Sunday, March 30, 2014

PRESS RELEASE ON GM TRIALS 2014 March 31 IMMEDIATE

In 2010, following 7 public hearings held all over India – and numerous petitions from scientists, farmers and consumers – Jairam Ramesh, then Environment Minister, declared a moratorium on Bt Brinjal, a genetically modified, pesticide-secreting brinjal, literally pregnant with poison. The mass of public testimony against this GM crop was put up on the website of MoEF as part of its report. Soon after, Ramesh was shunted out.
The Supreme Court appointed ‘Technical Expert Committee’ (TEC), consisting of leading independent scientists of repute, too warned against the numerous hazards of GM crops, particularly GM food crops, and called for a ban/moratorium on their open field trials. Their interim report was unanimous. With Pawar succeeding in placing his GM industry aligned nominee on the Committee, the final report of TEC against GM field trials had an expected solitary dissension.   
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture – which included 7 parliamentarians from Congress – unanimously expressed similar caution as TEC on the grave dangers of GM crops. It declared that field trials of GM crops should not be undertaken till the Government puts in place all regulatory, monitoring, oversight, surveillance and other structures. Recently, it reiterated, "the Committee are of the strong view that unless and until a comprehensive, transparent, effective and professional regulatory system is in place, there exists no scope for field trials of transgenics".
Taking cognizance of TEC’s report, and that of the Parliamentarians, Jayanti Natarajan – who succeeded Ramesh as Minister of Environment – declined sanction for field trials of GM crops, at least until the Supreme Court delivered its final judgement. She requested the Prime Minister to allow her Ministry to respond separately in the Court. In her long letter to the Prime Minister, she effectively countered the many arguments raised by the Government of India's affidavit, put in by the Agriculture Ministry against the TEC's unanimous interim report. She too was shunted out and replaced by Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily – wittily nicknamed ‘Oily Moily’ – who lost no time in freely sanctioning (as widely reported) 200 field trials of GM crops in various parts of India.
Modi – normally eager to pounce on the government at any opportunity – discreetly refused to protest. When pointedly asked, he preferred to sit on the fence, leaving open his options to follow the same course as the UPA on the Frankenstein GM crops.
And so, Manmohan, Moily and Modi all seem happily aligned with Monsanto-Mahyco with their deep pockets!
Do read the following Press Release of the ‘Coalition for a Gm-Free India’ to learn more.
The Supreme Court has advanced its hearing of the matter from April 15 to April 1. Let us pray/hope they have the integrity, wisdom and strength to hold firm to the principled and sane course, denying sanction for the freshly approved field trials of GM crops!
Warmly,
Bharat
PS: Please forward to others.
A comment from R. Ashok Kumar:
Re: Moily's parting shot
Colin Todhunter, Mar 6, 2014 :
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/389992/moily039s-parting-shot.html
*Open field testing is part of the GM sector’s plan to win the battle to
dominate and control the food chain by any means possible."......
"Open field planting and the release of GM organisms into the environment
are part of a deliberate ploy to contaminate non-GM crops and eventually
render the GM/non-GM debate obsolete."
This is really scorched earth policy by Moily Manmohan and Modi.
Traitors!
With elections around, irreversible omnicidal policy decisions by UPA must be
annulled and such actions must be punished as crimes against all life for all time.
 
Press Release

The Supreme Court hearing on the PIL on GM crops is now on 1st of April, The Coalition for a GM Free India demands UPA government to stop misinforming the Court and not stand in the way of delivery of Justice.

New Delhi, 30th March 2014: In the latest development related to the public debate and controversy around Genetically Modified (GM) crops in India, the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India advanced its hearing on the PIL on GM crops from 15th April to 1st of April 2014 (1). This comes after the hasty, unethical and questionable decision by the Ministry of Environment and Forests to approve open air field trials of GM crops, when a code of conduct for General Elections is in place, and on the eve of the crucial hearing by the Court. This 'revalidation of approvals' by the regulators, supported by the Minister for Environment and Forests, Veerappa Moily (who later did a u-turn on his role in giving a go-ahead when confronted by farm unions), had faced widespread opposition from across the country. Even Congress-ruled state governments like Kerala responded by saying that they will not allow such trials. While biotech companies' stocks have been seeing significant rise in the stock markets with this decision by the Government, several complaints have been shot off to the Election Commission against this move by the government at this point of time.

Meanwhile, in another development, earlier this week, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture in their 59th report submitted to the Speaker had reiterated their earlier recommendation on stopping all kinds of environmental releases of GM crops including for field trials (2). The Committee noted that they "are not satisfied with the replies furnished by the government" with regard to regulatory mechanism for transgenics and containment of trials. The Committee desired that 'further research and development on transgenics in agricultural crops should be done only in strict containment and field trials should not be undertaken till the Government puts in place all regulatory, monitoring, oversight, surveillance and other structures. The Committee note from press reports that the Minister for Environment and Forests has decided to
allow field trials of transgenics which is contrary to the recommendations of the Committee in the 37th Report. The Committee
strongly deprecate this".

The Standing Committee report specifically states that "the Committee are of the strong view that unless and until a comprehensive, transparent, effective and professional regulatory system is in place, there exists no scope for field trials of transgenics". Expressing strong views on Bt cotton, the Committee records that "the first hand experience gained by the Committee is ample proof to show that the miseries of farmers have compounded since the time they started cultivating Bt cotton. The Committee would like the Government to appreciate the ground reality and not to thrust commercial cultivation
of Bt cotton on farmers". This is coming at a time when Karnataka government is ordering crores of rupees of compensation to be paid to loss-incurring Bt cotton farmers and also blacklisting Mahyco in the state (3).

It is worth noting that the approach of the Parliamentary Standing Committee, through its unanimous reports on the subject, is very similar to the majority report of the independent experts of the Technical Expert Committee (TEC) appointed by the Supreme Court on the matter of open air field trials. While the Government/regulators are trying to mislead the nation and the Supreme Court by alluding to open air trials as "confined", the Parliamentary Standing Committee has correctly understood that confinement is not possible in open air trials, and therefore asked clearly for R&D to take place only in containment. Numerous examples of risks emerging from open air trials exist from the world over, and even in India, there is much documented evidence on various violations in open air field trials in addition to the hard reality that open air releases of GMOs including for field trials cannot be "confined".

"The similarities in the recommendations of the majority report of the independent experts of the Supreme Court TEC and this Parliamentary Panel are very large and this is no coincidence. Both these bodies have taken the time to study the regulatory regime in great detail and have picked up Bt cotton and Bt brinjal as illustrative case studies of how the regulators have been performing, without capabilities and even accountability, in the country; both have also specified that decision-making has to first rid itself of any conflict of interest creeping in", said Kavitha Kuruganti, Convener, Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA).

Another point worth noting is that Ms Jayanti Natarajan, the former MoEF was keen on her Ministry taking an independent view on the matter of GMOs and field trials and had requested the Prime Minister to allow her Ministry to respond separately in the Court, but was shunted out to be replaced by Veerappa Moily. In her long letter to the Prime Minister, she effectively countered the many arguments raised by the Government of India's affidavit, put in by the Agriculture Ministry
against the TEC's unanimous interim report (4).
"It is a great mystery as to what pressure is acting on some Ministries and Offices of the Government of India that they simply ignore enormous scientific evidence against GMOs in our food, farming and environment to the point that they replace a Minister who expresses her reservations on GMOs", added Ms Kuruganti.

It needs to be mentioned here that the one member in the 6-member TEC who is toeing the Government of India's line is not a bio-safety expert (while the debate at hand is that of biosafety assessment in India) and carries an objectionable conflict of interest into a Supreme Court technical committee probably for the first time in environmental jurisprudence in the country. Dr R S Paroda who has been brought into the Committee after the unanimous interim report of the TEC was submitted to the Supreme Court in October 2012 heads an organization which receives funding from biotech majors like Mahyco
(Monsanto's Indian associate).

The Coalition for a GM-Free India believes that these unscientific and anti-people forces in the Government are now standing in the way of justice being delivered in this case. "We want to remind the Government of India that people of this country will not forgive it for its irresponsible efforts to contaminate our food, farms and environment with GM crops", said Rajesh Krishnan, Convenor, Coalition for a GM Free India. "We hope that the Supreme Court will see through this anti-people, anti-science position of the government and disallows all open air trials of GMOs", he added.

Notes to the editor:

1. The Supreme court listings  for the 1st of  April can be seen at
http://causelists.nic.in/scnew/otues/cl.html
2. The 59th report of the parliamentary standing committee on
Agriculture can be accessed at
http://indiagminfo.org/?p=703
3. The order by the Karnataka state govt to blacklist Mahyco and ban
the sales of Bt Cotton of the company can be accessed here
http://indiagminfo.org/?p=704
4. The letter by former Union Minister for Environment and Forest to
the Prime Minister received through RTI act can be accessed at
http://indiagminfo.org/?attachment_id=680

For more Information:

Rajesh Krishnan, Convener, Coalition for a GM Free India,
Mob: 9845650032, email:
rajeshecologist@gmail.com

Kavitha Kuruganti, Convener, Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic
Agriculture (ASHA), Mob: 9393001550,  email:
kavitha_kuruganti@yahoo.com

Aruna Rodrigues, Petitioner in the PIL in Supreme court,
mob:9826396033 , email: 
arunarod@gmail.com

*Website:** **www.indiagminfo.org**,** **email** **:** **
indiagmfree@gmail.com**,**  Facebook** **page** - **GM** **Watch** **India*

Monday, January 21, 2013

Modern Civilization is against life.Hence population is ever growing. GM kills.

Re:If we are to feed an ever-growing population and save India from starving, we must embrace GM crops
Malcolm Elliott Jan 16, 2013, 12.00AM IST
In October 2012, a Technical Expert Committee (TEC) appointed by the Supreme Court (SC) of India recommended a 10-year ban on field trials of genetically engineered (GM) food crops. Admirers of Indian agriculture's colossal achievements were shocked and saddened by the news.
The committee ignored copious data on the safety and efficacy of GM crops in coming to this blinkered recommendation which is not in the best interests of the people. It prevents the provision of a safety net for the ever-increasing population. However, there is some hope since, on November 9, the SC declined to accept the recommendations of the TEC, pending receipt of a more comprehensive report.


The ever growing population? Its due to modern civilization which is grossly destroying itself because of its cumulative effects on Mother Earth(Rape).
Time for a normal civilization in tune with nature: Dismantle the specialist’s hold over our lives like Genetic modification(GM) and adopt conservation, just food distribution and local seeds.50% of food worldwide is wasted. What kind of governance is this? Why should the authorities ever consider tumor creating infertility causing GM? It is food distribution that is not just, it is not food production that is to be blamed. Why is food allowed to rot in India of all places, the home of more than a billion of human beings only? Is this governance? It is rigorous food grain storage in a healthy manner and a proper public distribution system that the food minister should concentrate on. Should not this GM and heavy pesticide use be on par with rape(of mother earth)? Along with production & consumption , RETURN must be practiced. Why are cities possessing sewage rivers proliferating? Is this governance? Why is area under agriculture being pruned? Why is area under forests being pruned? Set the food net security and the climate right first. It is the height of criminal traitor’s deeds to go ahead with GM trials when other crops become corrupted with foreign material in the process. Is this not undoing the very act of labelling GM poisons, read corrupted foods? When I go to a foreign country replete with GM crops, I get allergy on the skin and have to take drugs to overcome nay mitigate the phenomenon. Why does it vanish when I land back in India? Bt cotton may be causing my skin allergy when I wear cotton clothes.When there are gross uncertainties regarding a technique, good reasoning says that specialist science is only semi prudent, and specialist,vested interest science kills as shown in in many a precedent. Thus it is absolutely necessary that the
precautionary principle be followed and they stop making labrats of us and of one and only Mother Earth. One must learn from the fact that India has failed with Borlaugian methods of chemicalised agricultural monocultural monstrosity. Don’t you see the epidemic of cancers in the greenhorn revolving state of Punjab, where uranium magnification of gamma radiation via fertilizers has played havoc with
health which is made worse,tainted with radionuclide contaminated groundwaters? GMOs are the way forward for wiping out the flora, fauna and drinking waters of Bharat-Mata. Why? The specialists adopted a false fact that one gene is responsible for one protein(the central dogma of molecular biology),introduced the desired gene into another species which lacked the desired trait and permitted wholesale growing of such a plant new to nature by adopting the false principle of substantial equivalence of the GMO with its natural counterpart. Just the other year in 2009, this central dogma of molecular biology was overthrown by the finding that a variety of genes in the mother plant was responsible for a set of traits,among those genes were what the specialists had called junk! Thus the witch presides.Stop it now.
Check out http://justiceinorout.blogspot.in/2010/06/is-justice-in-or-out.html
and
http://geneticmodificationbtbrinjal.blogspot.in/2010/02/genetic-modification-set-of-haikus.html
and
http://indiahumanpopulation.blogspot.in/2012/08/india-population-unstable-because-of.html
See also the URL on GEAC of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India at
http://envfor.nic.in/major-initiatives/geac-clearances

Monday, February 8, 2010

Genetic Modification-A Set of Haikus

© 2013 Ramaswami Ashok Kumar

Bt Brinjal No!

Criminal Hurry
Unconstitutional Step
Bt Brinjal No!

Bears Bacterial gene
Bacillus thuringiensis
Makes own pesticide!

Learn from history!
Bt cotton crop residues
Poisoned, killed cattle.

Thousands of farmers
Cultivating Bt crop
Khudkushi did they!

Now Bt Brinjal?
Labratting humans-Indians?
Leaders gone stark mad?

Trash Bt Brinjal
Let healthy varieties thrive
Which are in plenty

Leader’s track record
Ugly, wicked, unfriendly
Inefficient

Thinking unwisely:
Nature’s parts unconnected:
Imperfect Knowledge

See alterNative:
Organic mixed planting
Has no pest problem

Successful wisdom
Born out of experience:
Traditional farms.

Various strategies
Non-pesticidal, check, thwart
Pest damage for long.

Thus don’t risk Bt
Or synthetic pesticides:
Utility nil.

Hark! MOEF
Promote classically sound
Agronomic ways.

Proactively plan
People’s awareness programme
Its safe sane simple.

Awake and arise
There is nothing more tragic
Than ignorant acts.

Irreversible!
Bt pervades the whole plant
Including brinjal!

Auto- pesticide
Also pervades every cell!
Uncontrollable!

Monoculture farms:
Moderate pesticide use
Control based on need.

But Bt’s toxins
Cannot be moderated
Cannot be washed off!

Label GM foods?
Can it be strictly enforced?
If not trash GM.

Don’t violate rights
Its against constitution
Contaminate not.

Permit GM food?
People will avoid them all.
They will starve to death.

Follow people’s views.
In democratic India
Preserve nation’s health.

Brinjal people’s food.
Available all over
UnBtd, fresh, cheap.

Whom does Bt serve?
Better tackle pollution,
Don’t add to the mess.

Most affordable
After potato, brinjal
Why beat this, Bt?

Bt- whats your niche?
Just stay put there for all time
Thats best policy.

There is true knowledge:
See one changeless life in all;
Inseparable!

Don’t destroy balance
With Bt’s unknowables
The synergisms!

Origin brinjal’s
And diversity brinjal’s
Both India centric!

Stop Bt Brinjal.
Brinjal’s origin India
Cartagena says

Its diversity
Is India centric: UN
Stop Bt Brinjal

Be infallible
In forbidding poison flow
Into our Brinjals.

Protect human rights
Cartagena Protocol
Don’t contaminate.

For four thousand years
Brinjal has been growing here
Baengan Bharatas!

Varieties Brinjal’s
Two thousand five hundred plus
Counted in India.

Come contaminate
Hundreds local brinjal types
Bad Bt Brinjal!

Approving release
Of Bt Brinjal reckless
Inexcusable

Bt Brinjal leads
To a loss to the whole earth
From Two Thousand Ten

Ironically
Biodiversity Year
International!

Western Ghats, North-East
At high risk from GM crops
Trash GM crops now.

Catch 22 fate
Field trials are too risky
Contamination!

GM foods unsafe
Or safe- thirty long term tests
Can possibly show

Whether tests were done?
No way to confirm the fact!
Irresponsible.

In India such tests
Cannot be validated
No facility!

Traditional plants
Cannot remain pure at all
With GM crops and plants.

Keep GM crop at
Three hundred meters distance?
How did one fix this?

Three thousand meters
Bees pollinate brinjal at
This isolation!

Are we being taken
For a Bt Brinjal ride?
Who benefits please?

Crop isolation
Seems unnatural indeed
In Indian Regions

If one has to save
Rich wholesome traditionals
For use for all time.

Look no farther than
West Bengal’s hundred species
Grown on the margins

Ground realities
Make GM crops not needed
No utility

Origin centric
Bt Brinjal prohibit
Ignorant action

.
Unacceptable
In diversity centric
India, one with Mother Earth.

Critical warning
Solanaceae family
May become poisoned

Threatening safety
Of life as we know it here-
With Bt Brinjal

Most nations preempt
Growing GM crops and save
Traditional crops.

Follow wise counsel
Ban Bt Brinjal Bharat
Save ecology.

Human Feed Study:
Intestinal bacteria
Has GM food’s gene

The inserted gene!
Continues to function there
Making pesticides.

Our intestines
Live pesticide factories
For the rest of life

These GM proteins
Potentially risk health
Need long term studies

US health review:
Grave doubts about GM foods
Moratorium!

Small scale farms and
Agro-ecologicals
Not GM, the way

Thus beat poverty
And hunger with full stomachs
Ban Bt Brinjal.

Planning Commission:
Review GM policies
Acts, laws and Rules

Its Task Force Recoms:
No commercial release
Till rules are in place.

But government has allowed
Open field trials of rice
Inexcusable.

Also of mustard
Pigeon pea to be followed
By wheat, pulses, fruits!

GEAC failed!
Research papers shun GM:
Its too dangerous:

There’s ignorance on
Fate of soil microbials,
Of soil nutrients.

There’s ignorance on
Cattle microflora’s fate
Precaution is wise.

It is possible
GM corn and soy have caused
US health problems.

Bt Brinjal shunned
By Monsanto-Mahyco’s
Biosafety facts!

So analysts found:
From facts released publicly
By Supreme Court PIL.

Recommendation:
Ban Bt Brinjal: Health risk:
For living beings great.

Only ninety days:
Longest toxicity tests
Effects ten years down?

Can cancers be caused?
Would gen-next suffer ill health
Fed on GM foods?

Tests have not answered
Such grave critical questions
Ban Bt Brinjal

To get at the truth:
You renounce all attachment
Do double blind tests!

Engineered GMs’
Base is imperfect knowledge:
Separateness is the truth

Truth: One changeless life
In all; interconnected
Are the separate.

Traditional crops
Harmonise with nature
Assuring good health.

Tradition’s success
Lies in designing around
Micro-ignorance.

Tradition’s practice:
Produce, consume and return
Self -Sufficient!

GM’s changes
Infinite from nature’s forms
Invasive learning

Mistakes may be large:
Nature’s intrinsic control’s
Reactions unknown

Thus GM’s safety
Cannot be truly tested
Except by long use!

Defeat the modern
Prevent the inferior
From disturbing peace!

Protect tradition
Let the eighty percent still
Have those priceless seeds.

Ban Bt Brinjal
Protect right to eat brinjal
Of consumers’ choice

Scientifically
GM is unsafe for foods
Protect consumers.

Vegetable marts
Labeling impossible?
If so ban GM

GM promoters!
Principle of precaution!
Uphold People’s right.

KIA’s terror
Deepens biotech market
Yes, by true witchcraft

KIA Nuke Deal
Monstrous errors: Terrors they!
Irreversible!

Ban Bt Brinjal
In the public interest
Of Jagat Mata.

References:
1. Bharat Mansata.2010.Open Letter to Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister for Environment and Forests.
GOI.Personal Communication.
2. SG Vombatkere. 2010. Personal Communication on People’s Rights regarding GM Food Health and
Safety.
3. Ashok Kumar, R.1986.Modern and Normal Civilisations.Link:
http://modernandnormal.blogspot.com/