Stop Genetic Junk from Entering The Indian Food Chain Ecosystem!!
Say Good Bye to Healthy Food, Say Ta-Ta to Mouthwatering Recipes & Wholesome Meals Cooked to Perfection…if…
But First, Learn The Shocking Truth that will Stop You Cold And Make you Shiver with Fear For Your Children and India’s Future Generations.
Read the ACTUAL FACTS of Scientific Fraud In Studying The Harmful Effects of Genetically Modified Crops And Get Outraged.
Learn how Government officials are Chamchas of the GM Industry and are trying to sell India’s Food Security.
Last year, with your help, Greenpeace and other civil society organizations managed to stop a major disaster from taking place: The introduction of genetically modified crops into the Indian food chain. The GM companies are trying very hard to get approval for a genetically modified variety of Brinjal called Bt Brinjal.
At that time, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh agreed to postpone the approval until further talks with citizens were held. Those talks have started now! The time has come for you to raise your voice.
Take Action to Stop this Genetic Contamination Now!
Mail Jairam Ramesh directly with the form on the right, and tell him to make a decision and say NO to Bt Brinjal! The right decision will secure us, the lives of our children, India’s food security, and future generations will thank us for uniting to save India from the dangers of genetically modified crops.
We are standing at the edge of a major shift in our agricultural practices. If the wrong decision gets taken, thousands of years of farming practices will disappear in one stroke of the pen. This is when you must raise your voice.
The situation is urgent. If you read the reports, you will be upset! You will be totally surprised to realize that we DO NOT NEED Bt Brinjal. You will be frightened to learn that genetically modified crops are a dangerous cooking recipe for the environment.
You will get shocked by the total and complete scientific fraud by so-called experts. They are silently trying to pass approval for this vegetable. It is not properly tested for human safety or ecological safety.
Vested interests and possibly corrupt people have gone deep inside the government and want to sell India’s food security to the highest bidder!
If this happens healthy, uncontaminated food, will not be the right of every citizen, it will be the privilege of the super rich few.
Right now, our Honorable Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh is holding consultation talks across seven cities in India. This is an invite only meeting but you do not need to be in the meeting room. You can stand outside and show your concern. If you are in any of the following cities on the corresponding dates, I strongly urge you to join the Greenpeace team in telling our Honorable Minister that we do not want genetic junk contaminating the Indian ecosystem. Click the link for each of these cities.
- Kolkata 13-Jan
- Bhubaneswar 16-Jan
- Ahmedabad 19-Jan
- Nagpur 27-Jan
- Chandigarh 29-Jan
- Hyderabad 31-Jan
- Bangalore 6-Feb
If you are not in these cities, we still need to fight this. I cannot do it alone. Greenpeace cannot do it alone. I need your help. India needs your help. Desperately. It is time to take action now. Go to this link and demand from Jairam Ramesh to put an end to genetic junk.
Bt Brinjal: We DO NOT NEED It
Firstly, there is ample evidence to prove that that genetically modified food crops are bad. They will have potential negative impacts on health and environment. In fact, with each passing day there is more and more evidence that tampering with nature is bad for humans and the environment. Most of the countries in the world have banned the commercial release of GM food. The latest countries to ban genetically modified crops are Germany & France. This was done after intense study . They finally discovered that genetically modified food causes harm to the environment. Therefore, humans will also be harmed badly by it.
Secondly, The humble ‘baigan’ is a native of the Indian subcontinent. For thousands of years the Indian farmer has cultivated brinjal. India is the center of diversity for the brinjal from the last 4000 years. Our famers have developed through healthy agricultural practices more than 2500 variations of the brinjal in all these thousands of years. It is also one of our staple diets. I love ‘baigan-ka-bartha’, don’t you? However, I love it WITHOUT GENETIC MODIFICATION. We need to keep it that way.
Also, our farmers and government have developed farming practices without using either pesticides or genetic junk.
Genetic Interference – A Dangerous Cooking Recipe
The genetic modification introduces a toxic gene into the Brinjal. This gene is supposed to kill the Brinjal’s main enemy in the farm – the Fruit and Shoot Borer (FSB) pest. That is the theory. And this is what the genetic modification companies want you to believe.
But the truth is that the National Agricultural Research System, which is our Government research system, has already found Non-Chemical Integrated Pest Management agricultural practices to manage the FSB problem without using genetic junk.
Even though the FSB may get killed, it is not the end. The only happy ending will be the fat profits lining the GM companies’ pockets. For everyone else, including the humans who run these companies, the toxic gene has entered the food chain now. And it will NEVER GO AWAY.
Besides, once the FSB is gone a whole range of other pests will rise up to take its place. If you remove the tiger from its territory, the leopard will move in. It is common sense. The farmers will now have to use more pesticide than ever to fight the other pests.
Once it enters the food chain, we are doomed. We already eat so much pesticide with our food. Most of the sprayed on pesticide we can wash off before cooking. With Bt Brinjal, you cannot do that. The TOXIC PESTCIDE IS INSIDE THE BRINJAL GENES. Bt brinjal also has antibiotic resistant genes. This means that there is a chance that bacteria in the human stomach will acquire this resistance and we will become antibiotic resistant. Which in turn means our resistance to antibiotic drugs will increase. Which in turn means….
Oh, forget it! You know what will happen… the entire food chain and everything will get contaminated. When we get sick, we will not be able to take life saving antibiotic medicines. No more delicious meals cooked to perfection. Restaurant menus will now have ‘Bt Brinjal ka bartha’.
Controlling Food Production: The Hidden Agenda
So why are they genetically modifying the brinjal when it is so easily available and it really does not need modification. There is a darker, deeper, and more mysterious agenda that nobody talks about. A genetically modified vegetable is patent protected.
Like Bt cotton, the only GM crop approved for commercial cultivation in the country, the seed prices are double the price of normal seeds. Most of it is going as royalty to the company who “owns” the gene. In this case Monsanto, the American seed giant. With Mahyco’s Bt Brinjal, farmers will have to come back to the company every year for seeds as these cannot be saved and used, thereby making them dependent on the company for seeds.
Seed companies are getting into GM crops because they want to CONTROL OUR RIGHT TO FOOD. They are using Bt Brinjal as a test case. If the government approves Bt Brinjal, there are 56 crops ready to enter the market. 41 are genetically modified food crops. Our environment will be damaged beyond all repair. We will no longer have the right to eat what we grow.
There are many GM Companies both local and multinational waiting to hijack India’s food security for private profit without any regard to human health, human safety, or the environment. We will be paying royalty for what we cook and what we eat. And where will it stop?
We have to stop this now. You have to stop it before it starts now!!
Insist that Jairam Ramesh protect our right to food security without paying royalty to anyone!
Bt Brinjal Bio-Safety Studies – Shocking Scientific Fraud
This is the most shocking part. The scientists and government officials who we trust to do what is good for India & Indians is betraying our trust. Be careful, reading this will make you angry…
The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) is a government body supposed to give bio-safety approvals for GM crops. That is the GEAC should approve that the GM Crop is safe for both humans and the environment. Normally there should be independent trials and very careful testing to prove that the product is biologically safe.
You will be upset to learn that GEAC handed over the bio-safety testing to Mahyco, the company who owns Bt Brinjal. That also we can accept. But you will be totally shocked, scared, angry, afraid, and every emotion you can feel when you realize the type of testing they did.
First of all, do you know how much time it took to get the results of the testing? Greenpeace had to file an RTI and fight for 30 months along with a PIL filed in the Supreme Court just to get the real bio-safety study information out. Every step of the way Mahyco and the government bodies GEAC and Department of Biotechnology fought us tooth and nail to stop the release of this information. Finally, after a lot of struggle Greenpeace was successful. The Central Information Commission said, “public interest is more important than private commercial interest.”
But imagine our shock when we saw the study results. Do you know the duration of the longest test, that too on laboratory rats? 90 days!! That’s right!! After fighting with the courts for 30 long months, imagine how it feels to see that the longest test was just for 90 days. For medicines, international laws are there to make sure they test the drugs for many years! But in India, they are ready to makes us guinea pigs!!! We have to fight this!!!
They do not want the Indian public to learn the truth about their fraud bio-safety testing. They wanted to hide this dangerous and disturbing information about the unscientific, eyewash testing they did. They wanted to potentially contaminate the Indian ecosystem with potentially biologically harmful and potentially humanly dangerous, genetically toxic vegetables. This has a high risk of destroying both our culture and our humanity.
When eminent toxicologists and nutritional biochemists from around the world saw the report, they were stunned to see the evident disregard for scientific procedure.
Significant data that should have raised alarm bells where quietly suppressed. GEAC tried to give approval in a hurry. That was when, with your support, Greenpeace along with the other NGOs organizations raised its voice in protest. Thankfully, Jairam Ramesh, our Honorable Environment Minister finally agreed to postpone this approval and issued this notification for public consultations.
Officials are Chamchas of the GM Industry
Now you may be wondering why the GEAC has been so one sided. It is obvious isn’t it? So far, there is no direct evidence of bribery or corruption. But members on the GEAC leave the organization and join the GM industry. At least one member of the GEAC’s Expert Committee set up to examine the bio-safety issue is under Vigilance investigation for granting undue favors to Mahyco. 3 of them were directly involved in the development and biosafety tests of Bt brinjal in some stage or the other. These are very powerful people. They are able to influence at very high levels. The Ministry of Agriculture put undue pressure on the GEAC Expert Committee Chairman to give the approval. The Department of Biotechnology used all possible tactics to stop release of public health and safety information. There is no doubt about it. The GM companies have managed to get their fingers deep into the system. And they have powerful backers. They are trying their level best to mix up the truth about genetically modified crops. Every step of the way they are trying to silence the truth.
What YOU NEED TO DO!
Now you know the complete story. There are three things I request you to do.
First: Sign the online petition and demand from our Honorable Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh to stop all approvals for genetically modified foods. We DO NOT NEED GENETICALLY MODIFIED JUNK in our food chain ecosystem.
Second: Tell your friends about this issue. Ask them to sign the petition. AND ASK THEM TO TELL THEIR FRIENDS ABOUT IT! PLEASE!!!!
This is so important. We have to make a big big big push to raise public opinion to gigantic levels.
Third: If you are in any of the seven cities be there for the meeting. Show your support for pure healthy food.
Get started: Demand from Jairam Ramesh to stop it all now!!!
Thank you! God Bless. Jai Hind!
Jai Krishna
Sustainable Agriculture Campaigner
Here we are at a time when commodity rates are climbing – we have a a group of people who want to bring down costs, improve farmers lives and provide quality food on the table. Then there is this other group who wants to stop this despite knowing that the arable land that we have hasnt grown as compared to population, there are people still cheating gullible farmers with fake seeds, high interest loans, grabbing land through nefarious means and not withstanding we have huge climate variations and a population growth that has only increased over the years. There are a millions dying of starvation, genocide, terror attacks and other diseases around the globe everyday and for an unfortunate few in our very neighborhoods. Penicillin was considered dangerous but it was revolutionary and paved the way for medicine and treatment to be looked at differently. I am not going into the state and infrastructure of medical technology all those years ago that was used to develop this vaccine. BT has evolved over all these decades to arrive at this stage. Like penicillin give BT a chance. Incidentally how come there is no such energy and determination to fight for renewable energy resources??? We still fill the pockets of combustion engine automobile manufacturers, let mining go rampart, letting oil giants run countries and pumping our atmosphere with pollutants? Why the disparity? Priority should be given to educating the people correctly and will solve a lot of issues. Why is there no campaign to have the government open more schools in rural and backward areas. I could go on… But your campaign sounds more a half truth than the entire truth. And do you know what a half truth is?? A lie.
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@Murugu the case (aka scientific data) for GM seeds/foods as a viable technology is steeped in lies and deception. What I fear is this is a repeat of other disasters that were touted as the “Solution”. The most famous ones that come to mind are “thalidomide” which caused deformed limbs in babies and “DDT”. GM corn has already been linked to infertility in rats. There is strong evidence that the benefits touted by GM crops are just not there. As far as arable land is concerned see this report: http://www.equitymaster.com/detail.asp?date=12/22/2009&story=4 … 33% of India’s arable land is still not under cultivation. Yes, all these other problems are there but GM foods is not the solution. It is one more complication that is best avoided. The penicillin story is interesting. Antibiotics have become so widespread now that we’ve now started developing resistance to them (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antibiotic_resistance) Quote “Infectious disease physicians are alarmed by the prospect that effective antibiotics may not be available to treat seriously ill patients in the near future.”
Similar concerns being raised about GM Foods are being brushed aside. The GM Industry is trying to gain approval through lies, deceit, and most likely bribery as well. Concerns not raised by ordinary folk like you or me but by leading molecular biologists and geneticists. Leave alone India, the world does not have the maturity to handle genetic engineering. It is not a simple throw a switch and see productivity increase. There is a complex interdependency which we have no real understanding of. A slow track option is to use hybrid breeding which has a track record that’s over 1000s of years. But that wont play to the demands of instant profits. The issue is not social good. The issue is private profit at public expense.
My question to is this: If something does go wrong will any of the GM companies step forward to take ownership? See what happened to Bhopal. We don’t have the laws to protect ordinary folk, neither do we have a investigative data tracking mechanism that can track the effects of long term use. Where will we go if the GM food which is being touted as the next best thing to sliced bread causes harm? Quietly fold away into our graves is the only real answer.
I believe GP is actively campaigning for sustainable and renewable energy and they are fighting global warming. If you don’t believe in this cause you could probably help them with that.
its all strategy for the 3rd world war,
to exterminate the powerfully insignificant and enjoy the earth’s exhausting resources for their own.
search “esoteric agenda” in google and download n watch it too
these types of genetically modified politicians are more dangerous than the vegetables and seeds they going to import to India..
this will be the east india company from U S A , uncle sam !!!
@ abey
“Yes, all these other problems are there but GM foods is not the solution. It is one more complication that is best avoided. The penicillin story is interesting. Antibiotics have become so widespread now that we’ve now started developing resistance to them “–> related to your quotation i have a few questions
> what do you know about genetic engineering and genetically modified foods?
>if you don’t agree to the development and commercial production of genetically modified food then what alternative can you suggest to meet the growing demands and rising prices…?
alll the mayhem and cacophony over BT brinjal is just because of ignorance and lack of real knowledge about the genetic engg. and genetically modified materials… the americans who r showing surprise i am amazed that how they themselves r consuming so many engineered consumables.. just because we dont have an FDI in india, and we dont trust our own governing body it doesnt mean to simply shrugg off the idea of genetically modified food..
accepted that there might have been lineancy and it should be reviewed and undergo clinical trials as per the norms.. but i can’t understand this mayhem and propaganda against genetically modified foods altogether.
application of genetic engg. in food materials is an inevitable change which we have to accept for the betterment of the consumers, the product and the farmers… be it nutritionally, productively or cost efffective…. and as per the rules r i think there r sufficient clinical trial norms to safeguard the people… -THERE IS NO PROBLEM AS A WHOLE ON CONSUMING A GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD WHICH HAS TESTED TO BE SAFE”….. and in biology nothing is ultimate, you drink 50 cups of coffee a day and you’ll die…
@ abey
“Yes, all these other problems are there but GM foods is not the solution. It is one more complication that is best avoided. The penicillin story is interesting. Antibiotics have become so widespread now that we’ve now started developing resistance to them “–> related to your quotation i have a few questions
> what do you know about genetic engineering and genetically modified foods?
>if you don’t agree to the development and commercial production of genetically modified food then what alternative can you suggest to meet the growing demands and rising prices…?
alll the mayhem and cacophony over BT brinjal is just because of ignorance and lack of real knowledge about the genetic engg. and genetically modified materials… the americans who r showing surprise i am amazed that how they themselves r consuming so many engineered consumables.. just because we dont have an FDI in india, and we dont trust our own governing body it doesnt mean to simply shrugg off the idea of genetically modified food..
accepted that there might have been lineancy and it should be reviewed and undergo clinical trials as per the norms.. but i can’t understand this mayhem and propaganda against genetically modified foods altogether.
application of genetic engg. in food materials is an inevitable change which we have to accept for the betterment of the consumers, the product and the farmers… be it nutritionally, productively or cost efffective…. and as per the rules r i think there r sufficient clinical trial norms to safeguard the people… -THERE IS NO PROBLEM AS A WHOLE ON CONSUMING A GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD WHICH HAS TESTED TO BE SAFE”….. and in biology nothing is ultimate, you drink 50 cups of coffee a day and you’ll die… if further technical debate is required i will produce some datas!!
Asjad Ali
B.tech (genetic engineering)
We do not want GM. We are the Sons and Daughters of Mother Nature. Be it that way.
But what scientific research did u do to arrive at the very established fact as you tell every one every where that BT Brinjal would lead to such health hazards, wiping out humanity & civilzation in this part of the world.
BT Brinjal is actually not as bad as all you people are discussing it,you people are comparing it to the BTcotton which failed,BY INTRODUCING GM CROPS THERE IS A LOT OF HELP TO NATIONS LIKE INDIA WHERE ECONOMY IS DEPENDENT ON AGRICULTURE
THERE WILL BE NO WIPING OUT OR ANYTHING ,
THERE IS A LOT OF RESEARCH AND LOT OF TECHNOLOGY PUT IN TO PRODUCE CROPS WITH HERBICIDE RESISTANCE-TO HELP CULTIVATE EASILY
-IF U R SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF MOTHER NATURE STOP USING INSULIN PRODUCED GENETICENGINEERING…ALL FIELDS HAV BAD AND GOOD TRY TO UTILIZE THE GOOD DONT BE BLIND..
Dear Sir,
I as a concerned citizen decided to hear your plea, however, if you really want to make a difference I would emphasize that you get the scientific procedures and results and let the people you know what to make of them make up there own minds. You simply can not hope to sensationalize any thing on the hope of being a “Chicken little”.
A per our current practices, bringal farmers douse our bringal crops with “Monocrotophos”, “Chloropyriphos”, “Methomyl”, “Carbofuran” (a chemical banned in most western countries) and countless other harmful and even more proven carcinogens, yet you have nothing to say to that.
A protein introduced into a plant that will be in most likely hood be cooked before eaten, will be denatured and thus will not have any other side effects, it only gets digested.
I once again emphasize, get the reports and let the educated people of India decide for themselves, to act on your reports or not. Do not sensationalize anything.
Murugu,
Your propagandist ways of creating fear and apprehension is really the opposite of what green peace should be doing. Seriously, u say that GM foods are harmful. Give proof. You are fooling the people just as much as your accusation of the Govt. fooling us. Give a believable excuse. Mobiles cause cancer, cosmetics cause cancer, now GM foods cause cancer and next vaccines will cause cancer. The way you guys keep spreading these lies, more than half the people in the world are dead of cancer…… Oh my gosh….. im dyingggggggggggggggggggggg…………………
You are wrong. You have deliberately hidden the results of that 90 days testing which are with you.
If India bars all scientific research and stop using it, then how do you think India will feed her teeming millions.
Medha did it and delayed prosperityof millions of people for 20 years. Today she one of the most unwanted persons in her home states.
On the other hand BT cotton has improved the cotton production of the country by 50%.and has also reduced the use of pesticides, helping environment.
We need another green revolution for survival, which perhaps is possible only through BT crops.
World is doing it. Please do not stop India from improving her land fertiiliity and reducing use of pesticides.
You guys are dumb fkin crazy
BT is nothing but an added protein which elinamtes the use of pesticide.
Pesticdes cause more cancer u idiots.
So get yself a real issue.
Amit
Way to go Amit! Finally, a few people who speak some sense. I used to support Greenpeace until yesterday, when i saw this post…….
Genetically modified crop is not harmfull. Its just wrong propoganda of some people. Crossbreading also alters the genetic structure leading to better and more crop. Most of the crop we use today are genetically modified. How many of us eat Desi Tomatos??
Some people just dont want the millions of straving Indian getting fed, and food cost to be incontrol. GM Crops will drain out some money out of their pockets.
So if you resist GM Crops, the normal crops will also be available even if GM crops are introduced, just stick it to them and lets see who dies of Cancer and Food Poisoning.
I feel that right tests shall be conducted by the govt, the pros and cons shall be seen. It is outrageous how can govt without proper trials approve of it.
there is nothing harmful in genetically modified crops. u ppl should first know what BT means before u start yapping senseless things. do they cause cancer…well even the air we breathe in causes cancer..i dont hear u people asking the govt to cut off your air supply. pls get a real issue which would help the people rather than misleading the people. its people like you who dont want any progress and want to live in the dark, you enjoy living in ignorance and beliving hearay rather than finding out the facts. grow up people.
guys, what i have just read is all against GM crops, so much angst against them my god….
do you know the population of our country??
do you know how much land we require to fulfill the demand of this huge population??
and i think we all are very well aware of the death tolls every year due to malnutrition.
In the prevailing and upcoming scenario of India and world, GM crops will only be the solution. otherwise no wonder if our progeny may not have digestive system on the principle of use and disuse.
GM crops are not introduced in market without proper clinical trials and rigorous research. here i have read many myths in the blogs about GM crops, guys please before pasting anything first substantiate its authenticity then post anything. Plz stop passing the rumors.
gm crops hold the potential to fulfill the needs of ever growing population by the virtue of their higher productivity and nutrition quality.
moreover due to better resistance to common infections they checks the usage of chemicals thus helps in abating the soil pollution and chemical toxicity.
First of all. I am NOT for GM Foods, and yet…
You state quite clearly in a boulevard-press way that GM food causes cancer. I am sorry but that is not a fact. For every scientist that makes a statement such as this, there are 2 more that state quite the opposite.
What is a fact is that humans have been genetically modifying foods for several thousands of years already, and so far nobody has complained, because by simple crossing two different types of wheat, farmers have been able to increase yields and and make the crop more robust against pests, weathers, and agrarian environments.
Given, that has happened on the field and not in the laboratory, but is ultimately the same.
Additionally, as Mr. Chowdhary has quite correctly stated, it would be kind of you to also consider the positive impacts of GM foods, such as the monetary impact on farmers, the levels of crop yields, population feeding levels, the public purchase price, general impacts on citizen satisfaction levels, etc. The list can be endless.
In the hope of having slightly shifted some of your readers’ foci, I remain,
Yours,
ME
Hi,
There are lots of confusions over this Transgenic crops. I tried to educate myself about this by searching on this topic over net. Still i am not clear about the disadvantages part.
But as for my understanding of advantages the technology would help farmers in pest control and increase in the yield.
Coming from agriculture practicing family, really i would like to get such seeds which are resistant to pests and increase per hectare yield. Specially this would help the small farmers. I can recall my experience where once my father had sown cucumber crop in his land (about 15 years back), within two days entire crop was destroyed due to some leaf disease.It was a huge loss for us. If transgenic crops can contain this crop destroying pests/insects, whats wrong in having them, which will help farmers.
Now our family doesn’t practice agriculture. But still hailing from farmers family, i would strongly support any method/practice which will help in improving economic condition of Farmers.
Now coming to actual matter,as i saw your campaign i thought of clearing my doubts so would u elaborate what are the real consequences of having Transgenic Crops?
Wow, you have just proved you’re as uneducated as you look.
Admit it, you just wrote this article because you didn’t want competition from BT Brinjal in the market.
Pathetic. Simply Pathetic. Go grow something else.
This is what I wrote to Shri. Jairam Ramesh, with a slight modification.
Pardon me if I’m wrong.
Dear Jairam Ramesh,
as a CONCERNED citizen of India I urge you NOT to follow the precautionary principle and avoid the TRIVIAL ISSUE of contamination of our food supply. Bt Brinjal PROPAGANDA should not be released into the country without a long term study into it’s effects on human MIND which we need in order to focus on immediate major issues.
Sincerely,
iDon’tEatBrinjal
Reading all the discussion didnt leave me wiser. does anybody has any evidence that bt brinjal harms. does anybody have any evidence that Ramdev baba patanjali medcines donot harm? God only know who bribe whom to create such a hype against bt brinjals.
@asjad ali & others – let me repeat my hypothetical question: should this genetic modification cause…say something similar to thalidomide babies, is that an acceptable risk? Or the Children of Men scenario (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_of_Men) where you have almost total infertility globally. Can we hold GM companies accountable for such repercussions? And even if they agree to submit to such oversight what’s the point? The damage is already done.
I am not against genetic engineering per se but it needs a more inclusive, holistic, non-partisan, consensus driven approach. An approach like this will keep GM Testing in the labs for at least 15-20 years. An approach that will eliminate proprietary bias. An unacceptable investment overhead for private, for profit, outfits. GM is as much a social problem as its a scientific one. Its no longer responsible to say “lets give it a shot and see if it works. if it fails, the collateral damage can be contained by paying off the victims (in India the pay off amount stands at zero and a few thousand years late. Case in point: Bhopal)
The argument that GM is cost/nutritive/other beneficial is somewhat hollow. The problems with our food production is not a failure of our crops. It is a failure of the agricultural support infrastructure. It’s not a case of “we’ve done everything else and our only recourse is GM now”.
“millions of starving indians” is a popular western myth. They are not starving because their crops failed to yield – they are starving because of a failure of the system, failed monsoons and other more prosaic ills. I would be very interested to see a GM crop that can grow without water.
If the current pesticide used on brinjals is banned in most western countries the question to ask is why is it not banned here – not introduce GM crops. Yes pesticides also cause cancer. Both should be eliminated.
The problems in India are NOT due to a lack of GM crops. So suggestions that GM crops will solve social and infrastructural problems are at best misleading.
The fact also is that we as a species are already dying. And we are taking the entire planet down with us. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxNqzAHGXvs is a good example of this. Our over reliance on plastics has already infected the food chain. I expect we’ll see the actual diseases caused by so much plastic ingestion within the next 50 years. This is something I’d be glad to be wrong about though. Likewise GM crops entering the food chain will have unknown consequences. You cannot say there will be no consequences. It goes against science and causal law (every action has a reaction etc). It is also unlikely that these consequences will be 100% benign.
The narrow definition of benefit touted by the pro-GM crowd is somewhat laughable. The way the famed industrial revolution is shaping up, mankind is getting ready to slit its own throat on its own indulgences…
So, From what I see i see in all the comments, this noise againt BT Brinjal holds no merit. Neither has the author placed any scientific facts, nor do they have any conclusive evidence to prove that it is harmful!!!! I have no clue on what this rabble raising is, actually. Probably, it’s just about people who are making noises to be in the limelight…. As an Indian, I’m open to all suggestions and ideas that would create a better day for our farmers…. Now, I I have an honest suggestion to make- why not convert this into a forum for supporting such scientific advances, rather than brow-beating it. The opinions aired here clearly points that the vast majority is in support of the Genetically modified crops!!!! So, wake up and join the band wagon, SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT AND DOWN WITH SENSATIONALISM!!!!
the link to send jairam a message is not working
please fix it
the people who are for and against GM in the above discussion are totally missing the point.
we need proper testing – for everything. be it new medicines, new products, building materials or BT food. even if something has been tested in another country, we need to see how it reacts in our environment and climate. we also need how sustainable it is. why do we need to get bt seeds all the way from america, why cant we develop home grown and tested varieties.
that is the issue at stake
india may be shining, but we need to remember all that glitters is not gold. approaching things with an open mind is different from turning a blind eye to internationally accepted safety measures.
Dear Jairam Ramesh,
It is easy to say YES and difficult to say NO.
But a YES to GM companies can cost us our future of an Independent India.
Please consider the practical disadvantages that would surface within a year of introduction of the BT crops
1) International Companies make money and not the Indian. Money goes out. Few people will benefit but Indian economy will start dipping.
2) Sick people do not VOTE and make a good future country!!
3) China is all ready a very strong and ahead of India. If we use Bt Crops, the food will even go to our army men. Their service terms will become shorter. Who will fill the void when citizens will too feed on the modified food ?
4) Poison is poison, if an insect or a bug can die, it sure will have an effect on human.
Just like, we cannot say that a cockroach killer will not kill a human, we cannot claim that BT crop will not affect human beings in a wrong way.
5) What is the reason that France banned it ? Please consider their expertise as well.
Now Please also consider that this could be a case of a perfect and a beautiful conspiracy at the cost of people of your country.
Step 1) BT crop introduced
More international companies come in
Step 2) All goes well and all pockets filled.
Step 3) Soon people get symptoms not known before, the fever don’t go easily, stomach problems show more resistance, Cancer etc
Step 4) Hospitals Start to benefit
Step 5) Pharmasuitacle Giants Start to benefit.
Step 6) Quality of an Avg Indian Citizen goes down
Step 7) Affect on health will show affect on the labour dependent industry that is already facing a hard competition from China without much benefits from the govt.
Step
As a result, We only end up either doing a job, or paying foreign companies for our medicine.
WITH INDIA SLAVE AGAIN We go back to our pre-independence days.
IF YOU WISH SUCH FUTURE THEN SURELY SAY YES TO BT CROPS.
yours Truly
Ashit Singh Janeja
Dear Jairam Ramesh,
It is easy to say YES and difficult to say NO.
But a YES to GM companies can cost us our future of an Independent India.
Please consider the practical disadvantages that would surface within a year of introduction of the BT crops
1) International Companies make money and not the Indian. Money goes out. Few people will benefit but Indian economy will start dipping.
2) Sick people do not VOTE and make a good future country!!
3) China is all ready a very strong and ahead of India. If we use Bt Crops, the food will even go to our army men. Their service terms will become shorter. Who will fill the void when citizens will too feed on the modified food ?
4) Poison is poison, if an insect or a bug can die, it sure will have an effect on human.
Just like, we cannot say that a cockroach killer will not kill a human, we cannot claim that BT crop will not affect human beings in a wrong way.
5) What is the reason that France banned it ? Please consider their expertise as well.
Now Please also consider that this could be a case of a perfect and a beautiful conspiracy at the cost of people of your country.
Step 1) BT crop introduced
More international companies come in
Step 2) All goes well and all pockets filled.
Step 3) Soon people get symptoms not known before, the fever don’t go easily, stomach problems show more resistance, Cancer etc
Step 4) Hospitals Start to benefit
Step 5) Pharmasuitacle Giants Start to benefit.
Step 6) Quality of an Avg Indian Citizen goes down
Step 7) Affect on health will show affect on the labour dependent industry that is already facing a hard competition from China without much benefits from the govt.
Step
As a result, We only end up either doing a job, or paying foreign companies for our medicine.
WITH INDIA SLAVE AGAIN We go back to our pre-independence days.
IF YOU WISH SUCH FUTURE THEN SURELY SAY YES TO BT CROPS.
i started reading your appeal/article thinking that now i’d be learning some facts about bt. i’m totally disappointed by your appeal which despite having numerous high sounding words does nothing to reveal any scientific facts. it is expected that an organisation like yours would at least gather and put forth some available/researched data. you seem to be solely relying on perceptions and exploiting sentiments.
i does’nt think the genetic thing which was prohibited in such a many huge nations to be introduced in india was a correct thing…..its not a green revolution again.. its worth less to people and in addition it may cause some other health problem …so better not to promote it 2 ones profit it may effect thousands health………our health our nation
Sure we don’t want a GM food that is harmful for any species consumption, not only human. Big question is do we have that advance labs & Genetic researchers who can authenticate these types of reports. Govt must first act in that direction so that we can develop our research base. When ever there is any question or doubt specially related to Human life, it’s high time that our Govt. should start taking it seriously. So far we know that there is not much value for a human life in our country.
I don’t know BT types or GM food is good or not BUT i know one thing for sure, if it is prohibited in many other countries then we should be cautious before giving our approval. We hope Mr. Jairam Ramesh has & will take due care that it is safe for his next generations to come before convincing us ( a bunch of non technical ).
if this brinjal comes to india then simply boycott it.
i would appreciate if someone points me to a proof (scientific study) that shows Bt is bad. This article is not reliable as it doesn’t seem balanced to me. would prefer a dispassionate scientific proof from a source that doesn’t have a hidden agenda. (No, greenpeace woon’t do)
What shall we give our children? Cancer and other lide taking vegetables.Please stop it. We don’t need GM products in our ood chain. BT is really really inhuman. STOP IT
above all, and you can ask anyone who lives in other countries with genetically altered foods, there is little to no flavor to these foods. they are purely genetically altered to be big- so that it can supposedly cure world hunger- the bigger the vegetable the more people it can feed- but this is not true because it is mostly water. it it also genetically altered so that it is easy to store- similar shapes and sizes and it has a longer shelf life. but whats the point of all of this if these foods do not offer the same nutritional value and the potency of the taste of the vegetable is lost?
I have been supporting and contributing to GP for over a year now, I totally agreed on their other campaigns, but prulease.. this one is hype and propaganda. In fact the first half of this write-ups smells so much of a conspiracy theory. Is this what GP is doing now? hunting for conspiracies?
Agreed, I am not a genetic engineer, but I am an environmentalist, I understand the risk and care about it deeply. I suggest GP asks for something reasonable, such as independent, scientific tests, the results of which be made public. Not just simply pointing fingers and asking it to all stop. That way, we shouldnt have gotten out of our caves.
coool.
btw…..i din get u??
if it comes also…hw wud we knw???
means…..its nt written on a brinjal na…..whether its a contaminated one???
Dude,teh wheat we eat is genetically modified.The rice we eat is genetically modified.IF activists like you misuse freedom of speech,we will never be able to catch up with China.
Well,suddenly I read a bit more and it makes sense.But why dont we just copy the seed illegally .That’s what China does.No royalty to company that way.
wonderful it’s portal peerless fc,
The whole western world wants to go organic, so how do these Poison selling companies go? To the third world you dodo, for they know no better!
All you have to do is warm a few pockets and it business as usual! It does not matter if a few farmers commit suicide, if a few kids get cancer, or that poisons enter their food chain… What are they anyway, one too many brown people that the world can anyway do without!
So give them BT cotton, BT brinjal and thank God we have our organic vegetables.
Indians don’t be such nincompoohs.. Stand up ans say something!
information was worth the read, but both groups have hardended postions , ….is it worthwhile to test a bit more by independent agncies …before we start
You want to be the son and daughter of mother nature you should have done so by reaming as a monkey or as a Bacterium or rather as the cloud and the negative matter or rather the positive matter of the black hole or the white dwarf….Mr some body Shrevatsava…Do you know how nature itself is engineering the rare combinations of individuals to remain so diversified..as intelligent and adaptable to newer environment or the so called least adaptable who will perish..let those who are against safe use of biotechnology decide if they are adaptable or the weaker ones…the “Survival of the fittest” let no one explain the facts behind the need… Time is the best thing that will decide on who will be the survivors …in a death bed no one examines the nature of the medicine arriving..given a last chance… be it expired penecilin or a penicilin that will develop resistance people will want it…is it the cost factor annoying us or is it the political issue or is it the dominance and loosing the focus of the limelight on the natural systems advocacy or the so called natures people….it has been a long way that we have turned against nature and that is why we are human..the discovery of fire and the invention of the wheel…use of contraceptives…surgeries being performed…understanding the human anatomy….use of fossil fuels….digging for gold and making of steel…. are all the times that we went against nature…we need to live with no ornaments and no clothes…every technology gave birth to the other like the brakes were invented to stop the wheel…and the cotton oil was invented and imported from India..Are we against Mr. Jayaram Ramesh…or that we are against loosing a job…. even those who are fighting for the GM crops are not aware on the underplays…the kickbacks etc..no one dares to fight against corruption…the Wait list in a train to the gain of a seat in a movie show all are premium priced which deprives of the equality..so we are all no one to talk about such issues… there is no pint provoking the emotions of the ignorant…let those who are advocates of nature bring back the lost glory of nature…let them reconstitute the rich bio diverse nature that existed back during the Jurassic age……they have broken yet another egg and have lived like a”Koel’s” egg in the crows nest….if you need to fight fight corruption..a concept everyone would understand in plain term…that is the fight for survival…not the use or abuse of technologies….almost every one eats contaminated food which are not digestible…but when DNA is digestible…we don’t accept it…Biotechnology tools are the express hybridization system….about 90% of the food we eat across the glob are high yielding diseases resistant hybrids…it is reported that the statistics of Diabetic patients around the world are almost 60% of the global population… so why not they find a solution through natural means and for all of them..the Vedic and Ayurvedic practices do exist but will not cater to all..so let those accessible to that have the privilege of natural living…or try closing the whole institutes and departments working on biotechnology projects all around the world they should not use any means of DNA even for forensics…. or diagnosis…this may sound stupid…but as i said let the time decide…and let us not fight for the unnatural cause..did you find any spiritual leader commenting on this debate for they know very well these are mortal beings who are fighting for their mortal existence…
This article is mostly bullshit and is compensating for its lack of facts with hyperbole.
GM crops good or bad can be decided by market forces.If they are bad,nobody will buy it.
Let people decide what is best.
your blog is UNCLEAR. where is the details of the report indicating effects of bt brinjal on Mouse. STOP spamming. I have searched for harmful effects the bt technology can bring about, apart from SPECULATION there is nothing factual. you NGO’s should stop blabbering and do some math here. you know our population, now find out how much agricultural produce we can muster at the end of this year. assuming a man needs 1kg rice, 250g dal each day to fill his belly. Now how do you propose to fill the shortage, if you can do something about it then do it here’s your chance dude. Grow up LOL.
Highly, Misleading article. Just empty rhetoric. No data has been provided, to justify any of the statements. Just vapour ware. Please read some basics about genetics. If it hadn’t been for genetic mutation, humans would never would have evolved.
let me add, original article has limited dhum …it could have been researched a bit more…i guess !
Well the hungama of Genetically modified food is sickening to say the least , people who don’t realize the actual process of these genetically engineered products will never understand the situation
Of course you need to ensure that corporations don’t take the people for a ride in terms of the economy being siphoned off. It all boils down to the neccesity of these products as the yield in arable lands are consistently droping or either they are not able to spport the demands of the ever growing population.
As Mr.Asjad Ali had pointed out there are lot more complications that can happen by just stepping out of your house to inhale the polltuion levels that are present in the atmosphere which is contributed to the developmental needs off man.
In fact almost all the deaths in this world should be beacuse of cancer due to the amount of carciunaogens that are being pumped into the Water & Air by man’s development , but it doesent happen because the body has its own mechanism of thwarting this and only when this mechamnism fails does cancer happen.
The Bottomline is we either take the path of development along with polltuion and GM Foods or go back to stone age , but survival is possible in both the methods it is for us to choose.