“Betrayal of People's Trust” - Green-lighting GMOs in India
By Colin Todhunter
25 July, 2014
Countercurrents.org
The Indian government is facing strong opposition for its decision to allow field trials of genetically modified (GM) crops. The Coalition for a GM-Free India is calling the approvals ‘hasty' and has asked the Minister for Environment, Forests & Climate Change to cancel them.
Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM) is the economic wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) - the parent body of the BJP party. It has termed the decision of the Narendra Modi BJP central government as a “betrayal of people's trust.”
Ashwani Mahajan, All India co-convener of SJM says:
The GEAC has reportedly approved 60 out of 70 applications for the field trials of GM crops, despite the Supreme Court appointed Technical Expert Committee (TEC) already having submitted its report based on sound science and factual data that strongly recommends the stopping of all such field trials [1].
A statement by the SJM reads:
The BJP had promised in its election manifesto that GM food will not be allowed without evaluation of its long-term effects.
The statement continues:
The Coalition for a GM-Free India says:
“When most countries around the world are not adopting this risky technology which has a large number of attendant risks to health, environment, and livelihoods, and when several credible official bodies in India have asked for a stopping of field trials, it is extremely irresponsible that our apex biotechnology regulator has thrown such caution to the winds to approve open air field trials.”
Despite election promises, the Modi-led government has signaled its intention of fast-tracking GM technology, despite the TEC recommendations and two reports by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture advocating a moratorium and adequate regulatory structures free from conflicts of interest, independent scientific expertise and rigorous scientific studies be implemented.
The prevailing structures are based on too cosy a relationship between compliant bureaucrats and the biotech industry [2], which has in any case already been granted a firm strategic hold over agricultural policy and research in India [3].
The GMO biotech sector's smokescreen of benevolence
The often-made claim is that GMOs are required to feed India's huge population. The profit-driven biotech sector which seeks monopolistic control over the world's food [4] often likes to hide behind a smokescreen of benevolence. D ilnavaz Variava has worked for a range of organizations, including the World Wildlife Fund India , where she was chief executive, and the Bombay Natural History Society. She has also served on several federal government committees as well as one in Maharashtra for the development of agriculture. She says:
She also claims that in places where GMOs have been adopted, food insecurity has risen:
This is of little concern to the powerful biotech lobby and its compliant bureaucrats and politicians. Money talks and wealth buys political influence. That much is true in the US [6] as it appears to be increasingly the case in India, where the story of GMOs is one of violations, conflicts of interest and blatant disregard of biosafety norms [7].
Colin Todhunter : Originally from the northwest of England, Colin Todhunter has spent many years in India. He has written extensively for the Deccan Herald (the Bangalore-based broadsheet), New Indian Express and Morning Star (Britain). His articles have also appeared in various other newspapers, journals and books. His East by Northwest website is at: http://colintodhunter.blogspot.com
Notes
[1] http://www.countercurrents.org/rodrigues120813.htm
[2] http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/editorial-dnaedit-tearing-hurry-2004462
[3] http://www.globalresearch.ca/monsanto-controls-both-the-white-house-and-the-us-congress/5336422
[4] http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/07/26/monsanto-seeks-to-control-worlds-food/
[5] http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2013/09/22/gm-crops-wont-solve-indias-food-crisis/
[6] http://www.globalresearch.ca/monsanto-controls-both-the-white-house-and-the-us-congress/5336422
[7] http://indiagminfo.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/FTs-of-GMOs-kk-biosafety-course.pdf
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