My purpose is sheer popular science. Newspapers leave an impression that the debate is purely party-level politics, leaving the uninitiated quite perplexed as why such news is prioritized(read campaigning, they do take sides blatantly). In it’s silent surfacing, I had been an outsider, and a couple of days back, went nuts as-to why our hon’ble food minister is really blind to the HEALTH of Indians. Taking sides in this has been a priority, and that is (not a faint ‘may-have-been’) the reason why the relevant, yet not so difficult questions are still crying alone. I’ll pick up 2 subtler issues in passe. To do what my predecessors haven’t, and as a matter of their ideology couldn’t (I feel this, is dogmatism), but more importantly to suggest an alternative construal, I tried to trace this to it’s land of origin. The US.
In the Us, contrary to what one is usually told, consumers, and scientists are usually fine with GM foods. The kind of conservatism that we see with Europe is sheer protectionism, an usual practice we get to see there. When I Googled ‘GM foods’ with ‘Us’ , except some non-us based sources, I started getting more information on Gm crops as a whole. I can conclude that it is definitely not that what the Us is doing is simply dumping the crop. It is quite popular there as opposed to what some SA leaders believe, and the Gm we actually succeeded in rejecting was our own, developed by Dharwar and Pusa institutes of Agriculture. So is the fact that the capital, specially Knowledge was imported from some MNC. Knowledge was actually Joint Ventured (exchange of data took place) with a conglomerete which included Cornell University, California, etc. which means the kind of brinjal that would have been cultivated here would have been no worse that happens there, and we can not conclude that GM foods are either dumped, or are hyper-allergic, unpopular in US, or that our economy, which I found was a sort of misused Carcinerating argument in Economics, that our economy would get dependant on US MNCs for our brinjal. We definitely ended up supporting an anti GM campaign hosted by the EU, and many researches sponsored by them. Why european nations dumped Gm is also based on their less population, and urge to keep price of food high, as well as discourage food trade with US. The chances of BT protein being hyper- allergenic in humans remains uncertain. While alternative theories to the case in
Well to survive, we need new technologies, hybrids, Gms etc. It’s how we get it and implement it. I have no issues with an anti-Mahyco campaign if that arises. It is politicaly high handed and people do have tales about it’s murking past. But in the present case we are dealing with off course not Mahyco but GOI, as well. The issues are worse off course if Goi has entered into very secretive Mou’s with Mahyco’s regarding studies etc, which seems not to be in the present case.
But technology has to be brought in to improve the stage of productive forces. I do not write here as an expert in Gentics, but I do not know why these scietists at premier intsitutes should less credible than politicians. Think of it, once we used to say similar things about Computers. These machines have helped us to increase the number of Engineers and have increased the salary, contrary to predictions of skilled labour, because They imbibe work experience relate and contact using these machinces. Life has changed since It has come. We stood up against all these. But it was healthy we made laws. Only when we made these sectors healthy, we made progress. We need to know exactly what seeds are realeased. Duplication is an issue, but more importantly is one of adulteration, right selling of rejects through spurious channels(which can interestingly happen even now, chances are greater)! The Govt. of India kept loose control over such movements. It could at least start activism on net, hire scientists to distribute and decipher lab reports. The proper tests should hae been made. The MOef’s site comes only on 3rd page of google. So are most of the sites that have made a comprhensive study. The Hindu says minister stayed it because states pressurised him. And he quotes flawed up statements like baseline susseptibility. Like antibiotics, Bt is just the begining. Celebrating it as a winning of democracy was the flaw. We couldn’t know our system is maligning. These very people who stood up against GM food in India, would buy Radiological preserved, and Gms, as gifts when it comes to Imported fruits,…… When money is taken our industries might be (not always) sold, when gifts are accpeted it might be against favors or to open markets, when some work is done jointly, it is partnership, and nature teaches us that we have limited scope to choose partners..
Commercial testing of a seed on which so much was spent was definitely a step forward, and why would it wipe away ordinary brinjal?There is no reason why man cannot interfere into natural produce. Don’t cook your food, you’ll die young. The logic of Wise man failed in Internet, and media. The world’s economic setup has progressed much beyond the ambit of simple conspiracy theory, to the world of complex relations only because each day the setup complicates, and with it the theory. In such a scenario, we are in serious shortage of critiques , in popular media on one hand, and on the other of misreadings the GOI’s policy. The Government stayed clear of the circles, willfully. Alas a political party goes on in time, and the GOI has the kind of longivity that Entreprises never have, to recoup losses! Off course and then we could have had GM wheat etc. Since there would have been reduced agricultural uncertainty in Brinjal, the landlords, tenants and farmers would benefit while poor ones would get superb insurance. And let me state it, ‘Off course even as Indians, we need more food’, whose productivity has been on a decline since last decade mainly due to market failures, a thing most expert in Agro-sciences would nod on. The only issue remains effects on health vis-a vis other safe foods. Also effects on patients with cancers and alleriges. I do not think BT brinjal is as harmful as many of the tendencies are, it is a recluse, from pesticide resistant seed to pest resistant seed: something that would have adversed Pesticide companies, but also our dependance on West. Once even I was irked asto why the Goi has no issues on the Health of the nation. Why did it not realise deeper issues, for example urea injections, seed duplications etc., why did it confuse all arguments together? Was it planning a staged exit? So we can injest more worms, more pesticides, and worms,? (We know that NGO’s lunches are never free.) Today, I know nobody has.…
@Antigravi ty
mahyco had operated in several names earlier, and marathi locals not only dis regard it’s ownership, but also it’s double intent at absorbing subsidy from goi in name of technology, as well as helping to create local cheaper and poorer brands of hybrids,resulting in poor agricultural performance. It’s nature of operation is politically high-handed and it’s committment to quality highly questionable. Mahyco has indian genes, interestingly. But why International capital flows into Indian agriculture would be better judged than a mere aim at keeping India’s productivity at poor prices and worsening terms of trade, that would sell of jobs to INdia to rather see The vast ocean of Indian Agriculture as a consumer and profit out of it. As long as using these products, Indian Agriculturists regain more than the costs involves, I wont say ’surplus’, it would benefit INdians as well. In short when we buy, we should concentrate on buying good things.With the Kind of urbanisation and Post fordist organisation of Capital, as well as change in local factors of nations, mainly political, adaptation to international fashion, depletion of labour unions role etc, makes the old construct of political dominant pattern uncertain, We thus need to update out understanding as well as come to terms with the fact there are capitalists anyways. The intents in general could be as vicious as domestic owner, but would be essentially in polical wrap-up; the investment was impartial, just a family tie up in busiess. Here, it was Pest resistant technology, a pro Indian thing, people from GE would understand, as it is not funded by Chemical manufacturers of the west and an Idea craved by many Indian bio-technologists. A good thing was happenning headed by GOI.
I agree. Even as we fight over BT Brinjal we are munching on preservatives and pesticide laced agri produce. It takes years of research and toxicity testing before a company brings out a product like BT, and the original reason thought was in fact to minimise the use of pesticides. Sadly, had BT been promoted by tiny Indian companies, there would be no incentive for activism and hence…Anyways I guess we’d rather eat the worm with the brinjal wouldn’t we?
So much for a country steeped in starvation..
Dont know what to say…….. it remains an issue to see whether health is affected by these modified seeds and foods. As off now i feel some of the modified vegetables have lost their flavour………… lets have more evidence about their ill effects. The hormonal injections in animals and live stock, irrate use of pesticides, food stuff laced with chemicals makes us really think as to where we are heading ……. nice read.
I am sorry had envisioned this article a couple of weeks ago, being a student of Industrial Organisation and International Trade, but health not permitting, and resources constrained, the article kept on pending and redrafting and shortening. The last is “must and is…” this. Further activists are requested to keep this alive by adding up shortcomings and pisting comments on my flaws. I’m sure it’ll revive