Is The Nation of India Rearing To Kick Monsanto Out?Sayer Ji, Contributor Moreover, in a press conference after the reports release, the panels chair, Basudeb Acharia, said in no uncertain terms: India should not go in for GM food crops. According to the Science articles author, Pallava Bagla, the panels recommendation is being regarded by some as the death knell of the development of genetically modified food crops in India. Dissenting interests, such as Indias chief of crop research, Swapan Dutta, a rice geneticist and deputy director at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, responded to the report by suggesting that if implemented, the panels recommendations would paralyze research and threaten Indias food security, and hope for GM research in India is lost. The Indian government has been sending mixed signals about its commitment to agricultural GM technology. For instance, in 2002 the government approved Bt-toxin carrying cotton as the first GM commercial crop in India. Today, there are over 1100 Bt varieties of GM cotton, accounting for 93% of all the cotton sown in India. The prime minister of India himself, Manmohan Singh, voiced his support for GM crops in a recent interview with Science (24 Feb, p. 907), stating: In due course of time, he said we must make use of genetic engineering technologies to increase the productivity of our agriculture. But, as the Science article points out, Singhs own ministers are not toeing the party line. For instance, in 2010, former environment minister Jairam Ramesh imposed a moratorium on the commercialization of Bt brinjal, a traditional Indian eggplant, even after the ministrys scientific advisory panel had given the GM variety approval. While the primary justification within Indian government for supporting GM agriculture is based on the fact that it has increased production of economically important products such as cotton, which skyrocketed from .02 million hectares in 2002 to 9.33 million hectares in 2011, the latest panels decision was influenced by the fact that all Bt cotton grown commercially in India is derived from technology sold by the multinational food giant Monsanto, who by owning and controlling the seeds has seriously compromised Indias food sovereignty and security. It has been estimated that 70% of Indias 1.2 billion people are farmers who have no alternative but to buy Bt cotton seed from Monsanto. Also, Monsanto relationship to India farmers is already tenuous considering it was accused of biopiracy earlier this year by Indias National Biodiversity Authority.[ii] The panel also stated there is a connection between Bt cotton and farmers suicides, as thousands of indebted farmers in Indias cotton producing regions have committed suicide in a desperate attempt to rid themselves and their families of debt. The next step is for government ministries to digest the panels report and to decide if the reports recommendations, which carry political weight but are not mandatory, will be implemented. The Science article concluded: If the government doesnt make a forceful case for GM crops, Bhan says, there may be no alternative but to stop all use of GM crop technology till it has been totally made in India. And if Monsanto becomes a nuisance, he added, it can be kicked out. [emphasis added] RESOURCES [ii] Lucas Laursen . Monsanto to face biopiracy charges in India. Nat Biotechnol. 2012 ;30(1):11. Epub 2012 Jan 9. PMID: 22231080 This article first appeared at GreenMedInfo. Please visit to access their vast database of articles and the latest information in natural health. linkwithin_text=Related Articles: 