KANCHEEPURAM, TAMIL NADU, India — In the midst of a 10,000 party workers and farmers gathering from Tamil Nadu that thronged to listen to the Union Health Minister, Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, at a public meeting, Greenpeace campaigners took the minister by surprise by unfurling a banner message ‘Bt. Brinjal is injurious to health too’ and urging the Minister to take immediate action against Genetically Modified (GM) crops in the country. The direct action was part of Greenpeace’s campaign against the impending dangers of genetically modified food crops.
Greenpeacers with the message - Dr.Anbumani Ramadoss, Bt.Brinjal can destroy our country and lives!- as part of the anti GM campaign in Kanchipuram
While countries across the world are joining the league banning
GM foods, India is poised to jump onto the GM bandwagon.
Genetically Modified foods have been mired in controversy since
they were introduced in the United States a decade ago. Approving
Bt brinjal, the first food crop in India, would open the floodgates
for 169 food crops that are currently in various stages of trials.
This, despite the fact that several health, socio-economic and
ecological concerns have come in focus in the recent years.
R. Selvam from the Erode Farmers' Association, spoke about Bt
brinjal, and highlighted from Greenpeace's recent report, Genetic
Gamble (link), the growing concerns pertaining GM crops and the
threat of approving Bt brinjal in the absence of appropriate tests
and long-term analyses to confirm the safety of GM food crops. He
presented a memorandum to the minister, signed by farmers' unions
and associations across the state. Nammalvar, a poignant voice at
the meeting and well respected for his organic farming expertise,
reiterated this threat GM crops pose to the country's agriculture
and people's health.
As Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss started addressing the crowd, 22 women
of the Tamil Nadu Women's Collective and Greenpeace got up and
unfurled banners right in front of him for more than 4 minutes with
a simple and lucid message, 'Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, Stop Bt brinjal
Now'. This is not the first time, Greenpeace, a member of the
Coalition for GM-Free India has used direct action to remind the
Health Minister about the concerns related to GM.
As the crowd cheered, Union Health Minister Dr. Anbumani
Ramadoss expressed his opposition to GM crops and Bt Brinjal in
particular. "PMK has always opposed GM seeds. As a Minister of PMK
and as the Union Health Minister, I will continue to oppose it. As
far as the recent controversy of Bt Brinjal is concerned, it is
being brought into the country without proper research on its
safety. We should oppose it collectively. The Ministry of Health
& Family Welfare as a policy will ensure holistic research of
Bt Brinjal, including (on) health impacts and farmers' issues. We
will not permit it into India otherwise".
Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss's statement has been seen as one of the
biggest milestones in the anti- GM campaign in the country. On
December 4, medical doctors representing different specializations
expressed their serious concerns regarding GM foods. They submitted
a memorandum to the Health Minister highlighting the risks and the
threat of irreversibility once these crops are approved. The
people's movement 'I am no labrat' has also sent more than 70,000
petitions to the Health Minister.
Consumer, environmental, women's and organic farming groups from
all over the country reacted by thanking the Minister for the
progressive view he took on this matter, with his scientific
background and for putting the interests and health of ordinary
consumers of India at the centre of his policy with regard to GM
crops/foods.
It is however yet to be seen how the Minister will translate his
words into action especially in light of the recent study on corn
Mon810 x NK603, commissioned by the Austrian Government, which
highlights the potential threat to fertility.