GMW: GM seed buccaneers versus the people of India

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GMW: GM seed buccaneers versus the people of India

" GM WATCH " <info

Thu, 7 Dec 2006 16:38:51 GMT

 

 

 

GM WATCH daily

http://www.gmwatch.org

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EXTRACT: " We are requesting as many editors/web site administrators to

place an online petition. We need 100,000 signatures from all over the

world before 14th December. "

 

The author, Arun Shrivastava can be contacted at arun1951

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Big GM seeds buccaneers Versus The People of India

Arun Shrivastava

http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voices.php/2006/12/07/big_gm_seeds_\

buccaneers_versus_the_peopl

 

The fight intensifies

 

The India Government is firmly under control of buccaneers of

bio-technology and spurious Life Sciences multinational corporations.

Despite

rules to the contrary, GM experiments have been going on across India

with the complicity of the Indian Government. Most importantly, the

attack

is now on rice.

 

India is a centre of origin for rice and the centre for diversity for

rice genes, in the same way as Mexico is for corn. It is therefore much

more than just a rice country. This makes the Government's cavalier

attitude to India's Non-GM status for rice, one of irresponsible criminal

negligence. In embarking on high-risk field trials of GM-rice, it

exposes our rice farmers to contamination by GM including transgenic

contamination of wild species and the rice seed stock. If we Indians lose

control over local rice seeds we lose our right to food and nutrition. We

lose our sovereignty.

 

Has the Government exercised due diligence?

 

In granting permission for field trials, the Government of India has

failed to protect the people's interest and health. The Supreme Court of

India [sC] in its interim order [1st May 2006] in matter of a Public

Interest Litigation [PIL] number 260 of 2006 had directed that an

inter-ministerial " Genetic Engineering Approvals Committee " [GEAC] be

formed

and all applications for field trails be routed via GEAC. This does not

imply that the SC had given a carte blanche to GEAC to approve field

trials; rather, the directive was to prevent one department [the

Department of Biotechnology] from taking unilateral decisions and

bring in some

discipline.

 

However, in the '67th Meeting of the Genetic Engineering Approval

Committee' held on 22.05.2006, the GEAC brushed aside all such

concerns and

in utter defiance of the spirit of the Order it has rubberstamped an

astonishing 91 GM products for multi-location trials [MLTs]

 

91 approvals in one meeting.

 

Which forced the Supreme Court to pass another order on 20th September,

2006:

 

" [Whilst it is ] not inclined to direct stoppage of field trials. At

the same time, [the Supreme Court] deem it appropriate to direct the GEAC

to withhold the approvals till further directions are issued by this

Court on hearing all concerned. " [Record of Proceedings, Item No 9, Writ

Petition No 260 of 2006; the Supreme Court of India]

 

Not only that approvals have been rushed through in anticipation of a

possible full spectrum ban on field trial in India, activists have been

stone walled from obtaining information on locations and type of seeds

being tested. It is only after petition under Right to Information [RTI

Act of 2005] were filed that some information has been revealed by the

Department of Biotechnology.

 

Thus, the big seed companies [in this instance Monsanto, operating

through its Indian Joint Venture partners Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds

Corporation or Mahyco] have committed crimes against humanity with full

connivance of officials of the Department of Biotechnology and members

of GEAC

[which means several Ministries are also involved, chiefly, the

Minister of Agriculture & the Ministry of Environment & Forest].

 

This is a crime against the people of India and against India's farmers

because these approvals have been given knowing the fact that in the

last two years, 70% of the farmer suicides in the Maharashtra belt are Bt

cotton farmers suicides.

 

" During the latter part of April, the Centre for Sustainable

Agriculture (CSA) uncovered deadly toxic reaction in sheep and goats

in Warangal

in AP from grazing in Bt cotton fields in Feb/March, post the last

cotton harvest of 2005-2006. Local shepherds estimate the total mortality

for the area to be around 10,000 dead sheep and goats. " [Page 4,

Application for interim order, in the SC of India, No 260 of 2006]

 

We do not care how many acres have been planted. We do know that six

varieties of Bt rice are under open field trials. These are: MRP 5305

Bt., MRP5319Bt., MRP 5401 Bt., MRP5445Bt., MRP 5629 Bt., and MRP5631 Bt.

 

Whilst Bt rice trials have been approved in 10 out of India's 25

states, we suspect that the total area where GE field trails have been

slipped in, without knowledge of the poor farmers who rented their lands,

could be significant.

 

This is not a new war

 

The United States of America declared a war on Indian rice [and food

security] way back in the early 1960s when India's No 1 scientist mole,

Dr M.S. Swaminathan, stole the gene bank of rice, evolved over decades

by Dr Riccharia, and passed it over to the Americans. How many genetic

varieties have been stolen? No one really knows.

 

Swaminathan was the main dramatis personae in what is known as " the

great[est] gene robbery " in the history of mankind. [see, " The Great Gene

Robbery " , by Dr Claude Alvarez, The Illustrated Weekly of India, March

23-April 5, 1986]

 

India had 120,000 varieties of rice seeds; today, no more than 50 are

available. This is United States' war on genetic diversity, ably

supported by scientist-criminals like MS Swaminathan. And the worst

crime of

the Indian Government is to have these criminals head Agriculture Policy

of India. At age 75, Swaminathan lives to lord it over many Expert

Committees, including crucial ones in the Ministry of Agriculture. The

deadly tentacles of this hydra-headed monster extend in many

ministries of

the Government of India. From early 1960s, Swaminathan has been the

front of the Rockefellers, implementing their agenda with full support of

the US Government. [see: www.GMWatch.org]

 

Emboldened by a deliberately errant Indian Regulator, which is

malfunctioning with intent and deliberation to support a pro GE

agenda, and the

open support of USAID, the GM seeds producers are furthering the agenda

of destroying India's food sovereignty and food security knowing fully

well that GE seeds do not enhance productivity [yield], which is what

Indian farmers need.

 

For example, the USAID-backed initiative, Agricultural Biotechnology

Support Project-II (ABSP-II), is based and directed from Cornell. ABSP

partners have included Asgrow, Monsanto, and Pioneer Hi-Bred. Promoting

GM is, of course, an official part of USAID's remit - one of its roles

being to " integrate GM into local food systems. " [ibid]

 

The Trojan horse of GE seeds in India

 

That war has been taken to new heights by Monsanto. Few know that

Mahyco is the Trojan horse through which Monsanto is slipping in GM

seeds.

Monsanto's website says:

* Joint venture with Mahyco 50:50 for marketing of biotech cotton seeds

and 74:26 for marketing of seeds. Both these joint ventures are by

parent company and not MIL.

* Parent Company is 51 per cent investment in Joint Venture with EID

Parry (Hybrid rice seed business).

* R & D centre of Bangalore also belongs to parent Company.

http://myiris.com/shares/company/reportShow.php?url=AMServer%2F2001%2F09%2FMONCH\

EIA_20010925.htm

 

In effect, Mahyco is the front.

 

As early as 1999, the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and

Ecology (RFSTE) challenged the permission given by the Government to M/s

Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company Limited [Mahyco, Monsanto's JV

partners] in the Supreme Court, vide their Writ Petition No. 71 of

1999 for

carrying out multi-centric trials (these are limited field trials) at 15

locations in 7 states without framing proper guidelines, rules and

systems for evaluating the bio-safety and ecological and environmental

impacts of genetically modified organisms used in crops. [ibid]

 

Thus, it is on record that right from the earliest MLTs for Bt cotton,

" improper and illegal procedures " were followed by the GEAC/DBT and

that contamination from these limited field trials (MLTs), were a major

source of concern. These observations by RFSTE are part of the record of

the Rejoinder Affidavit.

 

The Indian taxpayer is now paying Monsanto's debt. The people of India

will continue to pay Monsanto with their lives and property. The

repercussions of the Regulator's releases of GM foods in India will be

global.

 

World's best known scientists have sent their submissions

 

What is most heartening is that leading scientists from all over the

world have joined hands with Indian activists with their expertise and

experience. Many have filed exclusive submissions to the Supreme Court.

 

" Dr. Arpad Pusztai, the world renowned toxicologist and leading expert

in protein lectins in a telephone conversation with Petitioner No 1

said that in all these years of scrutinising industry studies, (and most

of these have passed through his hands), he has never seen anything

quite like this. According to David Schubert, the safety testing data on

the Ministry (GEAC) website is " very poorly done and in the absence of

REAL DATA it is impossible to make any assessment of the validity of

their claims " . Dr. Doug Gurian Sherman, Senior Scientist at the Centre

For

Food Safety concurs. Dr. Robert Mann formerly senior lecturer in

biochemistry at the University of Auckland and Advisor to successive

Ministry's of Health in NZ, says, " I regard the 'Bt'-brinjal field-trial

proposal as one of the most ill-conceived I have encountered in my three

decades of critical appraisal of GM. The risks and hazards, while not

exactly known or indeed precisely foreseeable, appear to be so grave that

the proposed field-trials should be enjoined pending a thorough

assessment such as has yet to be performed. " Dr. Mae Wan Ho (of the

Independent

Science Panel) and Prof. Joe Cummins, Prof. Emeritus of Genetics,

University of Western Ontario, Canada, say: " In India, brinjal would be

comparable to potato or tomato in the American diet. GM Egg Plant

Contains

Bt Toxin Linked to Hundreds of Allergy Cases and Thousands of Sheep

Deaths. It would be unthinkable and irresponsible to approve the

genetically modified eggplant. Dr. Mae-Wan Ho and Prof. Joe Cummins

find neither

published studies nor experimental details on safety tests in the

application for field releases of the Bt brinjal and raise serious

questions. Instead of approving more GM crops, regulatory authorities

in India

should start a comprehensive enquiry into the health impacts of Bt

cotton and impose a ban on further releases of all GM crops " .

 

So, the buccaneers have pushed GM rice and GM veggies: staple food of

Indians. They have stealthily planted GM seeds in plots right across

India. It is a well known fact that GM seeds can easily contaminate

non-GM

seeds through cross pollination. GM contamination could be widespread

because there is no way to prevent contamination across India's farming

areas.

 

How you can help India

 

In 2005-06, Indian rice exporters exported 5 million tonnes of rice

valued at US$1.53 billion to 102 countries worldwide. Their main markets

are Europe, North America, West Asia, and Australia. In each of these

countries, the respective Governments must

 

Warn The Indian Government that Consumers Do Not Want GM Indian Rice

 

We suggest: Start Testing

 

Next, if you are a consumer, petition your local representatives to

send a strong letter to the Government of India to install

internationally

acceptable test protocols to check for contamination, at all ports and

in all states and that pending such decision no primary foods be

allowed in importing countries. Most importantly, ask your

representative to

tell the Government of India to

 

Stop all GM field trials Because it will destroy global environment

 

None of us wants to hurt Indian exporters and farmers; many poor

farmers depend on steady market provided by the exporters. Every farmer's

association has come out against GM seeds. The All India Rice Exporters

Association has expressed its readiness to work with all persons who

refuse to fall in line with a pro-GM agenda because of the demonstrated

risks of GE technology. But we are also sure that when their market

shrinks, these exporters and their supplier farmers will hang every

politician and member of the Indian Parliament from the nearest tree.

 

The impact would be swift and decisive. There is no other option. Pass

the news far and wide.

 

Undertaking required from the Indian Government

 

The Government of India must give an undertaking to the Indian rice

consumers worldwide that:

 

[a] it was dishonest in that it did not exercise due diligence and

checks at ports, including bio safety assessment based on the

precautionary

principle;

it has unconditionally banned all GM rice and GM food field trials;

[c] it shall make public the names of producers of GM seeds, ownership

[including joint ventures in India], location, contact number, names of

principal officers, and nationality of the companies, it has granted

permission for trials and dates when permissions for trials were granted;

[d] it publicly acknowledges the harms caused to humans and environment

if GM crops are planted and/or consumed based upon independent

published studies, and

[e] It is prepared to compensate for health damages caused to consumers

because of consumption of GM rice.

If possible bring in lawsuits against the Government of India for

allowing shipment, if rice exports test positive for GM.

Bt (GM) rice has not been approved for human consumption and Bt foods

including rice are a proven health hazard.

All GM foods are weapons of mass destruction. Therefore, bring-in

lawsuits against the Government of the USA, including the US-FDA and

USDA,

like the instance cited below:

The most recent incident of contamination has occurred with American

Long Grain Rice. The announcement in August 2006 that an unapproved

variety of genetically modified (GM) rice, i.e. not approved for human

consumption, had been found at low levels in US long-grain rice

shocked the

global food industry. Bayer Crop Science's GM LL601RICE had last been

grown in field trials in 2001 and was not intended for

commercialization. Liberty Link 601 [LL601 rice] has been modified to

be tolerant to

Bayer's herbicide, Liberty (glufosinate), so farmers can use the

weed-killer without harming the crop.

The global marketing of unapproved GM rice has led to product

withdrawals in Switzerland, Germany, France, Sweden, Ireland and the

UK. Exports

to Europe require certification that foods are GM-contaminant free.

Japan has zero tolerance for GM crops, has halted rice imports from the

USA, and is carrying out extensive tests to detect LL601contamination

level and extent.

It is obvious that there has been a cover-up. Most corporate crimes are

committed with full knowledge of top management. Bayer knew about the

contamination before it was discovered. So does Monsanto, despite its

claims on its website that it operates through an Indian parent company.

Most of all, the Indian Regulator must carry the highest responsibility

and stands heavily indicted.

The US Regulators are implicated for concealing the contamination from

Bayer's LL601 variety. Bayer is being sued by growers in Arkansas,

California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas, who have filed

lawsuits amounting to hundreds of millions of dollar for damaging

farmers'

sales through loss of markets. The contamination had gone undetected

because no testing was done prior to this year.

The US Government is not only stealing genetic assets, it is

deliberately promoting near lethal food worldwide. Genetic Engineering

if not

stopped will lead to the irreversible contamination of the world's

food at

the molecular level and in perpetuity. This demonstrates the

seriousness of the crisis we face.

We need a million lawsuits worldwide

We need every lawyer, who is not part of the inner coterie of the

murderous neo-cons in Washington and London and their minions

elsewhere, to

work on a standard draft in accordance with their respective national

Environment Protection Laws, Food Laws, and restrictive provisions for

GE experimentations, and file one million lawsuits worldwide against

Monsanto, Bayer, and others who have tested and tried in open fields any

genetically modified crops that is food for us. Lawyers also need food,

healthy food!

Whilst a lawsuit claiming damage to health may warrant proof of

evidence of " damage " which will be difficult to obtain, therefore,

appellants

should seek damages for contamination from genetic engineering that is

known to cause [a] damages to living cells, damages the

environment, and [c] damages biological diversity.

If you are a consumer, talk to lawyers in groups and file class action

suits. There is enough evidence from a number of animal studies that

genetically modified foods can make you infertile, retard your children's

growth, cause unknown and untreatable diseases, destroy your life and

terminate your life prematurely.

These murderers can beat us up, bribe the Indian Police to lock our

farmers up, and file utterly baseless cases just to harass us. But

none of

these companies can fight a global opposition.

Your life and health is in your hands. Help us fight this global

menace.

Note: http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7205

1. The above url documents what is going on in India and how the big

bio-tech firms are misusing their financial and political clout to harass

and physically intimidate farmers.

2. All documents quoted in this article are in the public domain or

have been placed as evidence in a writ petition filed in the Supreme

Court

of India, No 206 of 2006. The case is still being heard. Detailed

references and key documents can be sent to any person interested.

3. We are requesting as many editors/web site administrators to place

an online petition. We need 100,000 signatures from all over the world

before 14th December.

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December 7, 2006 Arun Shrivastava is a management consultant. He can be

contacted at arun1951 © Arun Shrivastava

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