Public consultations on Bt Brinjal ends with a strong No to GM food crops

Bangalore, 6th Feb: The last and final public consultations by the Minister for Environment and forests, Mr Jairam Ramesh, saw some dramatic developments today the most important being the former Monsanto India Managing Director Mr. T.V. Jagdishan saying no to Bt Brinjal. Scientists in huge majority asking for a Ban on Bt Brinjal and The minister announced that a final decision on Bt Brinjal will be made by him on the 10th of February at 12.30 pm.

The consultation held in Bangalore, known as a centre of Biotechnology saw the agricultural scientists, molecular biologists, Ecologists, Medical practitioners etc from premiere institutions in the city pointing out the dangers with the genetic Engineering as a technology in general and Bt Brinjal in particular. The scientists severely criticised the lack of scientificity in the manner the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee approved Bt Brinjal. 21 out of 30 scientists spoke against Bt Brinjal.

The most interesting development of the day was the former Monsanto India Managing Director Mr. T.V. Jagdishan saying no to Bt Brinjal. While pointing out that private companies only have profit in their mind when introducing new technologies he questioned the lack of seriousness with which the government regulatory authorities are treating something as dangerous as genetically modified crops.

The day started with the first speaker from the farmers side Kodihalli Chandrashekhar asking the minister about the need for this haste in approving Bt Brinjal he categorically stated that farmers in this country has not asked for genetically modified crops but it was the seed companies in collusion with the Agricultural universities who have been thrusting such GM crops down the farmers throat. This was followed by farmers who even challenged the proponents of Bt Brinjal to do comparative studies with most effective pest management technologies like Non Pesticide management being practiced by farmers in lakhs of acres.

The minister while concluding the consultation announced that a final decision on Bt Brinjal will be made by him on the 10th of February at 12.30 pm. He also promised the gathering that all the letters that have been written to him on this matter by all stakeholders and the reasons for his decision would be put up on the Ministry’s website.

“The seven public consultations saw a majority of the farmers, scientists, consumers and other sections of the society showing deep concerns on Bt Brinjal. This is nothing but the tip of the iceberg,” said Rajesh Krishnan, Sustainable Agriculture Campaigner Greenpeace. He also stated that “We hope that the minister and the government would take the public and scientific concerns seriously. Any decision that overlooks would undemocratic and detrimental for the whole world.”

Greenpeace demands a complete ban on the environmental release of any Genetically Modified organisms .

Notes to editor
Updates and photographs on all the public consultations so far are available at www.safefoodnow.org

For More Information contact
Rajesh Krishnan, campaign Manager, Sustainable Agriculture Campaign, Greenpeace -
mob: 91-9845650032, email: rajesh.krishnan@greenpeace.org

Dr. Seema Javed-Sr.Media Officer Greenpeace -91-9910059765

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Greenpeace welcomes the minister’s decision not to allow Bt brinjal to contaminate Indian agriculture.

The minister must now reassure the nation that the moratorium will not lead to a back door entry of Bt brinjal or the 55 other food crops which are in different stages of trial in the country.

Stringent monitoring measures should be immediately put in place to ensure that no releases of GM crops happen and a strong message be sent out by making GM developers liable for any accidental or illegal releases.

The moratorium is a good step towards charting the path for sustainable agriculture and food security for our country.

Notes to the editor:
The report of the minister is available at
http://moef.nic.in/downloads/public-information/minister_REPORT.pdf

For More Information contact:
Rajesh Krishnan, campaign Manager, Sustainable Agriculture Campaign, Greenpeace-
Mob: +91-98456 50032, email: rajesh.krishnan@greenpeace.org

Dr. Seema Javed-Sr.Media Officer Greenpeace -91-99100 59765

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The consultation was filled with people against Bt Brinjal

Farmers, scientists, researchers, students, consumers, mothers, individuals, doctors and NGO groups flocked the Jnana Jyoti Auditorium and queued up to register. Banners, posters and big brinjals were already set up all around the entrance.

The consultation finally started at 9:30am. Jairam Ramesh was clear about the order in which he wanted to listen to the opinions. He requested all to give each other a chance. The farmers were the first to speak. Mr. Kodihalli Chandrashekhar, representing the farmers, asked the minister about the haste in approving Bt Brinjal. He was followed by farmers who challenged the proponents of Bt Brinjal to do comparative studies with most effective pest management technologies like non pesticide management being practiced by farmers in lakhs of acres.

16 famers spoke against Bt Brinjal and an equal number of farmers were pro BT

The doctors and scientists spoke next. Mr. (Dr.) Jagadeesh, Ex MD, Monsanto made his stand very clear. ‘Do we really need Bt Brinjal in this country?’ – He asked Jairam Ramesh. Having worked for Monsanto for the past 18 years he said he knew how things worked and understood the US agenda well. He requested Jairam Ramesh not let Bt Brinjal enter the country without enough testing.

An ayurveda practitioner also caught Jairam Ramesh’s attention with his arguments. He was asked to give all of it in writing. Out of 30 scientists 21 spoke against Bt Brinjal.

Lastly the NGO’s and civil bodies were given the opportunity to speak. Here Shridhar from Thanal (Kerala) spoke about the large scale acceptance of cultivation of Bt Cotton, which resulted in 26% rise in sale of pesticides due to rise in secondary pests attack. This point was also noted by Jairam as a matter of concern and something that needs further probing.

Concerned consumers, MDMK party (Coimbatore), research students from IISC all submitted letters to the minister. They professed their deep concern and a clear stand against Bt Brinjal.

Jairam Ramesh mentioned at the end of the consultation that he had chosen all the cities very strategically. Karnataka being the state where most of the science institutes reside and the hub for NGO’s gave him enough reason to make sure that Bangalore was one of the cities for the consultations.

Outside the consultation about 500 people were shouting slogans. Students from across the city, some dressed in Brinjal costumes, others with painted faces and placards saying ‘Stop Bt Cultivation’, Monsanto GO Back, NO GMO’s and among others.

The consultations have come to an end. But the battle is not over yet. Jairam Ramesh will be announcing his decision on 10th February. After which the Prime Minster will take the final call on this issue. Our hopes are pinned on Jairam Ramesh’s verdict. Hopefully he will echo the NO which he has heard at all the consultations.

Signing off

Team Bangalore

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The people inside the venue made their stance against Bt Brinjal clear

Due to the tight security around the venue we were not allowed to interact with Jairam Ramesh when he arrived. Although he was quite interested in speaking to the four brinjal mascots standing behind a well maintained line of control by the Police. Throughout the consultations the brinjal mascots volunteered to roam around outside the auditorium, engaging anti-Bt Brinjal protestors as well as Bt Brinjal supporters.

After an hour of chaos, the consultations began. Farmers were called to talk first, followed by scientists, NGOs and other interested individuals. A lot of farmers stated their reasons for wanting Bt Brinjal. Most of the reasons centered around the need to eliminate the high costs and harmful effects of using pesticides on their brinjals. They vociferously denied allegations of being bought out by Monsanto.

The farmers speaking against Bt Brinjal highlighted the need for saving our seeds from the hands of corporate seed giants like Monsanto and argued for pesticide free farming. The session finally ended with 14 farmers speaking in favour, and 12 against.

The session with the scientists was a little more sobre. The Minister was able to call on about 20 scientists. While there was opposition to some of the facts presented by anti-Bt scientists, the data that was presented on the toxicity levels, nutrition and efficacy of clinical trials being done on the crop was largely undisputed. Approximately 13 scientists spoke against Bt and five spoke for it.

It was indeed heartening to see huge majority of the scientists opposing the introduction of Bt brinjal in a city like Hyderabad which a seat of scientific excellence, reiterating the fact that the fears against GM food are not merely emotional but stem from scientific concerns.

The NGOs spoke next. Their stand was predominantly anti-Bt Brinjal. After four NGO representatives spoke, two doctors who were vehemently against Bt Brinjal were allowed to speak.

Though a little disappointed with the protests and chaos during the consultation Jairam Ramesh announced that he understands that there are valid concerns on Bt Brinjal and and he will keep that in mind while making his decision public on February 10th.

Over to Bangalore now where the last of the public consultations is happening.

Signing off
Team Hyderabad

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Kolkata, January 27th 2010: Representatives of Scientists, activists, farmers and agricultural labour unions today expressed the need for a national ban on Bt Brinjal, the first GM food crop in India to have reached a commercialization stage and deliberated on its impact on the environment, agriculture and livelihoods of farmers in West Bengal.

Bt Brinjal, a genetically modified Brinjal variety developed by Mahyco- (partner of agri biotech giant Monsanto) has been recommended for commercial approval by the apex approval authority, the Genetic Engineering approval committee (GEAC) in October last year. But public resistance forced the Union minister for environment and forests (i/c), Minister Jairam Ramesh intervene and hold public consultations to assess the scientists, experts and the public opinion on Bt Brinjal before taking a final decision on the commercialisation.

The first three consultations in Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar and Ahmedabad saw scientists, farmers, consumers and environmental groups totally rejecting Bt brinjal on account of concerns on health, environment, threat to farmer’s seed rights etc. Official letters from the State Government has been sent from West Bengal, Orissa and Bihar stating that Bt Brinjal would not be permitted in the respective states. Also state governments of Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Chattisgarh have also declared that they are not in favour of release Bt Brinjal.

Explaining about the issues with contamination because of cross pollination, Mr. Safiq-ul Alam, an agricultural expert and extension personnel said “Even if Bt Brinjal is not planted in the State, natural cross pollination and transport of seeds, Bt Brinjal from the rest of the country still can cause irreversible contamination pose a threat to the rich agri biodiversity of Brinjal in West Bengal. World over, no GM crop is approved in their centres of origin and diversity. India being the centre of origin and great centre of diversity, should not approve Bt Brinjal”

Swapan Ganguly from the Paschim Bango Khet Mazdoor Samiti, said “With the rich and diverse nature of India’s agriculture, we do not need an unknown technology whose impact is likely to be adverse on agricultural workers health and safety. Moreover, such technologies which only serve the business interests of a few corporates is certain to destroy Indian agriculture”.

“Ecological farming with non toxic chemicals nor GMOs is becoming popular among many farmers in the state. Introduction of any GM crop by either by force or accident is being unjust to these farmers and charting the wrong path in the agricultural policy. Moreover, no assessments have been done on the productivity and the natural pest resistance of the indigenous Brinjal varieties that farmers are cultivating organically from their own seeds for last 200 years” said Anshuman Das from DRCSC, an organisation working on organic farming for the last 28 years.

The starting of the public consultations also saw interesting political developments with the Minister for agriculture Sharad Pawar publically stating his support for Bt Brinjal and stating that the central government should not interfere in the decision made by GEAC.

In a riposte, the environment minister had sent an official letter to Sharad Pawar clearly stating that the issue of Bt brinjal is a matter of great importance as it is the first Genetically modified food crop and as there are concerns raised on this issue. Quoting the case of Bt cotton, the only GM crop commercialized in India, Jairam Ramesh also empahsised that it is the prerogative of his ministry to take the final call on this matter.

“It is shocking to see that when a majority of the Brinjal producing states have rejected Bt Brinjal, experts and public are raising concerns on Bt Brinjal in the public consultations, Union ministers are taking the side of seed Industry and promoting Bt Brinjal.” said Jai Krishna, Sustainable Agriculture Campaigner,Greenpeace. “Considering the threat Bt Brinjal poses to West Bengal and Indian agriculture, it is time for all political parties in the State to take positions against GM food crops and ensure that the Central Government does not approve Bt Brinjal.” he demanded.

The Public consultations would reach a midpoint today with the Nagpur consultation. This would be followed by consultations in Chandigarh on the 29th of January, Hyderabad on the 31st January and Bangalore on the 6th of February.

Vision, video, photos, report information:
Soma Sanyal Ghosh, 90516 80810
Jai Krishna. R, Sustainable Agriculture Campaigner, Greenpeace, 0-98455 91992
For information/ videos on consultations in Bhubaneshwar, Ahmedabad and Nagpur and , visit: www.safefoodnow.org

For further clarifications:
Anshuman Das, Development research communication and services centre. (DRCSC), 9433079847
Swapan Ganguly, Paschim Bango Khet Mazdoor Samiti.9433264109

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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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A greater number of concerns were voiced at the fifth of the seven consultations on Bt Brinjal. This was held at the Law Bhawan, Chandigarh. A majority, which represented farmers, scientists, NGOs and other groups, said ‘No To Bt Brinjal’.

Jairam Ramesh pleads with the protesters who barged into the venue.

Twelve of the 20 odd farmers voiced their concerns with the possible introduction of Bt Brinjal. While some of these spoke from their experience with Bt Cotton—and the resultant new pests like millibug, new infections in the plant and deteriorated soil health over a period of time—others raised questions about the serious health problems with pesticides, which were also introduced by these very companies. They felt that alternatives should be considered rather than going in for another technology whose effects in the long run are not known. Upendar Singh of the Bhartiya Kisan Sangh reminded the audience that the farmer is a scientist in his own right and his knowledge on the field must be taken into account seriously.

Of the 10 scientists present at the consultations, five raised their concern with specific reference to Bt Brinjal. Dr. G.P.I. Singh, Director, Medical College, spoke of genetically modified foods being associated with 65 diseases like cancers, multi-organ disorders, and unpredictable mutations and stressed on the need for long-term and multi-generation tests. He also underscored the fact that this is an irreversible technology.

Scientists with an understanding of organic brought out the direct relation between Bt Cotton and allergies in the United States. While some scientists shot down the arguments on health, suggesting that the concerns on cancer and health were irrelevant and bogus, Dr. Mira Shiva emphatically stated that the hasty introduction was completely blind-spotted the risk to health. She pointed to several problems including those related to the presence of an anti-biotic marker gene, inadequacy and incompleteness of inter-generational tests, increased vulnerability to communicable diseases. However, when she questioned why the Health Ministry representatives had not raised these issues in the GEAC, she was shouted down by the Minister, who insisted that the integrity of the GEAC must not be questioned.

Dr. P. Anand Kumar, member of the GEAC, was also present though he was booed by the audience and not allowed to speak.

Points of concern that were raised in this session included problems related to diversity contamination, which was raised by agricultural economist Subash Sharma. Gayatri Sharma of Himachal Pradesh spoke of soil deterioration. Also highlighted were the facts that there were no epidemiological studies to refute that there was no correlation between the increasing ailments in the United States following the introduction of Genetically Modified foods.

Protestors barged into the small room with limited seating and challenged Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, saying that the session was initiated much before the proposed time, and did not allow all the people present to make their point.

Team Chandigarh

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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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Students of Punjab University gather here at the Students Centre to say 'Stop Bt Brinjal'

This demonstration was in anticipation of the public consultation on Bt brinjal to be held in Chandigarh on the 29th January. The Consultation is part of the series of 7 public consultations the Minister for Environment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh is chairing before deciding on the approval of the country’s first Genetically Modified (GM) food crop, Bt brinjal.

Bt brinjal has been produced by inserting a toxin gene, Cry1Ac, from a soil bacterium called Bacillus thuringenesis [Bt] into brinjal plant using the technique of genetic engineering. Bt brinjal has been developed by Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company Ltd [Mahyco], and 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. Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (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 Supreme Court nominee in GEAC, Dr. Pushpa Bhargava 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.

The Public consultations at Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Ahmedabad and Nagpur saw scientists, farmers and consumers rejecting Bt brinjal. Besides this, eight Indian states – Orissa, West Bengal, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have stated clearly that they would not permit Bt brinjal in their states.

Dr. Manjit Singh of the University clearly stated that “Introducing these foods will not only be an attack on human health, but on the entire civilization, environment and ecological diversity we are gifted with.” He emphatically stated that we must fight this in the spirit of a war.”

Prof. Lallan Baghel of the University stated that “We will be writing off the future of the very youth of this nation if Bt brinjal or any other GM crop is commercialised.”

“We are tinkering with the future of our children rather than taking measures to protect them. Moreover, it’s an irreversible process and it is unacceptable to unleash this risky technology onto the coming generations, “stated Umendra Dutt, Executive Director of Kheti Virasat Mission who was also present at the occasion. There is no doubt that if Bt brinjal is permitted, it will open the flood gates for over 56 crops, which are under various stages of trial across the country.

Students and professors urged the State Governments of Punjab and Haryana to join in their efforts and like other state heads take a position against Bt brinjal. This even as they implored citizens of Chandigarh to join the consultation in Chandigarh on the 29th of January and say no to Bt Brinjal for the sake of food safety and food security of the nation.

Notes to the editor
GM free Coalition is a coalition between NGOs, farmers, scientist and Consumer groups across India.

For further details please contact:
Prof. Manjit Singh – +91 9876725391
Umendra Dutt of Kheti Virasat Mission +91-9872682161
Shivani Shah, Campaigner, Sustainable Agriculture, Greenpeace India, +91 9986877364

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People started flowing into the IMA hall premises from 6am in the morning to participate in the public consultation on Bt Brinjal in Nagpur, which was the fourth in the series of seven consultations. Everyone wanted to express their views and be part of one of the historic events in the history of Agriculture in the country.

The hall with a seating capacity of 500 people was full in no time. With hundreds of people left outside, the atmosphere was tense. Inside the hall the farmers started raising slogans against Bt. Soon, Sharad Joshi walked in with his small pro-GM crowd and there were slogans for Bt Brinjal. But their voices were shadowed by the anti-Bt Brinjal slogans.

Minister Jairam Ramesh speaks to the protesters outside the venue after the consultation in Nagpur

Minister Jairam Ramesh walked in at around 11 am. The minister made it very clear that he came to Nagpur to find out the impacts of Bt cotton, even though he didn’t want to compare Bt cotton with Bt Brinjal.

Farmers were given the chance to speak first. Ghanshyam Chopde, a natural farmer from Vidharbha was the first to speak. He set the tone with a strong discourse against Bt Brinjal. Shalini Sudhagar, who came with two widows whose husbands committed suicide after the failure of Bt Cotton, spoke next. The entire hall went silent while she gave her speech.

Among the prominent farmer leaders, Vijay Jawandhia and Avinash Kakkade opposed the introduction of Bt Brinjal while Sharad Joshi supported it. Farmer group discussion was mainly focused around Bt Cotton. Majority of the farmers equated Bt cotton with farmer distress and suicides. Altogether 21 farmers spoke out of which only 7 spoke in favour of Bt Brinjal.

The scientists spoke next. The corporate scientists and few ICAR scientists spoke in favour of Bt Brinjal. Generally they were trying to counter the arguments against Bt. But they were given contradicted by scientists like Prof. Nimbalkar, Prof Tharakate, Prof Thakare and Ashok Bang.

Civil groups, consumer forums and government officials were next in line. Chhattisgarh government’s official delegation opposed the introduction of Bt Brinjals and the Vidharbha Industries Association’s representative made it clear that these technologies should be treated with caution and hence should not be introduced in haste. Only 6 out of 19 people who spoke in this session supported the introduction of Bt Brinjal.

After the consultation, Jairam Ramesh spoke to the media and confirmed that he had received official letters from Chief Ministers of Orissa, Bihar, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Kerala asking for a moratorium on GM crops. West Bengal CM also opposed hasty introduction of Bt Brinjals.

The minster also listened to the concerns of the people who could not enter the consultation venue. Overall, Bt Brinjals received a negative response in Nagpur.

Signing off
Team Nagpur

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