The Greenpeace activists chained themselves to picket fences in
front of the entrance of Paryavaran Bhavan, and repeatedly set off
a loud siren, raising the alarm against the GM mustard. The protest
was instrumental in making the issue visible thus pressurising the
GEAC. The GEAC meeting reportedly ended with a deferred decision -
no clear date has been set for reconsidering the release.
Greenpeace is against the irreversible release of uncontrolled,
and potentially dangerous genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
into the environment; firmly believing that the burden of proving
the safety of GMOs and of proving that they are environmentally
safe and ecologically viable, rests with companies like ProAgro and
that the Government should not take any chances that might endanger
the lives of the people of India.
"We stood vigil and raised the alarm to protest against the
complete lack of transparency, and the inadequate information about
the consequences of releasing GM Mustard. Despite the widespread
protests against GM crops, the GEAC went ahead and considered this
commercial release. Who will own liability for the environmental
harm caused by the release of GM Mustard in India? If the crop is
released despite the absence of independent scientific observations
and evaluations, all Indians will be reduced to guinea pigs," said
Ananthapadmanabhan, Executive Director of Greenpeace India. "The
surprising fact is that barely six months after a statement from
GEAC that field trials had 'begun', the current stance indicates
that GEAC considers the field trials adequately completed, while
international standards require at least three years of field
trials before commercial release is even considered."
Divya Raghunandan, GM Campaigner with Greenpeace, and one of the
chained activists in today's action, added, "It is unthinkable to
consider the release of GM Mustard - apart from being a widely used
food crop, mustard also has the highest cross pollination rate; far
higher than any other crop. Which means there is a high risk of
creating herbicide-resistant superweeds if GM mustard is allowed
commercially. Worse, GM mustard could contaminate crops of
cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli - all belonging to the same
family - and translate to massive economic setbacks for India's
food exports. Europe will never accept our harvests once they are
contaminated with Genetically Modified seeds."
Greenpeace India demands that -
1. The Indian Government must withhold the decision to
commercialise genetically modified crops and declare a moratorium
on all field trials of the same in the country, and make a through
review of all claims made by the companies.
2. The Indian Government must make public all the reports of the
field trials.
3. The Government must make Corporates accountable for the loss
of bio-diversity and farmer's rights likely to be violated with the
release of GM crops.
For more information:Namrata Chowdhary, Media Officer -
9810850092
Email id:
For more information:Divya Raghunandan, GE Campaigner -
9845535406
Email id:
For more information:Ananthapadmanabhan, Executive Director -
9841091424
Email id: