A group of volunteers from Era Organics, Bhoomi and other groups with eye masks organised by Greenpeace.

“Today being Martyr’s day, we gather at Mahatma Gandhi’s statue on MG road to show our solidarity to those fighting against the introduction Bt Brinjal. The healthy response received from youth and faculty from various colleges is heartening especially from Biotechnology colleges such as Reva Institute of Science and Biotechnology, Mount Carmel College and more. We are fasting to safeguard our fundamental right to food security against the onslaught of Bt Brinjal and GM foods. We will not be subjected to toxic foods,” said Sangita Sharma from My Right to Safe Food.

Agricultural ministers of Orissa and Kerala also joined the fast in their respective states. Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal have formally announced their decision against introducing Bt Brinjal.

Bt Brinjal has been produced by inserting a toxin gene, Cry 1 Ac, from a soil bacterium called Bacillus thuringenesis [Bt] into brinjal plant using the technique of genetic engineering. It has been developed by Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company Ltd [Mahyco].The producers claim that by producing the toxin the plant will be able to kill the major insect pest in Brinjal, the Fruit and Shoot Borer. GEAC, the regulatory body approved the crop on the basis of the safety test data presented by Mahyco. However, there is no long term feeding studies to prove the safety of this crop. Independent experts including the Supreme Court nominee in GEAC, Dr Pushpa Bhargav has pointed out that there are several short comings in the tests conducted by the company. The stiff resistance from different sections of the society following the approval forced the Government to conduct public consultations before taking a final decision.

“Farmers of this country have not asked for Bt Brinjal. The only one benefiting from this genetically modified crop are seed companies like Mahyco and their American boss Monsanto, the largest seed multinational in the world,” reminded Kodihalli Chandrashekhar of Karnataka Raya Rythu Sangha, the farmers union which is spearheading the resistance against GM crops in Karnataka.

“Bt Brinjal like any other GM crop poses a threat to democracy of our country as it violates our basic rights to safe and secure food,” said Bhakti Nefretiti, Campaigner, Greenpeace India. She further stated, “It is time that the people of this country unite and say no to it.”

Organizations like Sahaja Samrudha, ICRA, Samvada were also present. Bangalore will be hosting the last of the 7 city public consultations being chaired by the Union Minister for Environment and Forests, Mr. Jairam Ramesh. Groups gathered at the Gandhi Smriti urged Bangaloreans to take part in the consultations to save our rights over our food.

For further information, contact:

Sangita Sharma, My Right to Safe Food, 9448068347

Krishna Prasad, Sahaja Samrudha, 9880862058

Gayathri, Icra, 080–25283370

Mr. Jayaram, Era Organics, 9900911777

Bhakti Nefretiti, Greenpeace India, 9663655664

Media Contact:

Syed Mehaboob, Greenpeace India, syed.mehaboob@greenpeace.org, 9731301983

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Activists in brinjal costumes at T.Nagar market in chennai

The brinjals were also distributing flyers and posters (English/Tamil) and tying headbands which said I Say No to Bt Brinjal. The activity started at 4:00 pm and continued until they reached each and every vendor in the market, this also included the consumers who were coming to purchase vegetables.

Most of the vendors and consumers had no idea about BT Brinjal or genetically modified food crops. These vendors and consumers showed concern about genetically modified food and the effects of the same on human beings and environment. The volunteers educated the people present about the dangers of Bt Brinjal and urged them to raise voice to keep our food safe and our agriculture sustainable. Some of them also tied headbands which said – I say no to BT Brinjal.

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Our Bt Brinjal awareness drive kicked off at Futala Lake in Nagpur on Sunday. The entire idea was to do something to make people take notice of the issue and attend the consultations scheduled on 27th January.

Volunteers inform people about the harmful impacts of Bt Brinjal in Nagpur

As a part of our activity we hired a road side food cart owned by Baba Thakur, who has been selling food in the area for the psat 10 years, to serve brinjal pakodas. As soon as we told him about Bt Brinjal he said, “I will not serve GM food, and will do whatever I can to stop the entry of these foods into our food systems.” He decided to play his part in the mission to stop the entry of genetically modified food by treating the Sunday evening crowd to hot brinjal pakodas.

Several women and kids also joined the activity organized by Greenpeace India and YUVA, Nagpur to raise awareness about Bt Brinjal and its impact. Donning Brinjal costumes they moved around serving hot pakodas and handing over leaflets. Eight year old Atharva Tapas, a std III student of Narayana Vidyalam , youngest among the “desi brinjals”, was the focal point of attraction. Everyone was so impressed by his enthusiasm and knowledge on the topic.

The activity was long and fruitful and set a good precedent for the consultations scheduled on Wednesday. We will keep you updated about the results of the consultations. Keep an eye on this space.

Signing off,

Team Nagpur.

The brinjal pakoda cart with anti-Bt Brinjal messages in Nagpur

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On 19th January we held a public engagement activity at the Erragadda Rythu Bazaar. This is one of the biggest vegetable markets in Hyderabad and buyers and vendors flock this market in large numbers everyday.

Our goal was to talk to the vendors about the Bt Brinjal issue and make sure they are aware of the problems with Bt Brinjal. We started on our little activity by dispersing in groups of two or three to talk to brinjal vendors.

Vendor at the bazar showing his support against Bt Brinjal

Among the various interactions we had, our volunteers spoke to a farmer whose cow had fallen sick after eating Bt Cotton leaves. As soon as he heard about Bt Brinjal, he vehemently opposed the introduction and wanted to show his opposition by tying a headband. Another couple we interacted with wanted to spread more awareness about the issue among friends and relatives.

After two hours, when we felt had spoken to almost all the brinjal sellers, we had a small de-briefing with the volunteers. We were pleased to find out that they were more than happy to participate in the public consultation and would also help us in recruiting more people to attend it.

Overall, it was a fruitful day. We had good conversations and captured good pictures, for the photo wall we’ll display at the consultation. After some rest we’ll start getting ready for the big day of the consultation here.

That’s all for today!

We’ll keep you updated

Hyderabad team

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It started off as any other day in Mumbai -Overclouded skies, blaring horns, busy malls, basically your average run of the mill boring morning. Until wham! A bunch of senior citizens together with Greenpeace decided to tell a very strange tale.

Imagine walking about with a tail. Sounds preposterous, doesn’t it? Now imagine your grandparents walking around with a tail! Well that’s exactly what the respected older generation did to create awareness about GE food.

What’s more, what seemed to be a worthy laugh riot at the onset…and there were many curious others staring… wondering what the whole gig was about, the activity had an undeniable seriousness behind it.

In the first ever action of its kind, Greenpeace together with this very crazy generation of yore went about the crowded malls of Mumbai’s racy suburbs wearing big brown tails, telling others to ‘Grow a tail, and to ask them how’.

We are no ancient gods and mythology aside; no one wants to have funny appendages growing in unwanted places. So why in the world would anyone want something strange in what they eat- Genetic modification of food is anything but funny, and watching the golden oldies share their energy for the safety of out future was absolutely inspiring.

The core aim was to spread awareness about GE food, which we did! Many a shocked youngster went home with a lot more than food for thought. Or perhaps, for the first time, they actually thought about their food and whether what they were eating, was GM free or not.

The pure enthusiasm of the Nana –Nanis for this activity was exhilarating! It’s wake up time and maybe we all need to get off our behinds and wear a tail. And maybe, after we all feel a tad bit unnatural, besides looking funny, we will realize what it means to be alright with eating food that’s been genetically tampered with.

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