1,500 farmers commit mass suicide in India

I think there are severial types of parasites that can infect a human and increase sucicidal thoughts - I could be wrong, I know some do get instcts and fish to top them selves so the parasite can carry on it's life cycle - Regenesis did a story line on them infecting humans... I was only half watching.

What is they have a simular problem over there? Natural or encouraged by whoever?... - then on top of all your other problems your pre disposed to feeling sucicidal?

Just a thought.

Originally posted by Estharik
Eh maybe the governments want us to see this and hope we stop making tea parties and start having mass suicide parties... make their extermination job easier.

Yeah they made a movie about it.

It is called " One Man, One Cow, One Planet - How to save the World "

How to save the world - w/o quicktime

They will seem a little odd, and a bit flaky, but their results are
impossible to argue with.

I will take a little mysticism if I can get miraculous results they got
from heirloom organic seeds and some esoteric composting techniques.

A lot of ppl do not realize that monsanto made agent orange, and
then made the GM seeds with terminator genes to not provide
seeds for the next years crop.

This is largely why Norway and other decided to build the Doomsday
seed vault in the arctic on the Isle of Svalbard.

The Doomsday seed vault - why I scream for ppl to get heirloom seeds

If you do not prepare for what they are planning in the light of day,
then you will be, but dust in the wind...

The obamas planted a veggie garden at the whitehouse for the first time
in modern history.

Rule # 1 of the Georgia Guidestones - only 500 million ppl on Earth.

Good Luck to all the good ppl !

[edit on 17-4-2009 by Ex_MislTech]

Wanted to post this here. Explains alot about this situation.
Follow the links provided on this page:
survivalacres.com...
Especially read the GM Genocide link! Thanks!

Thought I would shed some light on this:-

This was reported in a new scientist article several years ago, in relation to the impending water shortages around the world, including disappearing glacial waters which also feed these water tables, there is an impending disaster waiting to a happen as India has averted two great population catastrophes - one in the 60/70's with improved wheat strains and then again with the advent of cheap Japanese pumps.

There was a solution found which was from an ancient technique of slowly directing the water around the fields (similar to African sand traps). However they warned that unless drastic action was taken there would be an impending disaster as the table dropped below accessible levels.

On GM crops there are what are known as terminator seeds which will not produce any crop from the initial seed - preventing the tradition of seed harvesting so that traditional societies must purchase seeds every year for every crop.

Then there are what is known as germinator seeds which will not grow without a specific chemical being sprayed (from Monsanto) to initiate the growth cycle. Germinator seeds are of course also terminator seeds.

Monsanto is the visible face of the dark lord itself.

The main reason for the water shortages and the crop failures is due to global climate change.

These farmers rely on rain and wells to irrigate their crops. With increasingly severe summers and more violent monsoons, farmers who have for millenia relied on the weather to water their crops are now unable to cope with these extremes in weather. In time this leads to an increasingly dire financial state with repeated crop failures. Over time, they are forced to borrow in a hope of better rains in the coming months and this in turn burdens them with debt. Finally when they have piled on so much debt that they cannot possibly repay and their crops fail again, they are left no choice but to commit suicide.

There are many reasons for this; Firstly, the farmers themselves are very old fashioned and do not employ the latest agricultural techniques and invest in the latest seeds for their crops. Next, they generally borrow from local money lenders who charge absurd interest rates that they can never possibly repay. Also, there is no concept of crop-insurance to hedge their investments. Add to this the fact that India has very poor irrigation systems to cater to the needs of millions who depend on farming as their livelyhood. Also, the lack of decent financial institutions that provide financial services to farmers and the lack of adequate compensation for their produce is another factor that contributes to their dire economic state.

In short, they are ignorant, illiterate and too old fashioned to improve their lives. Their government also doesnt care enough or is unable to do anything about their problems. It is just illiterate people in a miserable situation with no where to turn to. A recipe for disaster.

Originally posted by IAF101
Firstly, the farmers themselves are very old fashioned and do not employ the latest agricultural techniques and invest in the latest seeds for their crops.

What like those new-fangled Monsanto seeds?

Next, they generally borrow from local money lenders who charge absurd interest rates that they can never possibly repay.

And of course the alternative is to borrow money from banks - those houses of honesty who are the epitome of looking out for the little guy.

In short, they are ignorant, illiterate and too old fashioned to improve their lives. Their government also doesnt care enough or is unable to do anything about their problems. It is just illiterate people in a miserable situation with no where to turn to. A recipe for disaster.

Wait a minute, are describing the American government shafting the American people here or are you talking about India?

A bit rich coming from a country that has 'Farm Aid'.

[edit on 17-4-2009 by Merriman Weir]

[edit on 17-4-2009 by Merriman Weir]

IAF101, get your facts straight , before spewing BS

the problem for the crisis is bt cotton ala Monsanto , i mean manufactured by Monsanto

Bt cotton driving farmers to suicide: Vandana Shiva

Our Bureau

Calls for a movement to reclaim seed sovereignty

Hyderabad , May 18

Noted environment activist Ms Vandana Shiva has alleged that Bt cotton was responsible for the increased cost of farm production and indebtedness of farmers, forcing many of them to end their life.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, she called for a moratorium on cotton planting and an independent study of the socio, economic, environmental and health impacts of Bt cotton.

Ms Shiva was here as part of the 20-day, three-State `beej yatra' to promote `desi seeds' and sustainable agriculture. It would also promote "GMO-free, patent-free, debt-free and suicide-free zones in the country," she said
www.blonnet.com...

i work for a NGO in india ,

[edit on 17-4-2009 by Kombatt98]

Originally posted by Kombatt98
IAF101, get your facts straight , before spewing BS

the problem for the crisis is bt cotton ala Monsanto , i mean manufactured by Monsanto

Bt cotton driving farmers to suicide: Vandana Shiva

Our Bureau

Calls for a movement to reclaim seed sovereignty

Hyderabad , May 18

Noted environment activist Ms Vandana Shiva has alleged that Bt cotton was responsible for the increased cost of farm production and indebtedness of farmers, forcing many of them to end their life.
.........
www.blonnet.com...

i work for a NGO in india ,

I dont care where you work, if you dont even know how GM crops work it just shows how good you are at what you do.

It is common knowledge that GM seeds produce better yields. BT Cotton as the name itself implies is a pest resistant modified cotton. As with any GM pest resistant strains effective pest management programs have to be instituted by those who use these seeds on their crops to maintain sufficient genetic diversity to prevent pest resistance. The whole point of BT cotton is so it is less costly to produce than regular cotton. Improper use is misuse and that is what these ignorant and illiterate farmers have done. The ineffectual and incompetent government they live under also has not bothered to even educate them and only exacerbated the problem. It is not the fault of Monsanto which produces a product that has helped many farmers around the world "who know how to use GM seeds"!

Indian farmers are not the only ones who use Bt cotton, American farmers use GM cotton also. They however KNOW how to use it effectively so as to maintain decent pest diversity and the US FDA also ensures this.

Your ignorant farmers and your ineffectual government are to blame, not Monsanto. Your "environmental activist" is just plain ignorant and stupid. Bt cotton saves farmers extra cost and labor. Farmers who use Bt Cotton need to use less dangerous pesticides and are guaranteed more produce PROVIDED they use the GM seeds properly with proper pest management. Bt Cotton is not some miracle cotton seed, that farmers can just plant roughshod and forget about everything. It involves some planning and some precautions. Moreover nobody forced them to plant something they didnt know how to use. They are free to plant what ever they want. I doubt Mosanto held them at gun point and asked them to plant their Bt cotton.

[edit on 17-4-2009 by IAF101]

Originally posted by Merriman Weir
What like those new-fangled Monsanto seeds?

Just as I mentioned earlier, the farmers are ignorant. They might know about better seeds but they dont know how to use them .

If all the farmers in an area just keep using GM pest resistant seeds and think they dont have to bother about pests anymore, they are NOT using it correctly because in a few generations pests are going to become immune to the toxin and destroy their crops. Pest management is basic knowledge in using GM crops. High yields are achieved but some intelligence is required.
The US FDA and American farmers work together to make sure pests dont become immune to GM introduced toxins negating the effects of GM pest resistant crops.

Originally posted by Merriman Weir
And of course the alternative is to borrow money from banks - those houses of honesty who are the epitome of looking out for the little guy.

Banks are much much safer places to borrow money than from some shady money lender who works outside the law. Moreover lending from banks is all "legal" so there cant do a lot of shady business. Also they can be held accountable in court and money can be extracted from them if they are found to be cheating farmers.

Also, even if farmers default due to drought or something, the government will have a better chance to refinance the debt or provide subsidy to make it easier on the farmers.

Farmers in the 3 rd world either dont have access to banks and financial services or dont know about such services to take advantage of them and instead borrow from shady money-lenders who might threaten their families for the money should they fail to repay and also charge exorbitant interest on the principle.

Originally posted by Merriman Weir
Wait a minute, are describing the American government shafting the American people here or are you talking about India?

A bit rich coming from a country that has needs 'Farm Aid'.

I'm talking about Indian farmers.

Every country subsidizes their farmers one way or the other to maintain sustainable agriculture due to competing subsidies from Asian and European countries and cheaper labor costs in the 3rd world . Do you think India doesnt subsidize their farmers? The Indian government gives a lot of farmers, free water, free electricity, free manure, free seeds also in some cases and most Indian farmers dont even pay tax on their produce.

[edit on 17-4-2009 by IAF101]

reply to post by IAF101


hey corporate parrot , do me a favor and research rather than spewing BS

They however KNOW how to use it effectively so as to maintain descent pest diversity and the US FDA also ensures this.

US FDA is a tool of big corporates ,don't give me BS .
“Monsanto should not have to vouchsafe the safety of biotech food, our interest is in selling as much of it as possible. Assuring its safety is the FDA’s job.” - Phil Angell, Director of Corporate Communications, Monsanto, New York Times, Oct. 25 ‘98

Farmers who use Bt Cotton need to use less dangerous pesticides

do you even research the ground reality ??

GM Crops Increase Pesticide Use
Proponents claim that GM crops substantially reduce pesticide use, but new evidence shows otherwise. Lim Li Ching reports.

A new report from Dr. Charles Benbrook, director of the Northwest Science and Environmental Policy Center, Idaho, concludes that the 550 million acres of GM corn, soybeans and cotton planted in the US since 1996 has increased pesticide use (herbicides and insecticides) by about 50 million pounds. Benbrook is a respected agricultural economist and was Executive Director of the US National Academy of Sciences Board on Agriculture from 1984 to 1990.
www.i-sis.org.uk...

Improper use is misuse and that is what these ignorant and illiterate farmers have done. The ineffectual and incompetent government they live under also has not bothered to even educate them and only exacerbated the problem. It is not the fault of Monsanto which produces a product that has helped many farmers around the world "who know how to use GM seeds"!

[*SNIP*]
the govt is pro-monsanto , because of kickbacks to politicans from Monsanto ,

There is now a stand-off between supporters of the technology and activists and who accuse the government and industry of a lack of transparency, which they say has prevented a serious, inclusive scientific debate on the issue

stupid marketing gimmicks are you americans are capable of , just like Monsanto ,

The repeated failures of cotton crops and another spate of farmers' suicides in the central state of Maharashtra this year once again put Bt cotton in the spotlight. The crop has failed to meet promises, says Suman Sahai. She says that preliminary analysis of Bt adoption data shows that in Maharashtra's Vidarbha district, farmers growing Bt cotton accounted for most of the suicides.
www.scidev.net...

Much of India's GM debates stems from this point — the technology is seen as an attempt by multinational companies to control India's agriculture and markets. And poor public access to initial trial data simply worsened matters (see 'Indian GM research 'lacks focus and transparency'').

keep your propaganda out , you sheeple , there is no transparency in this GM crops and yes , these GM crops are ruining the traditional crop varieties too , like Basmati contaminated by GM rice

ery country subsidizes their farmers one way or the other to maintain sustainable agriculture due to competing subsidies from Asian and European countries and cheaper labor costs in the 3rd world . Do you think India doesnt subsidize their farmers? The Indian government gives a lot of farmers, free water, free electricity, free manure, free seeds also in some cases and most Indian farmers dont even pay tax on their produce.

Indian govt is very corrupt , the 'so-called' subsidies money ends up in pockets of MLA and politicans and with corporate predators like Monsanto and the govt protecting them from blame ,
the technology is seen as an attempt by multinational companies to control India's agriculture and markets. And poor public access to initial trial data simply worsened matters (see 'Indian GM research 'lacks focus and transparency''

[edit on 17-4-2009 by Kombatt98]

[Mod Edit: Personal insult removed. General ATS Discussion Etiquette – Please Review This Link.

[edit on 4/17/2009 by AshleyD]

and the US FDA also ensures this.

Newsflash
hey sheeple , FDA is corrupt ,
read this:

FDA Scientists Blast Agency as Corrupt
April 4th, 2009 • Related • Filed Under
Filed Under: Health News • Medical Device News • Pharmaceutical News

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Food and Drug Administration
Office of Device Evaluation
9200 Corporate Boulevard
Rockville, MD 20850

April 2, 2009

The Honorable Barack H. Obama
President of the United States
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

The purpose of this letter is to draw your attention to the frustration and outrage that FDA physicians and scientists, public advocacy groups, the press, and the American people, have repeatedly expressed over the misdeeds of FDA officials. Recent press reports revealed extensive evidence of serious wrongdoing by Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, Dr. Frank M. Torti, top FDA attorneys, Center and Office Directors, and many others in prominent positions of authority at FDA. As a result, Dr. Frank M. Torti, Acting Commissioner and the FDA’s first Chief Scientist, abruptly left the Agency. But, the many other FDA managers who have failed to protect the American public, who have violated laws, rules, and regulations, who have suppressed or altered scientific or technological findings and conclusions, who have abused their power and authority, and who have engaged in illegal retaliation against those who speak out, have not been held accountable and remain in place.

On Monday, March 30, 2009, Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, newly appointed Principal Deputy Commissioner, assumed the position of Acting Commissioner until Dr. Margaret Hamburg is confirmed. Numerous FDA physicians and scientists are certain that Dr. Hamburg and Dr. Sharfstein will bring the necessary change to FDA to guarantee integrity, accountability, and transparency, to ensure that all future decisions are solely based on science and in accordance with the laws, rules, and regulations. However, sweeping measures are needed to end the systemic corruption and wrongdoing that permeates all levels of FDA and has plagued the Agency far too
long.

The latest example of wrongdoing was reported on March 23, 2009 from a Federal District Court Judge who ruled that FDA’s decision on the Plan B drug1 was “arbitrary and capricious because they were not the result of reasoned and good faith agency decision-making.” FDA’s top leaders at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) testified that they “didn’t have a choice, and . . .
[weren’t] sure that [they] would be allowed to remain [in their positions if they] didn’t agree” to ignore the science and the law. To the contrary, they should be removed from their positions of authority precisely because they didn’t follow the science and the law. The judge further ruled that there was “unrebutted evidence that the FDA’s [decision] stemmed from political pressure rather than permissible health and safety concerns.” The “improper political influence” and the many “departures from its own policies” reveal that such FDA officials are incapable of ensuring integrity and science at FDA.

On October 14, 2008, FDA physicians and scientists wrote to members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee reporting that top FDA officials at the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) had distorted the scientific review of medical devices and then retaliated against those who brought this to light.2 Congressman John Dingell (then Chairman) and Congressman Bart Stupak (Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations) wrote to then FDA Commissioner Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach (since resigned), stating that there were “well-documented allegations that senior managers within CDRH” had “acted in violation of the law … [and that] sweeping measures may be necessary to address the distortion of science alleged by so many CDRH scientists.”3

www.pharmawatchdog.com...

reply to post by Kombatt98


Do you even understand basic science or do you just spew ignorant drivel that you get on the internet ?? Do you even know what BT means ? It is a toxin, a NATURAL toxin !

Genetically Modified BT crops are just crops with the toxin inside them!

Please at least understand the basic science before spewing unfounded propaganda and excuses for farmer stupidity.

US FDA is a tool of big corporates ,don't give me BS .
“Monsanto should not have to vouchsafe the safety of biotech food, our interest is in selling as much of it as possible. Assuring its safety is the FDA’s job.” - Phil Angell, Director of Corporate Communications, Monsanto, New York Times, Oct. 25 ‘98

Give me one shred of proof for that wild and absurd allegation!

And Phil Angell is absolutely correct any child can tell you that. Monsanto is a company that produces a product. It is the FDA's job to certify saftey.
Why do you think the FDA is there genius ??

Please try to THINK before you make wild allegations.

do you even research the ground reality ??

www.i-sis.org.uk...

Why? Dont you ??

If you know how to read and have bothered to read the very article you post you will clearly see, that the cause of more "pesticide" is because of Farmer "stupidity". Nothing else.
I have quoted some of the relevant paragraphs below:

Benbrook draws on official US Department of Agriculture (USDA) data on pesticide use by crop and state to calculate the overall impact of GM crops on the volume of pesticides applied on corn, soybean and cotton. These three crops account for nearly all the area planted to GM crops in the US. The analysis focuses on herbicide tolerant (HT) corn, soybeans and cotton; and corn and cotton genetically engineered to produce the natural insecticide Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt).

HT crops allow broad-spectrum herbicides to be sprayed over growing plants, controlling weeds while leaving crops unharmed, making them popular with farmers. Despite increased seed prices, HT systems have become less expensive, largely because the price of herbicides containing glyphosate (Roundup) has fallen by half since HT crops were first introduced. (Crops tolerant to glyphosate - known as Roundup Ready varieties - are the largest share of acreage planted to HT crops).

But the fall in price has meant farmers can spray more herbicides without feeling the economic pinch. In particular, farmers are spraying substantially more herbicides on HT soybean. Soybean accounts for about 75% of the 400 million acres of HT crops and 54% of all GM acres that have been planted since 1996. While total pounds of pesticides applied to Bt corn and cotton have fallen modestly (see later), the increase in herbicides applied on HT soybeans has been far greater. This, combined with the dominance of HT soybean, has led to dramatic change in overall impact of GM crops on pesticide use.

again ,more BS from a stupid sheeple like you .
the govt is pro-monsanto , because of kickbacks to politicans from Monsanto

No the government is pro-sane and left-wing nutjobs are pro-insane! You definitely subscribe to the latter group.

The government realizes the science and the simple logic behind the technology while environmental nut-jobs who cant prove a damn thing try to malign something they cannot understand because their are deeply biased and are afraid of what they cant understand.

Genetically Modified crops have been tested over and over again and they have proven over and over again to be safe to use. It is stupid farmers who dont know how to use GM seeds that cause problems and stupid "studies" claim absurd nonsense making it out to be the fault of the seed.

I have just one question, if GM seeds are so bad, why do farmers still use them? Be they farmers in India or in the US ?

The answer is simple, because they know there is nothing wrong with them .

keep your propaganda out , you sheeple , there is no transparency in this GM crops and yes , these GM crops are ruining the traditional crop varieties too , like Basmati contaminated by GM rice

Apparently, you have kept sanity and reason out!
What do you mean transparency ? Do you think it is some mystery seed ? Monsanto has filed a patent for all their products and detailed information is available in the patent office. You can buy it off the market and check the information from the patent office to check if they are the same thing. Also, you can independently test the seed in a lab if you know how!

keep your propaganda out , you sheeple , there is no transparency in this GM crops and yes , these GM crops are ruining the traditional crop varieties too , like Basmati contaminated by GM rice

Again the transperancy circus huh ? You dont know what transperency means do you ?
GM crops ruining traditional crop varieties ? Who is forcing people to plant GM crops then ? Farmers are free to plant what ever they want. They are the ones who are planting GM crops .

Also, it was because traditional crop varieties were so pest ridden and had such poor yields that farmers started using GM crops. Basmatic contaminated by GM rice ? That does not even make sense ? Basmati is a type of rice. There is GM Basmati called Texmati but what is GM rice ?? You have no clue about what you are talking do you ? You just want to rave against some imagined enemy dont you ??

the technology is seen as an attempt by multinational companies to control India's agriculture and markets. And poor public access to initial trial data simply worsened matters (see 'Indian GM research 'lacks focus and transparency''

Indian agriculture is dependent on Indian farmers, who are illiterate, ignorant and live in country with an incompetent government. How can the seed companies hope to control that mess ? Even the Indian government cant !
Poor public access is because they dont have enough information and are ignorant of the technology. Also, some trial data are corporate secrets that cannot be revealed but final test data can be revealed and has been. You can contact Monsanto directly for most of the data. Also, you can test the product independently as well in labs and if India thinks its not suitable their farmers need not use it.
Do you see Monsanto forcing Indian farmers to use their seeds ?

[edit on 17-4-2009 by IAF101]

[edit on 17-4-2009 by IAF101]

Originally posted by Kombatt98

and the US FDA also ensures this.

Newsflash
hey sheeple , FDA is corrupt ,
read this:

FDA Scientists Blast Agency as Corrupt
April 4th, 2009 • Related • Filed Under
Filed Under: Health News • Medical Device News • Pharmaceutical News

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Food and Drug Administration
Office of Device Evaluation
9200 Corporate Boulevard
Rockville, MD 20850

April 2, 2009

The Honorable Barack H. Obama
President of the United States
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

The purpose of this letter is to draw your attention to the frustration and outrage that FDA physicians and scientists, public advocacy groups, the press, and the American people, have repeatedly expressed over the misdeeds of FDA officials.......................................................





Sincerely,

[Names Redacted]

Names redacted ? Why am I not surprised ?

So in essence anybody could have written that letter. Even you !

Do you really believe that by pulling such inane stuff off the internet, it constitutes as proof ??

I'm afraid not.

Try reading Stolen Harvest by Vandana Shiva.
It outlines how the cultural and historic farming tradition was destroyed by Monsanto and crooked officials. It is happening everywhere in the world but at a slow and steady pace. Control of food supplies is being co-opted by big business, big pharma and the chemical companies. It is simply being noticed more in India because of the suicides.
Just so it is clear. These farmers are not stupid or ignorant (as certian posters would assert) they are simply in totally untenable positions imposed by a corrupt system. The agricultural system in India has run quite well for thousands of years on a widespread base of local farmers. Now that the bureaucrats and big business are in there, it is a widespread,slow motion disaster that gets worse every year.



[edit on 17-4-2009 by badgerprints]

This is not actually new. It has been going on for some time in India. There were documentaries on tv a couple of years ago at least. At that time it was tied in with the Monsanto and GM seeds.

The sad thing is that it is still happening. This is one of the big issues for our time. I am really pleased to hear that Germany has banned GM seed. We all need to get on that bandwagon as well as promoting the more traditional methods of small farms and farmers saving their own seed that works well for their farm's particular conditions.

reply to post by IAF101

Names redacted ? Why am I not surprised ? So in essence anybody could have written that letter. Even you ! Do you really believe that by pulling such inane stuff off the internet, it constitutes as proof ?? I'm afraid not.

as usual more BS from you . read this this was released in conjunction with a Senate finance committee hearing over Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ nomination to be secretary of the U.S.

are you even aware about the state of affairs of your nation , corporate quack ?
this is the letter ,
finance.senate.gov...

this is the letter , you ridcule , look at the source finance.senate.gov

like i said FDA is corrupt and a tool of big pharma and monsanto

reply to post by IAF101

Why? Dont you ?? If you know how to read and have bothered to read the very article you post you will clearly see, that the cause of more "pesticide" is because of Farmer "stupidity". Nothing else. I have quoted some of the relevant paragraphs below:

the paragraph you refer to is refering to american farmers ,is

Give me one shred of proof for that wild and absurd allegation! And Phil Angell is absolutely correct any child can tell you that. Monsanto is a company that produces a product. It is the FDA's job to certify saftey. Why do you think the FDA is there genius ?? Please try to THINK before you make wild allegations.

refer to the letter by FDA scientists , its on finance senate govt website
finance.senate.gov...

Basmatic contaminated by GM rice ? That does not even make sense ? Basmati is a type of rice. There is GM Basmati called Texmati but what is GM rice ?? You have no clue about what you are talking do you ? You just want to rave against some imagined enemy dont you ??

there have been several state ments made by indian farmer activists and even exporters in relation to this . what you don't read international news ?
you don't even know the state of affairs your nation is in.

Haryana villagers damage GM rice field
Sreelatha Menon / New Delhi November 01, 2006 Activists of Bharatiya Kissan Union (BKU) and scores of villagers of Rampura village in Karnal district of Haryana destroyed a genetically modified (GM) rice plot in the state last week. The objective, according to BKU, was to prevent the GM rice plot from contaminating non-GM rice growing in adjoining plots and to ensure that government guidelines on GM trials are not flouted.
www.business-standard.com...

The All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA) has woken up to the situation and have asked the government not to allow any field trials or commercial cultivation of GM rice in the country. They say that the retention of the country’s image as producer of non-GM foods would largely boost the prospects of rice exports. “Country earns millions of dollars in foreign exchange due to export of rice. India’s long grain aromatic rice - basmati has a premium market abroad,” said RS Seshadri of Tilda Riceland - a major exporter of basmati rice.
www.financialexpress.com...

No the government is pro-sane and left-wing nutjobs are pro-insane! You definitely subscribe to the latter group.

govt is corrupt and i am no leftist , just work in a NGO who has worked in Vidarbha , where thousands of farmers have committed Suicide , and most farmers who committed suicide were cultivators of bt cotton ,

Genetically Modified crops have been tested over and over again and they have proven over and over again to be safe to use. It is stupid farmers who dont know how to use GM seeds that cause problems and stupid "studies" claim absurd nonsense making it out to be the fault of the seed.

WHAT NONSENSE??
nothing is proven about GM crops ,

Currently there are only a few dozen peer reviewed studies completed on the health effects of genetically modified foods. The results of many of these studies strongly challenges the industry and government standard of substantial equivalence.

[edit] Gene transfer

As of January 2009 there has only been one human feeding study conducted on genetically modified foods. The study involved seven human volunteers who had their large intestines removed. These volunteers were to eat GM soy to see if the DNA of the GM soy transferred to the human gut bacteria. Researchers identified that three of the seven volunteers had transgenes from GM soy transferred
This transgene was stable inside the bacteria and appeared to produce herbicide-tolerant protein... In the only human feeding study ever conducted on GM crops, long standing assumptions that genes would not transfer to human gut bacteria were overturned. The findings should prompt immediate comprehensive follow-up tests to determine the implications for health among both the general population and at-risk groups.
en.wikipedia.org...

even WHO has stated that health effects of GM crops are unknown:
www.foodqualitynews.com...

I have just one question, if GM seeds are so bad, why do farmers still use them? Be they farmers in India

because the farmers have been cooned and fooled by corporates and govt does nothing and its NGO who do the necessary for the farmers

oor public access is because they dont have enough information and are ignorant of the technology. Also, some trial data are corporate secrets that cannot be revealed but final test data can be revealed and has been. You can contact Monsanto directly for most of the data.

we have already attempted to contact Monsanto several times , but of no avail .

Do you see Monsanto forcing Indian farmers to use their seeds ?

no the govt is pushing this GM crops to farmers on behalf of monsanto

It is stupid farmers who dont know how to use GM seeds that cause problems and stupid "studies" claim absurd nonsense making it out to be the fault of the seed.

the corporate claims are absurd , not the claims of independent studies and the farmers are not stupid , its sheeple like you whos stupid ,

traditional cotton does not need expensive pesticides like GM bt cotton , also the prices of its seed is much lower .

Economics of pest management shows Bt cotton extortionate Purchase of Bt cotton seed, genetically modified with the cry1Ac gene from soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensi s, includes a technology fee, and costs farmers Rs 1600 per acre, compared to NPM farmers who buy their seed at Rs 450 per acre. This makes Bt cotton seed 355% more expensive than the traditional varieties [1]. In addition, pest management costs were greater for Bt farmers who had to use pesticides such as Monocrotophos, Confidor, Tracer, Avaunt, Endosulfan, acephate, demethoate, imidacloprid, quinalphos, chlorpyriphos, cypermethrin etc . to manage a variety of pests including bollworms for which Bt toxin is supposed to be specific[1]. On average, Bt crops were sprayed 3.5 times, with two farmers reporting that they did not spray at all, and others spraying as many as seven times. The NPM farmers used no synthetic pesticides at all, but used natural pesticides such as Neem seed kernel extract, trichoderma and panchakavya [1].
www.i-sis.org.uk...

as you can see the costs of bt cotton is extortion ,and bt cotton needs more expensive pesticides than traditional cotton , which can be saved by natural and cheaply available pesticides like neem

GM cotton is detrimental for beneficial insects

Beneficial insects prevail on NPM cotton These findings reflect the fears of many environmentalists that the Bt cotton endotoxin destroys many beneficial insects [5], and that has a knock-on effect on the birds and small mammals that are the natural predators of these insects. Table 3 shows 85 (70.2%) of NPM farmers finding a high incidence of beneficial insects on their crop, with 97 (82.9%) of Bt cotton respondents finding only a low incidence and 13 (11.2%) Bt farmers found no beneficial insects at all on their crop.

The main strategy of NPM farmers' pest control on their crops is through beneficial insects that are, by definition, predators of cotton pests; they also use natural organic pesticides. In contrast, Bt farmers report a low incidence of pest predators due to the toxicity of the Bt varieties and associated pesticides, necessitating a vicious cycle of control by these synthetic pesticides.
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here are the costs of maintaining a bt cotton field compared to a traditional cotton variety ..

Economics of pest management shows Bt cotton extortionate Purchase of Bt cotton seed, genetically modified with the cry1Ac gene from soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensi s, includes a technology fee, and costs farmers Rs 1600 per acre, compared to NPM farmers who buy their seed at Rs 450 per acre. This makes Bt cotton seed 355% more expensive than the traditional varieties [1]. In addition, pest management costs were greater for Bt farmers who had to use pesticides such as Monocrotophos, Confidor, Tracer, Avaunt, Endosulfan, acephate, demethoate, imidacloprid, quinalphos, chlorpyriphos, cypermethrin etc . to manage a variety of pests including bollworms for which Bt toxin is supposed to be specific [1]. On average, Bt crops were sprayed 3.5 times, with two farmers reporting that they did not spray at all, and others spraying as many as seven times. The NPM farmers used no synthetic pesticides at all, but used natural pesticides such as Neem seed kernel extract, trichoderma and panchakavya [1]. Bt cotton pest management cost on average Rs 2632 per acre, whereas NPM cotton pest management cost on average Rs 382 per acre, making pesticide costs 690% more expensive to the Bt cotton farmers [1]. Yields and incomes were not included in this study as cotton picking was still going on at the time of data collection, but Bt cotton yield and quality has been well documented as lower than traditional varieties [6], in spite of claims to the contrary. Yet the study clearly proves that restoring the ecological balance in the cotton fields, by removing both the GM endotoxins and the synthetic chemicals, will bring both short and long term benefits to farmers and the environment.
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farmers are much better off without GM crops

t is stupid farmers who dont know how to use GM seeds that cause problems and stupid "studies" claim absurd nonsense making it out to be the fault of the seed.

he story of Punukula: it's not rocket science

Punukula, a small village in Andhra Pradesh, with a population of about 860, has rediscovered the art and science of sustainable cotton cultivation by using NPM systems. But this small revolution in India's cotton belt has been ignored by agricultural scientists, perhaps because it is an appropriate technology that does not lend itself to exploitation by outsiders, and because it does not have the ‘glamour' of ‘cutting edge technology'. Nevertheless, it so impressed the AP agriculture minister, who witnessed the transformation for himself, that it has been replicated in 400 surrounding villages [7].

A few farmers from a local non-governmental organization began in 1999 (before the arrival of GM cotton in India), to experiment with non-pesticidal management practices on their cotton crop, and persuaded 20 local farmers to try it [7].

The environment, previously contaminated by a vicious cycle of pesticide application began to improve, and the pest burden reduced. By 2004, the environmental and economic impact was such that the entire village was using NPM that had restored natural pest control systems, and they therefore had no reason to adopt GM cotton when it became available [7].

In the early 1960s, only six or seven major pests worried the cotton farmer, but costly inputs prescribed by agribusiness and agricultural research has created a spiral of pollution, debt and death that has also resulted in the farmer fighting 70 major pests on cotton today. Although average yields for farmers in Punukula are greater than for Bt cotton farmers, most mainstream agricultural scientists, and politicians prefer to support GM technology and agribusiness [7].
If Punukula had adopted GM Bt cotton, the village would have paid Rs 600 000 in additional seed price for the 500 acres under cultivation (Rs1 200/acre technology fee), before addressing the extra cost of pesticide application. The farmers would have remained caught in the spiral of debt as victims of the ‘cutting edge technology' that draws millions of rupees from the small rural economy into the pockets of powerful multi-nationals every year [7].
Farmers stop spraying chemical pesticides, yields go up!

Farmers in India are not alone. In two years, 2000 poor rice farmers in Bangladesh reduced insecticide use by 99 %.
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your cutting edge tech of monsanto is nothing but a quack and a con job , responsible for several farmer suicides , you stupid sheeple ,its not farmers who are stupid ,

But while ordinary farmers are getting wise to GM propaganda and hard sell around the world, an Indian government study has found serious faults with its GM Bt cotton under commercial production. The government has been sitting on this study for two years. It describes a multitude of problems already expressed by farmers but previously denied by its own scientists and politicians [11]. Meanwhile organic farming successes are being more widely reported, for example, Paul Desmarais, Director of the Kasisi Agricultural Training Centre in Zambia writes “We have successfully grown organic cotton for two years now at Kasisi.
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