Interim Report on Bt Cotton Toxicity in Humans & Farm Animals.

[Guest guest]

Interim Summary of Ongoing

Survey on BT cotton Toxicity in Humans (in urban and rural areas), Farm Animals

and Farm Soils by Kisan Bachao Andolan (or Save Farmer Movement) done in Hisar

District of Haryana State of Republic of India. The survey was started in

December 2007 and continued till date.Courtesy: Lokvaani (Dr Kaura)

 

[This report was Completed on May 25, 2008 at 3:39 P.M. and interested

individuals and organisations worldwide.]

 

I know that ill conceived short cut and short duration toxicity studies in cows

and buffaloes were performed for 35 days only by National Dairy Research

Institute (NDRI), Karnal. In that trial too, one out of ten cows (10% and that

is not a small number considering the small size of sample) refused to eat feed

mixed with BT cottonseeds. (In our survey too, we have found that many animals

refuse to eat BT cottonseeds and its oilcake, in some cases such animals are

nearly 100%) The cow that refused to eat the BT cotton feed was tricked into

eating that fatal feed by some tasty or tricky feed supplement. That experiment

should have included all kinds of breeds and various combinations and

proportions of feed to simulate the feeding conditions all over India for years

together. These trials will not give a true picture of toxicity. Unless you

study and know the actual variations in practices of farmers regarding feeding

of cottonseed oilcake, cottonseed, cotton leaf, cotton bolls etc. How can you

design and decide few experiments and rely on them to guide whole of diversity

of the humanity?

 

I totally discard these experiments. NDRI says there is no detectable BT toxin

in milk of cows / buffaloes that were fed BT cotton for about five weeks. That

is fine but this does not give you the right to exclude milk coming from these

buffaloes / cows from any kind of scrutiny. AIDS was not detectable at some

time until proper diagnostic tests were invented. However, this did not give

anybody the right to reject the ill effects attributed to AIDS.

 

When you talk of the farmers then why are you afraid of conducting feeding trials

at farmers' dairies itself for years together? Can you decide the fate of a

farmer in few days and he has to realise / bear the ill effects in / for months

or years together.

There is complete flaw and corruption in the system. For how long can we fight

it? Farmers are illiterate or less educated. We cannot reach each and every

farmer with our observations and warnings.

When the Andhra Pradesh Government warns its farmers that ‘BT cotton can kill

farm animals’ and its warns them not to graze animals on BT cotton field based

on scientific reports on BT cotton toxicity then why the animals in other

states are allowed to die or experience lethality of BT cotton. This is like

making money out of BT cotton by stopping or not allowing the flow scientific

information to the farmers. GEAC has the duty to ask all the state governments

to warn the farmers to not feed any part of BT cotton to animals as a follow up

to the step of Andhra Pradesh government. If Andhra Pradesh government has done

anything legally wrong in warning its farmers, then GEAC or BT cotton companies

must take the Andhra Pradesh government to court for calling / labeling their

so-called safe crop as poisonous. GEAC or any other authority in this regard

has to support or oppose the Andhra Pradesh Government. If Andhra Pradesh

government is saying that the farmers should not graze their animals on BT

cotton crop, then why not it orders the BT cotton companies to put the same

warning on the packets of seeds of BT cotton and its publicity material like we

write on cigarette packets. In addition to this, why there is no orders of

securing each and every BT cotton field with animal-proof barbed wire.

 

As informed to us by farmers in many villages of Hisar district the information

is presented below for any body who wish to represent case of toxicity and

allergenicity of BT cotton to humans and animals and adverse effect on soil and

crop productivity (It is to be noted that most of the problems discussed below

were not there before the introduction of BT Cotton in the area or invasion of

illegal BT cotton and its products like cottonseed oilcake) :

Many animals including cows, buffaloes, goats and sheep do not prefer to eat on

standing BT cotton plants though they happily eat on non-BT cotton crop.

 

For last few years, Many animals are refusing to eat cottonseed oilcake and

cottonseeds or hesitantly feed on these feed items. Many times farmers have to

bring in new lot of cottonseed oilcake and cottonseeds from market. Many

farmers have told us that animals affected by BT cotton toxicity stop feeding

and drinking (water) altogether, they have difficulty in breathing, etc..

Animals have to be taken for treatment to a veterinary doctor. Many farmers

have tried feeding BT cottonseeds and its oilcake and what they have found

really opens our eyes. Affected animal's milk yield drops and the animal has

reproductive problems (like difficulty in getting pregnant). This problem of

reproduction is not only seen in old animals but in animals, which are getting pregnant

for the first time as well. For the last few years pregnancy related problems

discussed above are widely rising. That is coinciding with the introduction of

BT cotton in the area. Normally, a buffalo should get pregnancy with in 2-3

years of age but many buffaloes are not able to conceive even after 4 to 6

years of age..

 

Some buffaloes we know have their offspring dying with in few days / months of

birth and some giving rise to calves, which are smaller in size than normal

calves. This was not common prior to the introduction to BT cotton in the area.

Similarly, all the problems in humans and animals discussed here were not seen

or reported prior to introduction to BT cotton in the area.

 

In Hisar district, many buffaloes are dying due to toxicity of BT cottonseed

and its oilcake, while many are saved by veterinary doctors with timely medical

intervention.

 

Increased cases of skin itching is also reported by villagers in buffaloes as

well.

 

‘Most of the ill effects are observed in animals (who are milk yielders) who

are fed cottonseeds and its oilcake. Most of the cottonseeds and its oil cake

is of BT type due to 70-90 per cent area is under BT cotton in north India and

the cottonseeds and its oilcake coming from other states like Andhra Pradesh

are also mainly of BT cotton.’

 

'In the last 3 to 5 years or more only one ingredient of diet has changed and

that is cottonseed and cottonseed oilcake.' We have very strong case against BT

cotton but the government and research organisations are not bothered at all.

 

In humans, widespread skin itching and allergy like symptoms like rashes,

eruptions, pimples, etc. are seen particularly in people working in BT cotton

fields (in many villages) and BT cotton factories. In many hospitals in Hisar

and neighbouring districts, doctors say that since early winter last year cases

of skin problems are rising not only from rural areas but from urban areas as

well including children (who never go to BT cotton fields).

 

‘One of our friends in neighbouring Panjab state who is MD in medicine has done

proper medical test related to BT cotton allergy in humans and he has found

close to 38 per cent people having allergy to a major variety of BT cotton of

Panjab.’ This study was done with cooperation of an NGO called Kheti Virasat

Mission.

 

We already have many people in the rural and urban areas who are complaining

that they have difficulty in consuming milk now and one person (young male) who

has his own buffalo in village Kalirawan says “I used to take 3.5 litres of

milk daily but now I am hardly able to take half a glass of milk†In the

family of this person most of the members including children are saying that

they don’t have a liking for the milk now.. One young male from the same village

says that he used to have itchy and watery eyes and nose. Within 2-3 days of

stopping consuming milk, his problem nearly disappeared.

 

Many farmers in Adampur village and Siswal village of Hisar

district told us that after the BT cotton crop in last 1-2 seasons the farm

soil is becoming less productive for their other crops like wheat. They say

that there is significant reduction in the crop yield, which has affected them

economically.

 

Furthermore, hybrids after hybrids are coming carrying the BT gene. No agency

has carried out toxicity tests on animals considering these hundreds of hybrids

of BT cotton forget about humans where no toxicity study was felt necessary

quite unfortunately. Is human life so cheap?

 

Government has invited an epidemic in the form of BT cotton with pleasure, but

have people permitted government, the answer is Big No.

 

Unless the GEAC members themselves go to the field, the truth will escape their

eyes. Seeing is believing. Nobody is concerned. No government agency has the

hypothesis against BT cotton then in what scientific manner one may be testing

it. Why no government agency has come out with independent successful proposal

to study toxicity study prior to animal deaths in Andhra Pradesh and even after

that? This clearly proves that the whole government machinery has single

objective of promoting deadly BT cotton at the cost of lives and health of

millions of humans and animals.

 

Some of the Press Coverage and Press Releases (in Hindi and English) are

available at

www.KisanBachaoAndolan.co.cc

 

 

This may be an eye opener about ill and lethal effects of BT cotton in north India. This

report was first published at www.KisanBachaoAndolan.co.cc

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