Story at-a-glance
- A five-member Technical Expert Committee (TEC) appointed by the Supreme Court of India unanimously recommended that all GM field trials in India should be stopped until certain conditions have been met
- The Committee also recommended a 10-year moratorium on field trials of all Bt food crops and a moratorium on field trials of herbicide-tolerant crops until an independent assessment has evaluated its “impact” and “suitability”
- Over the past 16 years, it’s estimated that more than a quarter of a million Indian farmers have committed suicide after being convinced to plant Monsanto’s genetically modified (GM) seeds (especially Bt cotton), then having their crops fail, leaving them in financial ruin
- Evidence demonstrates that the claims made that GM foods are safe and beneficial to the environment simply aren’t true
- Americans are currently being kept in the dark regarding GM foods, as they are not labeled despite being found in upwards of 80 percent of processed foods; California stands poised to vote on Proposition 37, which would require GM foods to be labeled, on November 6
By Dr. Mercola
One week from today California voters will vote on Prop 37 and we will see if truth will win out over corporate greed, and hopefully people will finally be given the right to know what is in their food.
The state of affairs in India with respect to GM foods is further validation of the importance of labeling GM foods with Prop 37 in California.
Over the past 16 years, it's estimated that more than a quarter of a million Indian farmers have committed suicide after being convinced to plant Monsanto's genetically modified (GM) seeds (especially Bt cotton), then having their crops fail, leaving them in financial ruin.
Earlier this year, India's National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), a government agency, sued Monsanto, the world leader in GM crops and seeds, and their collaborators, the Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company, for biopiracy, accusing them of stealing local varieties of eggplant to develop a genetically modified version.
It seems now that the country may have had enough, and is citing the precautionary principle in their announcement that all GM field trials should be stopped until certain conditions have been met.
India to Ban Field Trials of GM Crops
In October 2012, a five-member Technical Expert Committee (TEC) appointed by the Supreme Court of India unanimously recommended that all GM field trials in India should be stopped until the following conditions have been met:1
Two other noteworthy recommendations were also included in the TEC report:
- Specific sites for conducting field trials have been designated and certified and sufficient mechanisms for monitoring the trials put in place.
- A panel of scientists, qualified in evaluation of the biosafety data of GM crops, has been engaged for scrutiny and analyses of the safety data.
- Conflict of interest in the regulatory body has been removed.
- The requirement for preliminary biosafety tests prior to field trials including sub-chronic toxicity in small animals has been included.
It seems India is poised to join the ranks of those countries who do not want to use their population and land as guinea pigs to test out GM crops... others who have said "no" to GMOs (genetically modified organisms) include:2
- A 10-year moratorium on field trials of all Bt food crops, based on the overall status of current food safety evaluations for these crops (including data on Bt cotton and Bt eggplant)
- A moratorium on field trials of herbicide-tolerant crops until an independent assessment has evaluated its "impact" and "suitability"
New Zealand: No GM foods are grown there Switzerland: No GM crops, animals and plants until 2013 Germany: No GM corn Madeira: This small Portuguese island has a ban on GM crops Ireland: GM crops were banned for cultivation in 2009, and foods containing GM foods can be voluntarily labeled as such Japan: No GM seeds are planted in the country (but wild contamination from imported GM canola have been found growing near ports) France: Asked the European Commission to suspend Monsanto's authorization to plant GM MON 810 corn, but the EU stepped in and blocked the ban Austria, Hungary, Greece, Bulgaria and Luxembourg: All have bans on both cultivation and sale of GMOs
An Inside Look at India's Struggles With GM Crops
The film Bitter Seeds looks at the beginning of the consumer goods' supply chain – the raw materials – shedding much-needed light on the crisis created by Monsanto's genetically engineered Bt cotton.
The film features Manjusha Amberwar, an 18-year-old Indian village girl who wants to become a journalist in order to expose the severity of the problems caused by Monsanto's seed monopoly scheme. Farming debts claimed the life of her own father, a respected village leader. Manjusha interviews several families of local farmers who resorted to drinking pesticide. One of the village elders told her:
"In my time there were no suicides. Even the poor could survive by working hard. But there are no other seeds available now. Traditional seeds have disappeared. We farmers are illiterates. We follow false advertising like a dog follows bread."What many still do not know is that farming has changed dramatically over the past few decades. Seeds have traditionally been saved and shared between farmers from one harvest season to the next. You rarely ever had to buy new seed. Nature, when left alone, provides you with the means to propagate the next harvest in a never-ending cycle.
In the 1970's, hybrid seeds were introduced into India, promising better yields using chemical fertilizers and insecticides. But it didn't take long before yields began to drop as the agricultural chemicals took their toll on the soils. Farm debts began driving Indian farmers to suicide in 1997, and it hasn't stopped since. In fact, matters have quickly gotten worse in the decade since Monsanto introduced its "revolutionary" Bt cotton, which cannot be saved or shared from season to season, but must be continually repurchased.
Genetically engineered seeds also require expensive agricultural chemicals, and more water – a commodity few farmers have access to unless it rains. Buried in debt and struggling against the rising cost of GM seeds and the chemicals required, combined with failing yields and GE-created super weeds and resistant pests, one Indian farmer now commits suicide every 30 minutes.
Are You Being Fed Lies?
You've probably heard that GM crops are safe and represent the "future of food" – a way to increase crop yields and feed the world. (That is, if you've heard anything at all... many people have heard precious little about GM foods, even though they're already in up to 80 percent of processed foods in the United States.)
Well, the authors of the report GMO Myths and Truths3 (who include Michael Antoniou, PhD, a 28-year veteran of genetic engineering technology who has himself invented a number of gene expression biotechnologies, as well as John Fagan, PhD, a leading authority on food sustainability, biosafety, and GMO testing) took a science-based approach to evaluating the available research, and came to the conclusion that most of the scientific evidence regarding safety and increase yield potential do not support the claims made at all. In fact, the evidence demonstrates that the claims for genetically engineered foods are not just wildly overblown; they simply aren't true... The authors concluded GM crops:
According to their report, there are three potential sources of adverse health effects from genetically engineered foods:
- Are laboratory-made, using technology that is totally different from natural breeding methods, and pose different risks from non-GE crops
- Can be toxic, allergenic and less nutritious than their natural counterparts
- Are not adequately regulated to ensure safety
- Do not increase yield potential
- Do not reduce pesticide use but increase it
- Create serious problems for farmers, including herbicide-tolerant "superweeds," compromised soil quality, and increased disease susceptibility in crops
- Have mixed economic effects
- Harm soil quality, disrupt ecosystems, and reduce biodiversity
- Do not offer effective solutions to climate change
- Are as energy-hungry as any other chemically-farmed crops
- Cannot solve the problem of world hunger but distract from its real causes – poverty, lack of access to food and, increasingly, lack of access to land to grow it on
- The genetically modified gene product – for example, the Bt toxin in GM insecticidal crops may be toxic or allergenic
- The GM transformation process may produce mutagenic effects, gene regulatory effects, or effects at other levels of biological structure and function that result in new toxins or allergens and/or disturbed nutritional value
- Changes in farming practices linked to the use of a genetically modified organism may result in toxic residues – for example, higher levels of crop contamination with the herbicide Roundup are an inevitable result of using GM Roundup Ready® crops
Do You Eat These Common Sources of GM Foods?
If you live in the United States and want to avoid GM crops, it isn't easy because they are already in commercial production – and GM crops are not labeled. According to the Non-GMO Project, GM crops already in production in the U.S. include:4
Alfalfa (first planting 2011) Canola (approx. 90% of U.S. crop) Corn (approx. 88% of U.S. crop in 2011) Cotton (approx. 90% of U.S. crop in 2011) Papaya (most of Hawaiian crop; approximately 988 acres) Soy (approx. 94% of U.S. crop in 2011) Sugar Beets (approx. 95% of U.S. crop in 2010) Zucchini and Yellow Summer Squash (approx. 25,000 acres) Animal products (milk, meat, eggs, honey, etc.) because of contamination in feed
Common ingredients derived from these ubiquitous GM crops, which are added to the majority of U.S. processed foods, include:5
Amino Acids Aspartame Ascorbic Acid Sodium Ascorbate Vitamin C Citric Acid Sodium Citrate Ethanol Flavorings ("natural" and "artificial") High-Fructose Corn Syrup Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein Lactic Acid Maltodextrins Molasses Monosodium Glutamate Sucrose Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) Xanthan Gum Vitamins Yeast Products
Time is Running Out to Help Support GM Labeling With Proposition 37
Currently, a major problem facing Americans is forced ignorance. Even though many are undoubtedly concerned about the environment and the future of their children, they can't opt to avoid GM foods even if they want to, simply because the U.S. refuses to label them.
This must change – and California stands poised to decide the fate of Proposition 37, which would require genetically engineered foods to be identified on the label, on November 6.
Although many organic consumers and natural health activists already understand the importance of Proposition 37, it cannot be overemphasized that winning the battle over Prop 37 is perhaps the most important food fight Americans – not just Californians – have faced so far. But in order to win this fight for the right to know what's in our food, we need your help, as the biotech industry is spending tens of millions of dollars for their propaganda.
Please remember, the ONLY reason they're spending this amount of cash to "inform" you in this debate is because they want to PREVENT you from ever knowing that the foods you buy contain genetically engineered ingredients – and this includes trusted organic and all-natural brands! Ask yourself WHY?
Could it be because dozens of studies have now provided scientific evidence that GE foods cause severe health problems, including multiple organ damage and massive cancerous tumors in the first-ever lifetime feeding study?
The failure or success of this ballot initiative is wholly dependent on your support and funding! There are no major industry pockets funding this endeavor. In order to have a chance against the deep pockets of Big Biotech and transnational food corporations, it needs donations from average citizens.
So please, I strongly encourage you to make a donation to this cause. You can also contact EVERY person you know that lives in California and encourage them to view some of these videos and get educated on the issues so they can avoid succumbing to the propaganda, as Monsanto and company are paying tens of millions of dollars to deceive the voters in California.
We need EVERY vote we can to win in November.
The election is just over ONE week away.
It's important to realize that getting this law passed in California would have the same overall effect as a national law, as large companies are not likely going to label their products as genetically engineered when sold in California (the 8th largest economy in the world), but not when sold in other states. Doing so would be a costly PR disaster. So please, I urge you to get involved and help in any way you can, regardless of what state you live in.
For timely updates, please join the Organic Consumers Association on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter.
- Whether you live in California or not, please donate money to this historic effort, through the Organic Consumers Fund.
- If you live in California and want to get involved, please contact CARightToKnow.org. They will go through all volunteer requests to put you into a position that is suitable for you, based on your stated interests and location.
- No matter where you live, please help spread the word in your personal networks, on Facebook, and Twitter. For help with the messaging, please see CARightToKnow.org.
- Talk to organic producers and stores and ask them to actively support the California Ballot. It may be the only chance we have to label genetically engineered foods.
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