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News Flash! – Expert committee rigged! Aruja Reddy, the chairman of expert committee, concedes in public, that necessary tests were not done! Watch videos on CNN IBN – [1] [2]. Detailed post on the scandal by Devendar Sharma can be found here.
At least 10 reasons to say no to Bt-Brinjal – ACT NOW!
A few months ago, a nation-wide campaign opposing Genetically Modified (GM) crops, under the banner of ‘I am no lab rat‘, was launched. GM food is created by taking genes from organisms like bacteria, spiders, etc and forcibly inserting them into the genome of brinjals, potatoes, corn etc., so the vegetables develop certain new traits. When GM food was tested on rats, the results were alarmingly negative. Evidence linked GM with stunted growth, impaired immune systems and even inter-generational effects. Recent Australian government study reports [1 & 2] have also confirmed that GM foods affect fertility. Moreover, it’s extremely difficult to honor the right of a farmer to stay away from GM. Segregation of a GM farm from (say) an organic one requires a good deal of spacing between them(due to cross-pollination), which is pretty hard to ensure in India. This directly translates to the breach of the consumer’s right to choose the type of food they want (GM or non-GM).
The campaign’s most pressing objective is to prevent the entry of Bt Brinjal in India, for which your help is indispensable. On October 14th 2009, the regulators1 of the Government of India have cleared Bt Brinjal, for commercial cultivation. The Government of India is to now decide on its commercial release after holding consultations with all stakeholders in January and February 2010. To begin with, please sign an online petition here or use this pdf file as petition to e-mail/fax it to PM & MoEF (address in the end). I too was skeptical of the efficacy of such ways of campaigning, but I have changed my mind since I came to know that following 70000 petitions sent by concerned citizens like us, Union Health Minister Ramadoss came out expressing strong concerns about GM food. Those interested in participating in this campaign can leave a comment here or e-mail us at iamnolabratdelhi@gmail.com .
In case you still have reservations about the threat posed by GM for you as a food consumer, these might help:
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GM food has already been banned/restricted in the Europian Union, Japan, South Korea and many countries in Africa. Here is an Anti-GM petition being sent to President Obama in the US.
- Dr Pushpa M Bhargava, the Supreme Court-appointed special invitee to the 30-member GEAC, has on various platforms objected(with scientific evidences) to introducing GM products in the country, citing health and bio-security issues.
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A few years back BT Cotton (from corporate giant Monsanto) was introduced to India. Hundreds of laborers picking cotton and working in cotton ginning factories developed allergic reactions while handling the BT cotton. This never occurred with any non-Bt variety.There are many laborers who don’t go to work unless they’ve first taken an antihistamine. We have repeatedly heard of the death of sheep and goats when left to graze in the Bt Cotton fields of India. It is estimated that ~2500 sheep died in AP within a short span. Medical investigators found black patches in their intestines, livers, etc. The govt of Andhra Pradesh is now advising farmers not to allow their animals to graze on Bt cotton fields. More about Bt Cotton: BT sins… Itchy scars!, Impact of Bt Cotton on Farmers’ Health[More]
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The Bt Gene that was introduced in Bt Cotton was drawn from a soil bacterium. The same gene, despite all the above-mentioned, proven hazards, is being pushed in Brinjal, which is how the name Bt Brinjal was coined. So far, the damaging gene was constrained to cotton only, keeping most of us relatively safe, but now with Bt Brinjal, they are aiming directly at your body!
- Another independent analysis of the `Effects on Health and Environment of Transgenic (genetically modified) Bt Brinjal’ conducted by Prof. Gilles-Eric Seralini of France concluded that Bt Brinjal’s release could pose a risk to health and the environment.
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The science behind GM may be intellectually intriguing, but it surely is NOT fool-proof (which is what makes as lab rats – samples to experiment upon).
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GM crops are also not a solution to world hunger. Even today we produce much more food than needed to feed the entire world, but several political and economic factors ensure that the food doesn’t reach everybody [more].
More resources to refer:
Indiagminfo, AID India Wiki on GM foods, 10 reasons to say no to Bt-Brinjal, Devendar Sharma’s Blog, GM Watch
Videos : Poison on the Platter, Controlling our food
*Kindly raise your concerns by sending the fax/e-mail/post at below addresses/numbers: 23014481. You can use this as a reference for your petition:
1. Mr. Jairam Ramesh,
Hon’ble Minister of State (Independent charge)
Ministry of Environment & Forests (MOEF)
Paryavaran Bhavan; CGO Complex, Lodhi Road; New Delhi – 110003, India
Email: mosef@nic.in
Tel: +91-11-24361727 , Fax: +91-11-24362222
2. Dr Manmohan Singh,
Hon’ble Prime Minister of India,
# 7, Race Course Road; New Delhi 110001.
Phone: 011-23018939/23011156; Fax: 011-23015603, 011-23019545,
011-23016857, 011-23014255
Email:pmosb@pmo.nic.in, pmindia@pmindia.nic.in, manmohan@sansad.nic.in
3. Smt Sonia Gandhi,
Chairperson, United Progressive Alliance (UPA),
# 10, Janpath, New Delhi 110011
Phone: 011-23014161; 011-23012656; Fax: 011-23018651; 011-23017047
Email: 10janpath@vsnl.net, soniagandhi@sansad.nic.in
Filed under: Agriculture, Civic Issues, Environment, General Issues | Tagged: Ban GM, Bt Brinjal, Bt cotton, devendar sharma, expert committee rigged, GEAC, Genetically modified, GM food, iamnolabrat, kavitha, labrat, monsanto, petition, Pushpa M Bhargava, scorpion gene
ugh that’s terrible!! is this food cheaper?
Hi Roopa,
This food is neither cheap nor of better quality (as they claim). Bt cotton was the first GM food (legally) introduced in India by Monsanto, and ever since Indian agriculture has witnessed the worst of its times, as I’ve already stated in the post. Now Monsanto has come up with a Brinjal that has same Bt bacteria and hence it’s coined as Bt Brinjal! So you can imagine what’s gonna happen next.
This is just a beginning, and if we don’t stop this, more such damaging varieties will enter Indian market.
They claim that yield would increase with Bt variety, but it didn’t happen that way, instead it damaged the land badly. You can also check the videos here: http://sejswhirlpool.wordpress.com/2008/09/23/i-want-my-father-back/.
[...] Sejal demands that the world should know this: Three months ago, a nation-wide campaign opposing Genetically Modified (GM) crops, under the banner of ‘I am no lab rat‘, was launched. GM food is created by taking genes from organisms like bacteria, viruses, spiders, scorpions and forcibly inserting them into the genome of brinjals, potatoes, corn etc., so the vegetables develop certain new traits. When GM food was tested on rats, the results were alarmingly negative. [...]
of course, I’ll have to add you!! not a question. that’s a given.
when i get around to doing it. i once used to use google reader … and then i added too many people on it … it got a bit overwhelming and i deleted all. now i gotta make a fresh new list of people who i actually want to read everyday … and then another list of people i’d like weekly updates for.
hmm yeah i saw that video. terrible. a friend somewhere said:
women are getting lynched some place … other place a woman is giving birth to 8 kids using IVF when she already has six at home with no father in sight … a 13 year old is giving birth to a child to live on welfare … and so on …. when will the asteroid come hit us? it’s about time human civilization ended.
ouch i said heh … but really!!! why are we humans playing with nature like this?
To all the readers:
I have updated more links pointing to the facts and study reports (by Australian government and an independent study by a university in France) for Bt Brinjal.
i fully endorse the compain against the genetically modified food and fully with you .do write if iam of any service,thanks
Hello Sejal.
Thanks for visiting my blog. You have a very informative one here. I live in Bangalore, but am not part of any organization yet; just support from the outside.
GM Food is nothing more than an Eugenics programme whose only purpose is to kill the eighty percent of the world’s population that thge world elites want shot of, to be replaced by either (a) robots or (b) serfdom for all.
http://thegeorgiaguidestones.com/index2.htm
You in India get GM foods, we in the west processed foods and fluoride in the water, we all get the poisonous vaccines and trashy pharmaceutical medicines – – amounts to the same thing.
Good luck with your campaign.
prisonplanet.net
infowars.com
tarpley.net
cloakanddagger.de
i don’t think so sending mail and fax won’t work or prevent bt cotton.our scientists and politicians are under the MNC’S.we can prevent these poisons only by creating awareness among the farmers.Also many biotechnology students are under a false illusion have to change that too.
Hi Selva,
Thanks for visiting the blog. You are right, petitions or fax ‘alone’ can’t do much, but combining them with other awareness generation tools and advocacy methods do work. We sent numerous petitions to former union health minister, and he did come out clear about his stand on Bt-brinjal. Yes, we are also working on generating awareness amongst farmers and consumers.
Which city do you reside, may be we can connect you to some place where you too can contribute.