Asian Age: Opposition to GM crops gains ground in Orissa.

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Opposition

to GM crops gains ground in Orissahttp://epaper.asianage.com/Asian/AAge/2008/11/05/index.shtmlOPPOSITION

TO THE cultivation

of genetically modified (GM) crops is growing in Orissa. Social organisations

and farmer leaders have stepped up their protest against the state government’s

move to encourage large-scale farming of these crops. The protesting organizations

and leaders have been visiting premier educational

institutes,

including leading universities of the state, and sensitising the students about

the “dangers†and

“risksâ€

involved in Bt Cotton and Bt Brinjaj cultivation. “Despite the state

government’s official declaration

not to

encourage GM crops, Bt Cotton has been extensively cultivated in Orissa. Cotton

is not a food crop,

yet the

toxicity of this genetically modified (GM) crop has been so severe that

thousands of domestic animals

and

cattle have died from grazing in cotton fields in the neighbouring state of Andhra

Pradesh. The persons

handling

the crop have come down with severe allergies,†says Debjeet Sarangi, secretary

of Living Farms, a Bhubaneswar based social organisation.

 

The state

government is ready to conduct field trials of Bt brinjal next month, a food

crop. Commercial roduction

of the

crop will be allowed next year. Quoting research works, Mr Sarangi informs that

experiments on rats have shown that consumption of GM food can have very

serious effects like damage to the immune system, organ defects and

interference with digestive enzymes, infertility, stunted growth, stomach

lesions and ulcers

and

damage to the intestinal wall.

 

“Clearly

this is highly unethical large-scale experimentation on human beings. The

government must not

allow GM

seeds in the state,†he observes. During a week-long campaign titled “I Am No

Lab Rat†from October 16 to 22, Living Farms, farmers and eminent public

figures visited Utkal University in Bhubaneswar and a host of other educational

institutes across the city with a well decorated vehicle that carried hoardings

and posters

depicting

ill-effects of the GM seeds. The response to the campaign against genetically modified

food and crops was according to the perception of the students on the issue.. For

many of them, it was a completely new concept.

 

Some said

they had heard about Bt Cotton and its adverse impact but were unaware that the

same technology

was being

adopted for food crops as well. The students enquired in detail about the

process of genetic modification. They were horrified when they were told by the

campaigners that genetic alterations were being made in everyday food like

brinjal, okra,cabbage, cowpeas, papaya and rice. “Till now we knew about the

dangers of junk food, a habit we indulge in occasionally, but now if our daily

food is tampered with and made toxic what are we going to eat? Pesticide has shown

its dark side. We had hoped the government would think of naturally grown

organic food as the alternative. Why are they doing this to us?†questioned the

students.

 

Students

of botany and zoology said they were already aware of the dangers of genetic

modification and

maintained

that GM seeds cultivation was highly unethical and had an effect on the overall

environment

besides

the known health hazards. They were surprised to know that such crop also had

adverse effects on soil health.

 

Through

the campaign, the organisers collected thousands of signatures on a petition

that was sent to the

Union

health minister seeking a ban on GM foods. “We would request you to kindly

gauge the seriousness

of the

situation and respond as a concerned citizen to make the campaign a success and

thwart the devious

designs

of a few powerful industries,†the petition said. Prior to the recent campaign,

the farmer leaders

had sent

petitions to the Prime Minister, agriculture minister and Union forest and

environment minister

urging

them to protect and conserve biodiversity, environment and health, with due

consideration to ethical,

social

and cultural issues involved with the application of modern biotechnology.

 

People

protest against genetically modified Bt brinjal in Orissa PHOTO: Asian Age

The

protesting organisations

"The damage caused by vaccine exposure (of mercury) is massive. It's bigger than asbestos, bigger than tobacco, bigger than anything you've ever seen." - Mark Blaxill, vice president of Safe Minds, a nonprofit organization concerned about the role of mercury in medicines.

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