By Rady Ananda
A United States federal jury ruled this month that Bayer CropScience must pay $2 million to two Missouri farmers for contaminating their rice crops with illegal GMO rice. Farmers Ken Bell and Johnny Hunter, the first in a series of 1200 such litigants, lost sales overseas as a result.
Most people have heard about how GMOs can affect their health, cause cancer, reproductive disorders, diabetes and the likes. This is true, but the adverse consequences of GMOs are actually even more frightening. Take the example of a bacteria-modified plant. The plant is injected with bacteria to make it more robust, but because of this, the plant actually thinks it is a bacteria and spreads toxins in the area around it, killing other plants and organisms like earthworms.
CHANDIGARH: “Release of Bt Brinjal would be the beginning of the end of Indian agriculture.” This voice against genetically-modified food got louder on Sunday with acclaimed scientist Shiv Chopra, who fought against bovine growth hormone in Canada and got it banned, supported the cause of rejecting “the poisoned food.”
India needs changes in existing policies and a political will to stop the invasion of genetically modified (GM) products, said Fellow from the World Health Organisation (WHO), Canada in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
Dr Shiv Chopra, former scientific advisor to the Candian Ministry of Health said that the option of not to utilize GM products cannot be left solely with the farmers, with multi national companies knocking at their doors with lucrative profit-making offers.
“There has to be critical introspection of the safety of using GM products. Particularly, it needs change in the present policies, legislations and its enforcement,” Chopra said while delivering the 23rd Kamalnayan Bajaj Memorial Lecture at the Gujarat Vidhyapeeth in Ahmedabad.
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Ahmedabad, Feb 02: India needs changes in existing policies and a political will to stop the invasion of genetically modified (GM) products, said Fellow from the World Health Organisation (WHO), Canada in Ahmedabad on Monday.
Dr Shiv Chopra, former scientific advisor to the Candian Ministry of Health said that the option of not to utilize GM products cannot be left solely with the farmers, with multi national companies knocking at their doors with lucrative profit-making offers.
Read the full article here
Ahmedabad : “We should keep away hormones, antibiotics, slaughterhouse waste and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Pesticides should
not be allowed to enter any food.” This was stated by Shiv Chopra, fellow of World Health Organization and author of the book Corrupt to the Core’. Chopra was in city to deliver Kamalnayan Bajaj Memorial Lecture on Globalization, Food Security, Public and Prosperity’ at Peace Research Centre in Gujarat Vidyapith.
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Chris Gupta on ‘Corrupt to the Core’
November 25, 2008
Link to article.
Article that appeared in the Muskoka News
December 3, 2008 - by Laura MacLean
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October 14 - Jalandhar
Chopra speaks on the necessity to prevent hormones, antibiotics, animal remains, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and pesticides from entering food production.
Read article.
Helke Ferrie recently wrote a good article on Bill C-51 for Vitality Magazine. You can read it here. http://www.vitalitymagazine.com/sept08_helkefeature
