''Bt Brinjal was approved for commercial planting by EC-II under pressure from the Agriculture Ministry as acknowledged by Dr Arjula R Reddy of Genetic Approval Committee, who is also the Chair of the Committee,'' Dr Shiva said.
She said her main concerns were the false scientific assumptions underlying the bio-safety assessment of Bt Brinjal and its impacton organic farmers.
Dr Shiva pointed out, ''So called safety tests were not conducted for transgenic Bt, which includes genes for antibiotic resistance and genes for viral promoters. Instead, the tests were conducted on the safe microbial Bt, used as an organic pesticide for decades.''
They did not look into the risks that transgenic Bt created. This was a ''do not look, do not see, do not find'' policy to create ''deliberate ignorance'' of the risks involved in it, she added.
Refuting the claims made by the EC-II that without genetically engineered Bt crop technology pests could not be controlled, she asserted, ''It is totally false and our farmers produce toxic-free organic brinjal and other vegetables.''
Instead, a survey in Vidharbha showed that pesticide use had increased 13 times in the region since Bt cotton was introduced.
She also alleged that the datas were deliberately changed to favour some foreign organisations, conspiring to hijack the food industry in India.
Stating that the panel did not consider the real alternatives to chemical agriculture, she said, ''Organic farming is a better option than Bt crops to avoid pesticides. Bt cannot be an alternative because it follows the same process like chemical crops do.''
The genes of Bt crops were changed with the help of chemicals, which was equivalent to farming with pesticides, she added.
Many countries had declared such crops as unhealthy and subsequently banned them, while the Government here seemed desparate to adopt it, she exhorted.
The EC-II panel was not even able to make up whether this Brinjal was self-pollinated or cross pollinated. ''How can we put our food security in their hands,'' she questioned.
Dr Shiva called for a moratorium on commercial GM approvals as she said, ''Bt Brinjal should not be introduced in our farms and our kitchens without a proper reassessment.''
The Committee founder continuously asserted her support for the organic farming and when she was asked if it was not costly she said, ''Yes, it is, but the amount of subsidy and infrastructure provided to the pesticide firms is not available for organic farming. Provide it to the organic farming, it would also be economical. Besides, it would not be poisionous like Bt crops.''
Links:
http://topics.treehugger.com/article/08ssaCWbVTfoC
http://news.webindia123.com/news/articles/India/20100112/1423556.html
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