Biotech industry’s propaganda is false

The only transgenic crop grown in India is Bt cotton developed by injecting a toxin from a soil bacterium called Bacillus Thuringiensis [Bt] into a cotton seed through a highly sophisticated process. When planted the seed produces a highly toxic cotton plant. Its roots, stem, leaves and boll continuously secrete Bt toxin.

Ahmedabad: The state government has taken a decision to stop distributing Monsanto’s maize seeds called ‘Prabal’ to farmers. The decision was taken in a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Confirming the decision, agriculture minister Dilip Sanghania said, “The government has taken a decision that it will not distribute maize seeds of Monsato to tribals in the state any more. Instead, the government will insist only for seeds certified by Gujarat Agricultural University (GAU). We will give subsidy to the seeds certified by GAU.”

Haiti is all set to start vaccinating one lakh people with an oral cholera vaccine “Sahchol” developed by the Hyderabad-based Shantha Biotechnics. According to a news report in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), the first phase of the campaign will be targeting 50,000 people living in Port-au-Prince and will be followed by a further 50,000 in the Artibonite River valley. The vaccination programme became possible with the Haiti's National Ethics Committee approving the oral cholera vaccine.

Protests marked the 10th anniversary of the introduction of genetically modified (GM) Bt cotton in the country. Angry farmers urged parliamentarians to hold a special session to discuss the issue and ban the technology.

Charging a few seed companies, particularly Monsanto, with monopolising the seed industry and setting the agenda for the government, social activists urged policy-makers and farmers to reject the hype around Bt cotton and demanded a comprehensive review.

Chennai Bt cotton cultivation has achieved phenomenal success in transforming the cotton crop into the most productive and profitable crop in 10 years. Nearly 10 significant milestones have been achieved during the first decade (2002–2011) of Bt cotton cultivation in India, said a report on biotech crop done by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), a non-profit organisation with an international

network of centers designed to contribute to the alleviation of hunger and poverty by sharing knowledge

While biotech and pharma are referred to as sunrise sectors, a new study reveals only an insignificant amount of innovative, patentable work has been carried out so far as part of the outsourcing process to Indian pharma-biotech firms. The study titled “work outsourced to Indian biotech and pharma companies is not yet significantly innovative,” focuses on projects outsourced and has been published in the latest edition of Current Science.

The United States remained the primary backer of biotech crop technology in 2011, but adoption spread internationally as the total global planted area of genetically modified seeds grew 8 percent from a year ago, according to a report issued Tuesday.

Roughly 160 million hectares, or 395.2 million acres, were planted with biotech crops in 2011, up 8 percent from 2010, said the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) in its annual report on biotech seed use.

Brussels BASF, the German chemical group, has abandoned efforts to sell genetically modified products in Europe, including its Amflora potato, because of overwhelming opposition to the technology, the company said Monday.

“There is still a lack of acceptance for this technology in many parts of Europe — from the majority of consumers, farmers and politicians,” said Stefan Marcinowski, a board member with responsibilities for plant biotechnology. “Therefore, it does not make business sense to continue investing in products exclusively for cultivation in this market.”