TO: Shri JairamRamesh, Minister for Environment & Forest, Government of India
FROM: Indian Youth Climate Network
DATE: January 29, 2010
SUBJECT: Genetically Modified food is not the answer to Climate change induced crisis.
Genetically modified crop has long been seen as the technological solution to crop losses due to diseases, pests and climate change as well as stagnating yields. Only one GM crop, Bt. cotton, has been introduced in India so far with limited success. Now, as the country readies itself to grow the first GM food crop, Bt. Brinjal, we ask that all considerations regarding its safety and efficacy be considered along with the alternative (to GM crop) viable options before embarking on commercialization of the technology.
The context
We the Youth of India strongly feel that not all alternatives and aspects have been considered before the introduction of GM crops in India. Given that a large part of agriculture in the country is still sustainable agriculture (not commercial farming) we need to give due considerations to implications of this technology, its numerous facets– the situation worldwide, the role of the USA and big transnational companies, the productivity and chemical use of GM crops, food safety issues involved and so on. Studies worldwide have shown limited success of GM food crops, some like the recent study by Professor Gilles-Eric Seralini of the France-based CRIIGEN pointed out that Bt. brinjal had not been properly tested from the safety and environmental point of view. He further observed that in feeding trials significant differences were noted in animals fed with Bt. brinjal compared to those fed non-Bt. brinjal. Differences that he concluded ‘raise food safety concerns and warrant further investigation. The GM Bt. brinjal should be considered as unsuitable for human and animal consumption.’
Agricultural technologies by virtue of scale leave a large impact on populations and each technology will affect different regions and communities differently. Besides, as consumers, the safety of food is of general concern. Without a broad and comprehensive impact assessment, no decision-making can be sound with regard to this technology.
Studies on Bt. cotton show variable and conflicting results with heavy use of pesticide and even crop failures. With GM food like Bt Brinjal, the very health of the country might be at stake. We therefore urge you to consider alternatives to GM crops like organic farming, crop diversification, and change in the consumer behaviour before allowing the entry of GM food in India.
Does the world really need GM crops and foods?
There is ample evidence that other options, including organic farming, will address food security and livelihood security imperatives as well, as also be viable options in an era of climate change. The International Assessment on Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) process has concluded that smallholder ecological farming is the best option for this planet. It is, therefore, obvious that the only conceivable reason for pushing GM crops and foods is the business opportunity it offers to seed corporations and biotech firms.
To cite an example from the ground, women farmers from all over Andhra Pradesh, supported by the Department of Rural Development, are taking the lead in implementing what is probably the world’s largest state-supported ecological farming project called ‘Community Managed Sustainable Agriculture’. These women have shown that pest management in farming is fairly simple to manage provided appropriate extension and other support systems are developed. This experience of non-chemical farming on a whopping 15 lac acres proves that farming without chemicals or GM seeds is indeed possible and that it is only a matter of political will.
Cited from a paper by Kavitha Kuruganti, Member-Secretary, Coalition for a GM-Free India, Jaitu, Faridkot