International Conference on Two Decades of the GMO Free Movement
Posted on Thursday, April 15th, 2010
Celebrating Success, Securing the Future
Organized by Navdanya/Research Foundation for Science Technology and Ecology (RFSTE) jointly with: International Commission for the Future of Food, ARSIA Region of Tuscany (Italy), Centre for Food Safety (USA), Save our Seeds (Germany), Diverse Women for Diversity, Initiative for Health, Equity and Society.
Relying on GM Crops to Battle Climate Change ‘Suicidal,’ Indian Activist Charges
Posted on Thursday, March 18th, 2010
(Published on Monday, March 15, 2010 by Reuters AlertNet)
By Laurie Goering
Photo by jankie
LONDON – Faced with growing demand for food and increasingly unpredictable weather, many developing nations are debating whether to relax restrictions on the use of genetically modified crops.
Seed developers promise that a coming generation of genetically modified (GM) food crops will have climate-resilient features, from drought resistance to saltwater tolerance.
But widespread adoption of GM varieties by small farmers would be “suicidal in terms of climate change,” said Vandana Shiva, an Indian social activist, environmentalist and proponent of small-scale farming.
Democratic Choice
Posted on Thursday, March 11th, 2010
By Dr. Vandana Shiva
Biotech technicians neither have the knowledge of gene ecology nor the expertise in multiple disciplines
Photo by IRRI Images
After the minister of environment Jairam Ramesh announced a moratorium on Bt brinjal, article after article in the media has denounced the decision, saying such decisions should be left to ‘scientists.’ The issue is however not science vs anti-science. It is reductionist science vs systems science. The moratorium took into account the best of science.
Many scientists have called for caution and for full and independent assessment. Dr Pushpa Bhargava, the leading scientist who established genetic engineering in India, has been the most vocal voice against Bt brinjal. The so called ‘scientists’ speaking most vociferously for Bt brinjal are in fact ‘technicians’ who are using an outmoded reductionist science to develop GM crops for corporations like Monsanto/Mahyco.
BBC World News Interview with Dr. Vandana Shiva
Posted on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
Ban Bt Crops
Posted on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
We Need a Ban on Bt crops in light of Monsanto admitting that BT cotton has failed to control the Bollworm.
The public hearings on Bt Brinjal organised by the Ministry of Environment led to a Moratorium on BT Brinjal. The Moratorium is already under threat, with the Agriculture Minister and the Minister of Science and Technology trying to put pressure on the Prime Minister to allow the commercialisation of BT Brinjal by Monsanto and Mahyco.
Architecture of Food Dictatorship
Posted on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
The Biotechnology Regulatory Authority Bill 2009
By Dr. Vandana Shiva
Photo by Joe Athiali
On 9th February, the Environment Minister of India Jairam Ramesh announced a Moratorium on Bt. Brinjal as a result of public hearings organised across the country. The democratic voice of the people of India and of independent scientists was a clear “No” to Bt. Brinjal and to GM foods. People’s voice was joined by the voice of the States, exercising their right under the Constitution under which Agriculture is a State subject.
There is now an attempt to silence the voice of independent science and democracy and institutionalize an architecture of dictatorship through the proposed Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill 2009.
Developers cannot be Regulators
Posted on Thursday, February 18th, 2010
The Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill 2009 is nothing but a proposal for deepening the Regulatory Chaos and the Crisis Created by Conflict of Interest
By Dr. Vandana Shiva
The proposed Biotechnology Regulatory Authority Bill of India, 2009 (BRAI) which is a new version of the older National Biotechnology Regulatory Bill, 2008 is a recipe for deepening the regulatory chaos as well as deepening the crisis created by conflict of interest issues related to issues of genetic engineering
Dismantling Democracy, Science and the Public Interest to put GMO’s on Fast Track
Posted on Thursday, February 18th, 2010
Reflections on the Proposed National Biotechlogy Regulatory Authorigy (NBRA) and National Biotechnology Regulatory Bill, 2008
By Dr. Vandana Shiva
Genetically Engineered Organisms (GMOs) are transgenic organisms made by introducing genes across species boundaries. Thus Bt. Cotton, or Bt. Rice or Bt. Brinjal has genes for a toxin taken from a soil bacteria and put into the food crop. In addition, GMO’s use anti-biotic resistance markets, viral promoters and cancer genes as vectors. These new genes can have risks for public health and the environment. Ensuring safety in the context of genetically engineered organisms is referred to as Biosafety.
Video on the Health Implications of Bt Technology
Posted on Friday, February 12th, 2010
The Moratorium on Bt Brinjal is an invitation to further educate yourself about the implications of Bt crops and other genetically modified foods. Watch the video below to hear Dr.Vandana Shiva (Navdanya/Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology) and Mira Shiva (Doctors for Food Safety and Biosafety) highlight a few of the specific hazards of GMOs.
Navdanya Announces International GMO Conference in New Delhi
Posted on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
