry proteins do not affect

mammals since they supposedly do not have receptors that bind the

truncated toxin in the gut. "

 

Given these results, the CFGMFI points out, the consequences of trials

with a food crop, indeed a vegetable crop that will be consumed

directly, are unimaginable. The coalition argues that that introduction of the

Bt gene in the food crop sector has the potential consequence of

genetic manipulation. However, the position of the Ministry of Environment,

as expressed by GEAC, is that the bio-safety package has been completed

for brinjal and there are no reasons to stop large-scale field trials.

 

Apart from health concerns, the commercial dimensions of the exercise

are also being questioned. There is a widespread perception, shared even

by some State Agriculture Ministers belonging to the Congress, that the

manner in which GM seeds are promoted is beneficial only to private

companies, particularly big multinational corporations like Monsanto.

 

Even as such calls go out, the Manmohan Singh-led UPA Ministry has

opened up new areas for Monsanto. The Left parties referred to this trend

in a note submitted at the UPA-Left Coordination Committee meeting on

June 15. The note pointed out that " the Seeds Bill piloted by the

Ministry of Agriculture seeks to subvert the seed rights of farmers and

facilitate monopolisation of the seed business in the hands of the

multinational seed companies. The Indo-U.S. Knowledge Initiative on Agricultural

Research and Education ... has not only empowered Wal-Mart and Monsanto

to dictate the agenda of agricultural research in India but also

ensured that such research will be largely funded by the U.S.-based

multinationals and therefore tied to the stringent intellectual property regime

of the U.S. "

 

2.Biotech brinjal

FRONTLINE Volume 23 - Issue 12: Jun. 17-30, 2006

INDIA'S NATIONAL MAGAZINE

from the publishers of THE HINDU

http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/stories/20060630004902400.htm

 

EXCERPTS:

At a time when the safety of Bt cotton is highly suspect, the

government's Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) is considering

clearance of large-scale field trials of Bt Brinjal. It is the first time

that GM Brinjal is being released for an advanced stage of field trials in

open conditions anywhere in the world. It is also the closest India has

got to sanctioning GM food crops.

 

If cleared, it will be the first time that the GEAC allows large-scale

field trials for GM food crops. Such field trials could lead to the

uncontrolled release of genetically modified organisms into the

environment, which could contaminate normal varieties of the crop. Japan and

several European countries have banned cultivation of GM food crops. But India

is allowing it entry without taking adequate precautions.

 

 

Several environmental groups and farmers' associations have appealed

against the trials. But the GEAC is dismissive. " We would like some

concrete objections based on the data placed before us by Mahyco, not

general, emotional arguments, " B.S. Parsheera, Chairperson of the GEAC, told

Frontline. However, environmentalists opposing the trials say that the

data are too sketchy to provide scientific feedback. " This shows how

the GEAC takes decisions that affect the health of millions - based on

meaningless presentations by companies, " said Kavitha Kuruganti from the

Centre for Sustainable Agriculture.

 

Top biotech scientists are also critical of the manner in which the GM

tests are being conducted. " It is an absolute scandal for us to allow

further trials despite the failure of Bt cotton. The seed should be

withdrawn immediately, just like faulty drugs are removed from the market. We

are being taken for a ride by the MNC [multinational

company]-government nexus. These committees don't even have specialised

scientists.

 

They exist only to promote the interests of powerful companies, not of

the country. And these MNCs, such as Monsanto which is promoting Bt seeds

in India, have a notorious record all over the world, " said Dr. Pushpa

Bhargava, founder of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, a

world-renowned pioneer of genetic engineering in India.

 

" No country in the world has a satisfactory system of assessing the

risks associated with the release of GM plants into the environment. What

has happened in this extremely lax environment all over the world is

extremely disturbing, " Bhargava explained. " It is shocking that no tests

were done to monitor the effects on cattle or sheep if they ate the

leaves of the Bt cotton plant, even though in India crop plants are often

fed to cattle as fodder. That is why so many animals died in Andhra

Pradesh. The main problem is that there is a conflict of interest in using

the tests and data provided by the company. "

 

The effects on human health are numerous and often unknown. A recent

study in Madhya Pradesh found that farm workers exposed to Bt cotton had

allergies including skin eruptions and swollen faces. The Cry1Ac gene

is a powerful immunogen and can prompt adverse reactions from the immune

system. If humans eat Bt brinjal it is possible that the Bt toxin can

enter the human digestive system and interfere with the bacteria in the

intestines. There are severe limitations to current allergy testing

procedures for genetically modified organisms. Many GM crops such as beans

and Starlink corn were found to produce allergies after they were sold

in the market.

 

The NptII gene used as a marker in Bt brinjal can affect antibiotic

resistance. The cauliflower mosaic virus, a viral promoter used in Bt

brinjal, is similar to the hepatitis B virus, and could reactivate dormant

viruses. Studies worldwide have shown that eating GM food can result in

wasteful growth of gut tissues and bacterial proliferation, intestinal

tumours, immune system suppression and interference with the

development of the body's vital organs.

 

 

Genetically modified plants can harm the environment and biodiversity.

Once out in the fields, there is no way of knowing whether normal plant

varieties have been contaminated by the GM variety through pollination,

which could lead to the extinction of local crop varieties. This is the

reason for the `buffer zone' that most GM crops have rarely followed in

India where land is scarce. Moreover, the Cry1Ac gene affects

butterflies and moths and alters soil microbiology. Farmers using Bt cotton in

India report decline in soil productivity. However, Mahyco said that its

tests had ruled out the possibility of any such adverse impact on the

environment.

 

" It is absurd to say that GM crops will bring us food security. Is

there no food security in E.U. countries that have banned GM? " asked

Bhargava. " It may kill biodiversity. Several organic methods of cultivation

have proved far more effective, " he said.

 

The government is racing headlong into the genetic engineering maze,

though agricultural studies are showing that natural processes are more

effective. In just four years of GM technology, we have seen many

disastrous results. Will no one listen as nature strikes back?

 

DIONNE BUNSHA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

" Our ideal is not the spirituality that withdraws from life but the conquest

of life by the power of the spirit. " - Aurobindo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

How low will we go? Check out Messenger’s low PC-to-Phone call rates.

 

 

[Guest guest]

Jagannath

 

Welcome to the group. I guess we tend to have the same preferences

in groups. This is good info.

 

GB

 

, Jagannath Chatterjee

<jagchat01 wrote:

>

> GM WATCH daily

> http://www.gmwatch.org

> ---

> The cover stories from India's national magazine 'Frontline':

> 1.Seeds and protests

> 2.Biotech brinjal

>

> EXCERPT: Top biotech scientists are also critical of the manner in

> which the GM tests are being conducted. " It is an absolute scandal

for us

> to allow further trials despite the failure of Bt cotton. The seed

> should be withdrawn immediately, just like faulty drugs are

removed from the market. We are being taken for a ride by the MNC

[multinational

> company]-government nexus. These committees don't even have

specialised