September 21, 2016 12:00 PM

लखनऊ। देश के सबसे बड़े किसान यूनियनों के संगठन ने जीएम सरसों के खिलाफ मोर्चा खोल दिया है। 'किसान एकता' नाम बैनर तले हाल ही में देश के सबसे बड़े किसान नेता इकट्ठा हुए और उन्होंने जीएम सरसों के रूप में खेती के आगे खड़ी विशालकाय चर्चा पर मंथन करते हुए ये ऐलान किया है कि यह संगठन जीएम सरसों को देश में लागू करने की सरकार की महात्वाकांक्षा का विरोध करता है।

September 21, 2016 10:44 AM

The Union of Latin American Scientists Committed to Society and Nature (UCCSN-AL) has rejected Tuesday the recent letter signed by several Nobel Prize laureates in favor of genetically modified crops and the transgenic rice called “golden rice.”

September 21, 2016 08:15 AM

The secrecy surrounding the decision about GM Mustard is unacceptable on moral and scientific grounds. The GEAC must debate and decide openly.

September 20, 2016 09:32 PM

The CPI(M)-led LDF government in Kerala today opposed the cultivation of Genetically Modified mustard in the country and demanded that the Centre withdraw sanction for its cultivation.

September 20, 2016 12:00 PM

In times of rural distress, it’s important that the debate around GM technology combines talks about food safety issues with their sociological ramifications.

September 20, 2016 12:00 PM

At a time, when the use of Genetically Modified (GM) mustard has triggered a major controversy in the country, an international study says that widespread adoption of genetically modified crops may have reduced the use of insecticides, but increased the use of herbicides as weeds become more resistant.

September 20, 2016 10:20 AM

Global oilseed, agribusiness and biotech corporations are engaged in a long-term attack on India's local cooking oil producers. In just 20 years, they have reduced India from self-sufficiency in cooking oil to importing half its needs. Now the government's attempts to impose genetically modified (GM) mustard seed threaten to wipe out a crop at the root of Indian food and farming traditions.

September 19, 2016 03:43 AM

The Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM), the economic wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, on Sunday reiterated its opposition to genetically modified crops in the Indian market.

In a national symposium with scientists, academics and activists, some with leftist background, at Keshav Bhavan, the RSS headquarters here, the SJM opposed the possible announcement of “environmental release” of GM mustard.

The speakers explained in detail how GM crop may affect the entire ecosystem if companies manufacturing GM crops are given access to Indian market. They appealed to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government to refrain from creating a market for multinational companies.

September 18, 2016 12:00 AM

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala has written to the Prime Minister calling for detailed studies before the environmental release of GM mustard in India.

He urged the government to ensure the necessary safeguards before releasing the new varieties. — Special Correspondent

September 18, 2016 12:00 AM

Mainstream, VOL LIV No 39 New Delhi

COMMUNICATION

The debate about the genetically modified (GM) mustard variety called transgenic mustard hybrid (DMH-11) has now reached a critical stage and very high-power efforts are being made to get it approved as India’s first GM food crop variety. Several scientists, farmers’ organisations, environment and health activists have drawn attention to several problems which are specific to this GM crop variety. In petitions sent to the government they have pointed out that DMH-11 testing was absolutely inadequate, incomplete and in some contexts even rigged. They have also pointed to serious lapses in the regulation process, more specifically drawing attention to how the conflict of interests has destroyed public faith in regulation.

This has been confirmed more recently by a report in the Hindustan Times. In a news report, dated September 9, and titled, ‘GM crops: Biotech regulators’ career trajectories show conflict of interest’, Zia Haq has written: “Key officials in India’s biotech regulator, which is preparing to take a decision on genetically modified mustard, are also associated with global organisations that lobby for GM crops, HT has learnt ...Scientists who serve as regulators are mostly GM crop developers themselves, another area of conflict roles.”

September 18, 2016 12:00 AM

शेखर गुप्ता के दैनिक भास्कर में छपे लेख ‘अक्ल पर ताला हो तो विज्ञान कहां जाए?’ में जीएम सरसों के पक्ष में सबसे महत्वपूर्ण तर्क यह है कि यह विदेशी न होकर स्वदेशी है। वर्तमान जीएम सरसों केवल इस रूप में स्वदेशी है कि इस पर पैसा भारत का लगा है और आवेदक भारतीय है परन्तु इसमें प्रयुक्त कम से कम एक जीन के बौद्धिक सम्पदा अधिकार उस बहुराष्ट्रीय कम्पनी 'बेयर' के पास हैं जो भारत में उस खरपतवारनाशक की सबसे बड़ी विक्रेता है जिसके प्रति इस जीएम सरसों को सहनशील बनाया गया है।

इस को बनाने में प्रयोग की गई विभिन्न जीन सामग्री और प्रक्रियाओं के बौद्धिक सम्पदा अधिकारों की स्थिति अस्पष्ट है क्योंकि जीएम सरसों पर शोध एवं अनुसंधान के लिए किए गए सामग्री हस्तांतरण समझौतों के नियम और शर्तें सार्वजनिक तौर पर उपलब्ध नहीं हैं। इन में प्रयुक्त तकनीक में कम से कम पांच पेटण्ट दिये जा चुके हैं जिन में अमरीका इत्यादि भी शामिल हैं (पूरा विवरण सार्वजनिक नहीं है) वैसे भी दिल्ली विश्वविद्यालय की यह सरसों इस बेयर कम्पनी की उस जीएम सरसों जैसी ही है, जिसे 2002 में नकारा जा चुका है; दोनों में वही तीन जीन डाले गए हैं। स्वदेशी जीएम बाबत दो बातें और; क्या हम किसी ज़हर को इसलिए खा लेंगे कि यह हमारे अपने वैज्ञानिकों ने विकसित किया है? जाहिर है नहीं। दूसरा, इस स्वदेशी जीएम सरसों और जीएम खाद्य पदार्थों का विरोध करने वाले वैज्ञानिक भी स्वदेशी ही हैं और इन में भारत में इस तकनीक के पुरोधा प्रो पुष्प एम भार्गव भी शामिल हैं।

September 17, 2016 10:11 PM

Laxmi Prasanna | THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Scientists and Greens in Kerala have raised concerns over the entry of Genetically Modified (GM) mustard for commercial cultivation as it is close to approval by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC). This is despite the public outcry against entry of GM food.

GM Mustard called `Dhara Mustard Hybrid 11' was developed by Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants (CGMCP), University of Delhi with support from Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). GM Mustard was created by genetically engineering bacterial genes into selected mustard parental lines to create male sterile parent plants and to induce herbicide tolerance. GM crops are already banned in Europe, Japan, China and Gulf countries. Over 54 farm organisations from mustard growing places in the country including Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi have raised their protest.

September 17, 2016 08:07 PM

Subodh Varma | TNN | NEW DELHI: A new study of genetically modified (GM) soybean and maize farming in US has found that even when the insecticide use has dipped, herbicide use has increased considerably, raising environmental concerns. Herbicides are used to kill weeds and the researchers say that its increased use is because of growing resistance among weeds leading to proliferation of 'super-weeds'.

This is the largest study of genetically modified crops and pesticide use till date. It was led by Federico Ciliberto, alongside Edward D Perry of Kansas State University, David A Hennessy of Michigan State University and GianCarlo Moschini of Iowa State University. The four economists studied annual data from more than 5,000 soybean and 5,000 maize farmers in the US from 1998 to 2011, far exceeding previous studies that have been limited to one or two years of data.

September 17, 2016 05:45 AM

Thiruvananthapuram: Accusing the Union government of cutting corners for the environmental release of Genetically Modified (GM) mustard developed by the University of Delhi, environmental activists have expressed concern over the impact of the new variety on human and animal health, biodiversity and the environment.

In a response submitted to the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the city-based environmental organisation Thanal said the hybrid variety of GM mustard was not needed, unsafe and unsustainable. It accused the committee of thrusting a toxic product on the people, disregarding its impact on future generations.

September 16, 2016 02:00 AM

பல்வேறு அபாயங்கள் அடங்கிய, ஆரோக்கியத் திற்கு கேடு விளைவிக்கக் கூடிய மரபணு மாற்றப்பட்ட கடுகு, நம் சோற்றிலும் கலக்கக் கூடிய அபாயம் உருவாகி உள்ளது.

இந்த வகை கடுகை சாகுபடி செய்ய அனுமதிப் பது பற்றி மத்திய அரசு பரிசீலிக்கிறது. தெரிந்து தான் செய்கிறதா... அதற்கு இப்படி வழிகாட்டு பவர்கள் யார்?