BBC’s Panorama reporter Paul Kenyon goes undercover as a cocoa trader in West Africa and discovers children as young as seven working long hours on cocoa farms, helping to make the chocolate we love so much. He buys a tonne of cocoa made with child labour, and sees how easy it is to sell it [...]

In a village in India’s poorest state, Bihar, farmers are growing world record amounts of rice – with no GM, and no herbicide. Is this one solution to world food shortages? Sumant Kumar was overjoyed when he harvested his rice last year. There had been good rains in his village of Darveshpura in north-east India [...]

Amid all the controversy over genetically-modified (GM) crops and their pesticides and herbicides decimating bee populations all around the world, biotechnology behemoth Monsanto has decided to buy out one of the major international firms devoted to studying and protecting bees. According to a company announcement, Beeologics handed over the reins to Monsanto back on September [...]

The Environmental Protection Agency has refused a petition that aimed to ban the sale of a powerful pesticide linked with cancer — and while already available, a surge in sales is expected as scientists ready a new crop resistant to the chemical. Not only has the EPA rejected a petition that sought to prohibit the [...]

After farming, retailing is India’s major occupation. It employs 40 million people. A sizeable majority of owner/employees are in the business because of lack of other opportunities. The decade of liberalisation has so far been one of jobless growth. It is no wonder that retail has become the refuge of these millions. Lopsided economic development [...]

Source: RT.com

Report finds genetically modified crops fail to increase yields let alone solve hunger, soil erosion and chemical-use issues. Genetic engineering has failed to increase the yield of any food crop but has vastly increased the use of chemicals and the growth of “superweeds”, according to a report by 20 Indian, south-east Asian, African and Latin [...]

By John Vidal For a few thousands dollars a year, an Indian agribusiness, Karuturi, rents 2,500 sq km of land in Ethiopia’s Gambela province. Government ministers in Addis Ababa claim it is marginal, unused land, and its situation at the far western border with Sudan suggests this is so. In fact, the black soil is [...]

By Himanshu Jha India stands fourth in the list of countries ranked on the basis of number of billionaires. In 2011 we had 55 billionaires with a total world share of 4.5 per cent. A pretty straightforward record when we calculate the number of billionaires. Numbers become fuzzy when we start going about the business [...]

Institutions including Harvard and Vanderbilt reportedly use hedge funds to buy land in deals that may force farmers out. Harvard and other major American universities are working through British hedge funds and European financial speculators to buy or lease vast areas of African farmland in deals, some of which may force many thousands of people [...]

Say NO to the principles of “responsible” agro-enterprise investment promoted by the World Bank State and private investors, from Citadel Capital to Goldman Sachs, are leasing or buying up tens of millions of hectares of farmlands in Asia, Africa and Latin America for food and fuel production. This land grabbing is a serious threat for [...]

We turned off the main road to Awassa, talked our way past security guards and drove a mile across empty land before we found what will soon be Ethiopia’s largest greenhouse. Nestling below an escarpment of the Rift Valley, the development is far from finished, but the plastic and steel structure already stretches over 20 [...]

The government of India was forced by an overwhelming public opinion to declare a moratorium on the release of the transgenic Brinjal (Aubergines/Egg plant) hybrid developed by Mahyco, a subsidiary of American seed giant Monsanto. Bt brinjal is created by inserting a gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis into the brinjal cell. Monsanto claims [...]

An atrazine-induced female frog (a genetic male) is shown (bottom) copulating with an unexposed male sibling. This union produced viable eggs and larvae that survived to metamorphosis and adulthood. Yet, because both animals were genetic males, the offspring were all males. (Tyrone Hayes photo) Atrazine, one of the world’s most widely used pesticides, wreaks havoc [...]

Misleading public about organism and products’ is one of the crimes for which punishment has been prescribed in Section 63, Chapter 13 of the Bill which deals with various “offences and penalties”.If the Ministry of Science and Technology has its way, criticising genetically-modified (GM) products could land you in jail. An Indian citizen who questions [...]

An International conference on “Two Decades of the GMO Free Movement” was organized by Navdanya / Research Foundation for Science, Technology & Ecology in association with the International Commission on the Future of Food, ARSIA, Region of Tuscany, Italy, Center for Food Safety, USA, Save Our Seeds, Germany, Diverse Women for Diversity and Initiative for [...]

The Government of India finally acceded to the overwhelming public opinion in India. The Environment Ministry announced its decision to impose a moratorium on the release of the transgenic brinjal hybrid developed by Mahyco, a subsidiary of global seed giant Monsanto. The central government was under pressure with 13 state governments making it clear their [...]

According to a report in India Today, “Former managing director of Monsanto India, Tiruvadi Jagadisan, is the latest to join the critics of Bt brinjal, perhaps the first industry insider to do so.” Jagadisan, who worked with Monsanto for nearly two decades, including eight years as the managing director of India operations, spoke against the [...]

233 consumer and farmer groups in 26 countries have joined the “Definitive Global Rejection of GM Wheat” statement to stop the commercialization of genetically modified (GM) wheat and remind the biotechnology corporation Monsanto that genetically modifying this major crop is not acceptable to farmers or consumers. (1) The 233 groups signed the rejection statement first [...]

Reviewing Dambisa Moyo’s book “Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa”, Sonia Shah writes: “Readers may not be so inclined, these days, to listen to well-coiffed economists spouting bold plans and promises. But for those who care to truly get development right, Moyo is, I think, [...]

Introduced more than a decade ago, genetically modified crops are now planted on millions of acres throughout the world. But the fundamental questions about them remain — both about their safety and their long-term impact on global food security and the environment. Verlyn Klinkenborg, a member of the editorial board at the New York Times [...]

Kelly Brownell has long studied the relationship between rising levels of obesity in the U.S. and the way our food is grown, processed, packaged, and sold. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, he discusses the common marketing and lobbying tactics employed by the food and tobacco industries.

With food prices skyrocketing and climate change looming, the world needs a green revolution like the one a generation ago. But many valuable seed varieties have been lost – and scientists now are scrambling to protect those that remain before they vanish down the genetic drain, writes Fred Pearce in Yale Environment360. The world’s heritage [...]

Frontline magazine in India has published an interview with Joan Mencher, an anthropologist who has worked in India since 1958 on issues such as agriculture, ecology and caste. About the state of Indian agriculture, Mencher says: There were three processes that destroyed the traditional face of Indian agriculture. First, the Green Revolution; second, the 1991 [...]

According to a NewScientist report, “Genetically modified rice cleared for commercial sale could be growing on Chinese farms as early as next year, making China the first country to allow commercial cultivation of GM strains. The field trials required for any new variety are now under way, following official safety clearance November. Two varieties, called [...]

Vandana Shiva is the founder of Navdanya, the movement of 500,000 seed keepers and organic farmers in India. She is author of numerous books, including “The Violence of the Green Revolution” and “Soil, Not Oil.” Food security over the next two decades will have to be built on ecological security and climate resilience. We need [...]

It is sad to find the Editorial “Brinjal and Beyond” in your esteemed newspaper, which people like us advocate for its objective and scholarly position. But this editorial betrays that trust. The Hindu dated May 21, 2006 reported “the mystery that surrounds death of 25 per cent of sheep and goats after open grazing on [...]

India’s Environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, finds himself in a quagmire after the leak of a letter he wrote to prime minister Manmohan Singh. Minister Ramesh last week had called the campaign by Greenpeace against genetically modified Bt Brinjal as a “blackmail”. As per newspaper reports, Jairam Ramesh wants to make a U-turn on India’s Climate [...]

Devinder Sharma has written a brilliant analysis piece on the approval Bt Brinjal was given by The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), India’s biotech regulator. Sharma explains how there has been a clear manipulation of the scientific norms. “I can point a number of glaring flaws in the way the experiments were conducted. Only stupid [...]

According to India’s Minister of State for Agriculture, KV Thomas, the central government will not blindly oppose genetically modified Bt Brinjal. He said, “Agriculture production will have to be increased once parliament passes the Food Security Act. So the government will have to rely on modern scientific methods to increase food production. We will not [...]

France’s highest court has ruled that US agrochemical giant Monsanto had not told the truth about the safety of its best-selling weed-killer, Roundup. According to a BBC report: The court confirmed an earlier judgment that Monsanto had falsely advertised its herbicide as “biodegradable” and claimed it “left the soil clean”. The company was fined 15,000 [...]

The world’s largest manufacturer and user of the antiquated, persistent and highly hazardous pesticide endosulfan – India – is standing in the way of a global ban of the chemical. In mid-October, experts from around the world will meet in Geneva to consider the science behind the pesticide, and make decisions as to whether endosulfan [...]

Endosulfan is a pesticide belonging to the organochlorine group of pesticides, under the Cyclodiene subgroup. It has been introduced in the 1950’s and in India has become a leading chemical used against pests in agriculture. It is used as an insecticide and also to kill fishes in lakes and rivers. It is not recommended for [...]

In a damning and ground breaking ruling, South Africa’s GM body, the Executive Council (EC), has rejected attempts by the Agriculture Research Council (ARC) to bring GM potatoes to the South African market. The EC cited no less than 11 biosafety and socio economic and agronomic concerns for rejecting ARC’s commercial release application. These support [...]

The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), India’s biotech regulator, has cleared Bt brinjal — the country’s first genetically modified (GM) food — for commercial use. Now it is up to the Government of India to put its political stamp of approval — for the floodgates to open. India’s environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, has been quoted [...]

The Story of Genetically Engineered Seeds and Foods (Genesis Ch. 6: 1-8, 11: 1-9) The Problem Some of the recent advances in genetic engineering and transgenic development of organisms are astonishing: A company called Nexia has managed to put the gene of a spider into goats. The “spider-goats” produce milk with a silk protein which [...]

India has rejected patents on two life-saving HIV/AIDS drugs, tenofovir and darunavir. Tenofovir is a key HIV/AIDS drug recommended by the World Health Organisation for improved first-line treatment of HIV/AIDS. Darunavir is one of new class of expensive HIV/AIDS drugs that are needed by patients failing on their existing treatments. Access to both medicines is currently limited by their high price.

Global Warming is real. Climate Change driven by Global Warming is also real. The Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets are thinning and breaking up. Glaciers in Kilimanjaro and Himalayas are also shrinking at an alarming rate. The reliable monsoon has been very weak in India – which is going to create a massive food and water shortage this year. We are desperately short of resources – consuming more than what nature can replenish.

P Sainath has written a brilliant piece, Our drought came before yours That price rise has hit the mid-day meals at schools and squeezed the SHGs that provide them at Rs. 3 per schoolchild each day. At the High School in A. Gokulapadu village of Kurnool, the SHG women say “We were getting 5-6 quintals [...]

Livemint.com has an investigative article written by Ajayan: Kuttanad cancer spread linked to chemicals? The spectre of cancer is gripping Kuttanad, a water-logged rice bowl in central Kerala that is home to about 1.8 million people and where roughly 15,000 tonnes of chemical fertilizers, 500 tonnes of insecticides and 50 tonnes of fungicides are used [...]

India’s National Human Rights Commission has written to the Orissa government demanding a full report into its joint venture mining project with British mining giant Vedanta Resources, following a complaint submitted by UK-based Survival International. The complaint relates to Vedanta’s plan to mine for bauxite in the Niyamgiri Hills, eastern Orissa, which threatens the fragile [...]

New Delhi’s shameless attitude towards Stockholm Convention angers enraged victims who seek court help The Anti-Endosulfan Committee in Kerala’s Kasargod district is all set to take on the Indian government over its attitude towards the Stockholm Convention and Rotterdam Convention, which seek to regulate the use of hazardous chemicals and pesticides. The committee is planning [...]

A university trial cultivation of genetically modified potatoes has begun in secret in northern England. The Telegraph reported in late July that the trial, destroyed by unidentified vandals in 2008, had been replanted by the University of Leeds without announcement. European Union rules stipulate that the location of every GM trial must be published before [...]

Alternet.org report asks: Why We Are Complicit in these Deaths Crop failure may have pushed farmers over the edge, but American companies have been leading them to the cliff for years.

Despite its year-long sunshine and favourable climate, Senegal is a big importer of food – 2/3 of the rice its population consumes is brought in from Asia. This makes the country extremely vulnerable to fluctuations in global food prices.

Expert independent scientist verdict contradicts Indian regulatory authorities on biosafety of GM aubergine Release of Bt brinjal into the environment for food, feed and cultivation may present a serious risk for human and animal health; the GM aubergine is unfit for consumption [1] . That’s the verdict of French scientist Professor Gilles-Eric Seralini of the [...]

Land grabbing has been going on for centuries. One has only to think of Columbus “discovering” America and the brutal expulsion of indigenous communities that this unleashed, or white colonialists taking over territories occupied by the Maori in New Zealand and by the Zulu in South Africa. It is a violent process very much alive [...]

Part-I Part-II Part-III

Report by FT Cambodia is in talks with several Asian and Middle Eastern governments to receive as much as $3bn in agricultural investment in return for millions of hectares in land concessions, according to a senior government official. Some of the deals would be finalised “in coming months”, said Suos Yara, under-secretary of state responsible [...]

Hawaii bans genetically modified taro, coffee The Hawaii County Council has voted to uphold a ban on growing genetically modified taro and coffee on the island. The council voted 7-0 on Thursday to override Mayor Harry Kim’s veto of the measure. <<read more>> Will Genetically Modified Foods Make You Sick? Two new government studies, published [...]

Watch the entire discussion Further Reading: http://slowfoodnation.org/ Navdanya International – Vandana Shiva

Even though GM foods in the form of Bt Brinjal are looming large over your plate (where bacterial genes have been inserted into the brinjal plant unnaturally, with the claim that specific insect-killing toxins will be produced within the plant and that farmers will not have to use much pesticides), many consumers in India are [...]

Meeting Food Security Needs, Addressing Climate Change Challenges by Lim Li Ching Agriculture is thus at a crossroads. It has to find ways to feed the world while being environmentally, socially and economically sustainable. Yet, it is increasingly clear that the path that agriculture has been on is not sustainable nor can it feed the [...]

India has 200 million hungry people Punjab, the granary of India, ranks below countries like Honduras and Vietnam in terms of hunger levels while Madhy Pradesh has the most severe levels of hunger in the country, followed by Jharkand and Bihar, says a report prepared by US based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). “India [...]

Over 169 new GMOs in India’s food crops leaving consumers no choice, states Genetic Gamble, a Greenpeace report “We will survive without GM (Genetically Modified) food but we will never be able to survive the change unleashed by the tide of modification that is called Genetic Engineering” said Aruna Roy, at the launch of Greenpeace’s [...]

By Rev Thomas John A travesty played on the people to bring in Corporatisation of Agriculture and Retail Industry The US-India Agricultural Knowledge Initiative is a sellout of the interests of the majority of Indian population who constitute the unorganised sector – the small and marginal farmers, agricultural labour, small scale retailers, street vendors, etc [...]

WORLD FOOD-LESS DAY (OCTOBER 16) AND ASSOCIATED ONE WEEK OBSERVANCE FROM OCTOBER 12-16, 2008 A call to Chethana network and its partners and associated Joining Hands Partners of the Presbyterian Church across the world Last vestiges of Hope in a world of inequality and exploitation and consequent hunger and denial Human rights are the UN [...]

The Lord’s Supper: Let Us Wait For One Another 1 Corinthians. 11: 17- 33 Paul raises a critique against the way the Christians of Corinth had celebrated the Lord’s Supper. The context is that of the agape or love feast- a common meal in which the congregation had participated before they celebrated the Lord’s Supper. [...]

Perspective Land is not merely a source of livelihood but it should be recognized as the matrix in which life is sustained. Hence, the culture represented by “Agri-culture”, of diversity, relationship and mutuality must be lifted up as one that re-produces, sustains and enhances life on this earth. Land and agriculture should not be viewed [...]

At an interactive session on the economy in Missouri, the President of the US argued that prosperity in countries like India has triggered increased demand for better nutrition, which in turn leads to higher food prices. “There are 350 million people in India who are classified as middle class. That’s bigger than America. Their middle [...]

The biotech industry is trying to thrust Bt Brinjal – down our throats pretty soon and the companies are claiming that all trials and tests are nearly over. However, there is hardly any consumer awareness about what genetically modified foods are, what the known impacts of such foods are, that this is an irreversible process [...]

Choose Life (I King. 21: 1- 15) Rev. Thomas John M.A., M.Div. The fundamental conflict in the Bible is not between theists and atheist, but between those who worship the living God and those who worship the un-gods or false gods. The greatest threat that Christianity faces today is not atheism, nor Islam or Hinduism [...]

India has 200 million hungry people Punjab, the granary of India, ranks below countries like Honduras and Vietnam in terms of hunger levels while Madhy Pradesh has the most severe levels of hunger in the country, followed by Jharkand and Bihar, says a report prepared by US based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). “India [...]

Meeting Food Security Needs, Addressing Climate Change Challenges by Lim Li Ching Agriculture is thus at a crossroads. It has to find ways to feed the world while being environmentally, socially and economically sustainable. Yet, it is increasingly clear that the path that agriculture has been on is not sustainable nor can it feed the [...]

Hawaii bans genetically modified taro, coffee The Hawaii County Council has voted to uphold a ban on growing genetically modified taro and coffee on the island. The council voted 7-0 on Thursday to override Mayor Harry Kim’s veto of the measure. <<read more>> Will Genetically Modified Foods Make You Sick? Two new government studies, published [...]

Report by FT Cambodia is in talks with several Asian and Middle Eastern governments to receive as much as $3bn in agricultural investment in return for millions of hectares in land concessions, according to a senior government official. Some of the deals would be finalised “in coming months”, said Suos Yara, under-secretary of state responsible [...]

Land grabbing has been going on for centuries. One has only to think of Columbus “discovering” America and the brutal expulsion of indigenous communities that this unleashed, or white colonialists taking over territories occupied by the Maori in New Zealand and by the Zulu in South Africa. It is a violent process very much alive [...]

Despite its year-long sunshine and favourable climate, Senegal is a big importer of food – 2/3 of the rice its population consumes is brought in from Asia. This makes the country extremely vulnerable to fluctuations in global food prices.

It is sad to find the Editorial “Brinjal and Beyond” in your esteemed newspaper, which people like us advocate for its objective and scholarly position. But this editorial betrays that trust. The Hindu dated May 21, 2006 reported “the mystery that surrounds death of 25 per cent of sheep and goats after open grazing on [...]

With food prices skyrocketing and climate change looming, the world needs a green revolution like the one a generation ago. But many valuable seed varieties have been lost – and scientists now are scrambling to protect those that remain before they vanish down the genetic drain, writes Fred Pearce in Yale Environment360. The world’s heritage [...]

Kelly Brownell has long studied the relationship between rising levels of obesity in the U.S. and the way our food is grown, processed, packaged, and sold. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, he discusses the common marketing and lobbying tactics employed by the food and tobacco industries.

Say NO to the principles of “responsible” agro-enterprise investment promoted by the World Bank State and private investors, from Citadel Capital to Goldman Sachs, are leasing or buying up tens of millions of hectares of farmlands in Asia, Africa and Latin America for food and fuel production. This land grabbing is a serious threat for [...]

With food prices skyrocketing and climate change looming, the world needs a green revolution like the one a generation ago. But many valuable seed varieties have been lost – and scientists now are scrambling to protect those that remain before they vanish down the genetic drain, writes Fred Pearce in Yale Environment360. The world’s heritage [...]

Kelly Brownell has long studied the relationship between rising levels of obesity in the U.S. and the way our food is grown, processed, packaged, and sold. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, he discusses the common marketing and lobbying tactics employed by the food and tobacco industries.

Introduced more than a decade ago, genetically modified crops are now planted on millions of acres throughout the world. But the fundamental questions about them remain — both about their safety and their long-term impact on global food security and the environment. Verlyn Klinkenborg, a member of the editorial board at the New York Times [...]

233 consumer and farmer groups in 26 countries have joined the “Definitive Global Rejection of GM Wheat” statement to stop the commercialization of genetically modified (GM) wheat and remind the biotechnology corporation Monsanto that genetically modifying this major crop is not acceptable to farmers or consumers. (1) The 233 groups signed the rejection statement first [...]

According to a report in India Today, “Former managing director of Monsanto India, Tiruvadi Jagadisan, is the latest to join the critics of Bt brinjal, perhaps the first industry insider to do so.” Jagadisan, who worked with Monsanto for nearly two decades, including eight years as the managing director of India operations, spoke against the [...]

The Government of India finally acceded to the overwhelming public opinion in India. The Environment Ministry announced its decision to impose a moratorium on the release of the transgenic brinjal hybrid developed by Mahyco, a subsidiary of global seed giant Monsanto. The central government was under pressure with 13 state governments making it clear their [...]

An International conference on “Two Decades of the GMO Free Movement” was organized by Navdanya / Research Foundation for Science, Technology & Ecology in association with the International Commission on the Future of Food, ARSIA, Region of Tuscany, Italy, Center for Food Safety, USA, Save Our Seeds, Germany, Diverse Women for Diversity and Initiative for [...]

Misleading public about organism and products’ is one of the crimes for which punishment has been prescribed in Section 63, Chapter 13 of the Bill which deals with various “offences and penalties”.If the Ministry of Science and Technology has its way, criticising genetically-modified (GM) products could land you in jail. An Indian citizen who questions [...]

The government of India was forced by an overwhelming public opinion to declare a moratorium on the release of the transgenic Brinjal (Aubergines/Egg plant) hybrid developed by Mahyco, a subsidiary of American seed giant Monsanto. Bt brinjal is created by inserting a gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis into the brinjal cell. Monsanto claims [...]

Say NO to the principles of “responsible” agro-enterprise investment promoted by the World Bank State and private investors, from Citadel Capital to Goldman Sachs, are leasing or buying up tens of millions of hectares of farmlands in Asia, Africa and Latin America for food and fuel production. This land grabbing is a serious threat for [...]

In a village in India’s poorest state, Bihar, farmers are growing world record amounts of rice – with no GM, and no herbicide. Is this one solution to world food shortages? Sumant Kumar was overjoyed when he harvested his rice last year. There had been good rains in his village of Darveshpura in north-east India [...]

BBC’s Panorama reporter Paul Kenyon goes undercover as a cocoa trader in West Africa and discovers children as young as seven working long hours on cocoa farms, helping to make the chocolate we love so much. He buys a tonne of cocoa made with child labour, and sees how easy it is to sell it [...]

Land grabbing has been going on for centuries. One has only to think of Columbus “discovering” America and the brutal expulsion of indigenous communities that this unleashed, or white colonialists taking over territories occupied by the Maori in New Zealand and by the Zulu in South Africa. It is a violent process very much alive [...]

The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), India’s biotech regulator, has cleared Bt brinjal — the country’s first genetically modified (GM) food — for commercial use. Now it is up to the Government of India to put its political stamp of approval — for the floodgates to open. India’s environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, has been quoted [...]

The world’s largest manufacturer and user of the antiquated, persistent and highly hazardous pesticide endosulfan – India – is standing in the way of a global ban of the chemical. In mid-October, experts from around the world will meet in Geneva to consider the science behind the pesticide, and make decisions as to whether endosulfan [...]

India’s Environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, finds himself in a quagmire after the leak of a letter he wrote to prime minister Manmohan Singh. Minister Ramesh last week had called the campaign by Greenpeace against genetically modified Bt Brinjal as a “blackmail”. As per newspaper reports, Jairam Ramesh wants to make a U-turn on India’s Climate [...]

Vandana Shiva is the founder of Navdanya, the movement of 500,000 seed keepers and organic farmers in India. She is author of numerous books, including “The Violence of the Green Revolution” and “Soil, Not Oil.” Food security over the next two decades will have to be built on ecological security and climate resilience. We need [...]

An atrazine-induced female frog (a genetic male) is shown (bottom) copulating with an unexposed male sibling. This union produced viable eggs and larvae that survived to metamorphosis and adulthood. Yet, because both animals were genetic males, the offspring were all males. (Tyrone Hayes photo) Atrazine, one of the world’s most widely used pesticides, wreaks havoc [...]

We turned off the main road to Awassa, talked our way past security guards and drove a mile across empty land before we found what will soon be Ethiopia’s largest greenhouse. Nestling below an escarpment of the Rift Valley, the development is far from finished, but the plastic and steel structure already stretches over 20 [...]

By John Vidal For a few thousands dollars a year, an Indian agribusiness, Karuturi, rents 2,500 sq km of land in Ethiopia’s Gambela province. Government ministers in Addis Ababa claim it is marginal, unused land, and its situation at the far western border with Sudan suggests this is so. In fact, the black soil is [...]

Report finds genetically modified crops fail to increase yields let alone solve hunger, soil erosion and chemical-use issues. Genetic engineering has failed to increase the yield of any food crop but has vastly increased the use of chemicals and the growth of “superweeds”, according to a report by 20 Indian, south-east Asian, African and Latin [...]

Source: RT.com

After farming, retailing is India’s major occupation. It employs 40 million people. A sizeable majority of owner/employees are in the business because of lack of other opportunities. The decade of liberalisation has so far been one of jobless growth. It is no wonder that retail has become the refuge of these millions. Lopsided economic development [...]

The biotech industry is trying to thrust Bt Brinjal – down our throats pretty soon and the companies are claiming that all trials and tests are nearly over. However, there is hardly any consumer awareness about what genetically modified foods are, what the known impacts of such foods are, that this is an irreversible process [...]

WORLD FOOD-LESS DAY (OCTOBER 16) AND ASSOCIATED ONE WEEK OBSERVANCE FROM OCTOBER 12-16, 2008 A call to Chethana network and its partners and associated Joining Hands Partners of the Presbyterian Church across the world Last vestiges of Hope in a world of inequality and exploitation and consequent hunger and denial Human rights are the UN [...]

Even though GM foods in the form of Bt Brinjal are looming large over your plate (where bacterial genes have been inserted into the brinjal plant unnaturally, with the claim that specific insect-killing toxins will be produced within the plant and that farmers will not have to use much pesticides), many consumers in India are [...]

New Delhi’s shameless attitude towards Stockholm Convention angers enraged victims who seek court help The Anti-Endosulfan Committee in Kerala’s Kasargod district is all set to take on the Indian government over its attitude towards the Stockholm Convention and Rotterdam Convention, which seek to regulate the use of hazardous chemicals and pesticides. The committee is planning [...]

The Government of India finally acceded to the overwhelming public opinion in India. The Environment Ministry announced its decision to impose a moratorium on the release of the transgenic brinjal hybrid developed by Mahyco, a subsidiary of global seed giant Monsanto. The central government was under pressure with 13 state governments making it clear their [...]

The government of India was forced by an overwhelming public opinion to declare a moratorium on the release of the transgenic Brinjal (Aubergines/Egg plant) hybrid developed by Mahyco, a subsidiary of American seed giant Monsanto. Bt brinjal is created by inserting a gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis into the brinjal cell. Monsanto claims [...]

After farming, retailing is India’s major occupation. It employs 40 million people. A sizeable majority of owner/employees are in the business because of lack of other opportunities. The decade of liberalisation has so far been one of jobless growth. It is no wonder that retail has become the refuge of these millions. Lopsided economic development [...]

Reviewing Dambisa Moyo’s book “Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa”, Sonia Shah writes: “Readers may not be so inclined, these days, to listen to well-coiffed economists spouting bold plans and promises. But for those who care to truly get development right, Moyo is, I think, [...]

In a village in India’s poorest state, Bihar, farmers are growing world record amounts of rice – with no GM, and no herbicide. Is this one solution to world food shortages? Sumant Kumar was overjoyed when he harvested his rice last year. There had been good rains in his village of Darveshpura in north-east India [...]

Expert independent scientist verdict contradicts Indian regulatory authorities on biosafety of GM aubergine Release of Bt brinjal into the environment for food, feed and cultivation may present a serious risk for human and animal health; the GM aubergine is unfit for consumption [1] . That’s the verdict of French scientist Professor Gilles-Eric Seralini of the [...]

Alternet.org report asks: Why We Are Complicit in these Deaths Crop failure may have pushed farmers over the edge, but American companies have been leading them to the cliff for years.

A university trial cultivation of genetically modified potatoes has begun in secret in northern England. The Telegraph reported in late July that the trial, destroyed by unidentified vandals in 2008, had been replanted by the University of Leeds without announcement. European Union rules stipulate that the location of every GM trial must be published before [...]

New Delhi’s shameless attitude towards Stockholm Convention angers enraged victims who seek court help The Anti-Endosulfan Committee in Kerala’s Kasargod district is all set to take on the Indian government over its attitude towards the Stockholm Convention and Rotterdam Convention, which seek to regulate the use of hazardous chemicals and pesticides. The committee is planning [...]

India’s National Human Rights Commission has written to the Orissa government demanding a full report into its joint venture mining project with British mining giant Vedanta Resources, following a complaint submitted by UK-based Survival International. The complaint relates to Vedanta’s plan to mine for bauxite in the Niyamgiri Hills, eastern Orissa, which threatens the fragile [...]

Global Warming is real. Climate Change driven by Global Warming is also real. The Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets are thinning and breaking up. Glaciers in Kilimanjaro and Himalayas are also shrinking at an alarming rate. The reliable monsoon has been very weak in India – which is going to create a massive food and water shortage this year. We are desperately short of resources – consuming more than what nature can replenish.

India has rejected patents on two life-saving HIV/AIDS drugs, tenofovir and darunavir. Tenofovir is a key HIV/AIDS drug recommended by the World Health Organisation for improved first-line treatment of HIV/AIDS. Darunavir is one of new class of expensive HIV/AIDS drugs that are needed by patients failing on their existing treatments. Access to both medicines is currently limited by their high price.

The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), India’s biotech regulator, has cleared Bt brinjal — the country’s first genetically modified (GM) food — for commercial use. Now it is up to the Government of India to put its political stamp of approval — for the floodgates to open. India’s environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, has been quoted [...]

According to India’s Minister of State for Agriculture, KV Thomas, the central government will not blindly oppose genetically modified Bt Brinjal. He said, “Agriculture production will have to be increased once parliament passes the Food Security Act. So the government will have to rely on modern scientific methods to increase food production. We will not [...]

Devinder Sharma has written a brilliant analysis piece on the approval Bt Brinjal was given by The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), India’s biotech regulator. Sharma explains how there has been a clear manipulation of the scientific norms. “I can point a number of glaring flaws in the way the experiments were conducted. Only stupid [...]

Frontline magazine in India has published an interview with Joan Mencher, an anthropologist who has worked in India since 1958 on issues such as agriculture, ecology and caste. About the state of Indian agriculture, Mencher says: There were three processes that destroyed the traditional face of Indian agriculture. First, the Green Revolution; second, the 1991 [...]

Reviewing Dambisa Moyo’s book “Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa”, Sonia Shah writes: “Readers may not be so inclined, these days, to listen to well-coiffed economists spouting bold plans and promises. But for those who care to truly get development right, Moyo is, I think, [...]

233 consumer and farmer groups in 26 countries have joined the “Definitive Global Rejection of GM Wheat” statement to stop the commercialization of genetically modified (GM) wheat and remind the biotechnology corporation Monsanto that genetically modifying this major crop is not acceptable to farmers or consumers. (1) The 233 groups signed the rejection statement first [...]

According to a report in India Today, “Former managing director of Monsanto India, Tiruvadi Jagadisan, is the latest to join the critics of Bt brinjal, perhaps the first industry insider to do so.” Jagadisan, who worked with Monsanto for nearly two decades, including eight years as the managing director of India operations, spoke against the [...]

The Government of India finally acceded to the overwhelming public opinion in India. The Environment Ministry announced its decision to impose a moratorium on the release of the transgenic brinjal hybrid developed by Mahyco, a subsidiary of global seed giant Monsanto. The central government was under pressure with 13 state governments making it clear their [...]

The government of India was forced by an overwhelming public opinion to declare a moratorium on the release of the transgenic Brinjal (Aubergines/Egg plant) hybrid developed by Mahyco, a subsidiary of American seed giant Monsanto. Bt brinjal is created by inserting a gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis into the brinjal cell. Monsanto claims [...]

Say NO to the principles of “responsible” agro-enterprise investment promoted by the World Bank State and private investors, from Citadel Capital to Goldman Sachs, are leasing or buying up tens of millions of hectares of farmlands in Asia, Africa and Latin America for food and fuel production. This land grabbing is a serious threat for [...]

By Himanshu Jha India stands fourth in the list of countries ranked on the basis of number of billionaires. In 2011 we had 55 billionaires with a total world share of 4.5 per cent. A pretty straightforward record when we calculate the number of billionaires. Numbers become fuzzy when we start going about the business [...]

After farming, retailing is India’s major occupation. It employs 40 million people. A sizeable majority of owner/employees are in the business because of lack of other opportunities. The decade of liberalisation has so far been one of jobless growth. It is no wonder that retail has become the refuge of these millions. Lopsided economic development [...]

The Environmental Protection Agency has refused a petition that aimed to ban the sale of a powerful pesticide linked with cancer — and while already available, a surge in sales is expected as scientists ready a new crop resistant to the chemical. Not only has the EPA rejected a petition that sought to prohibit the [...]

Amid all the controversy over genetically-modified (GM) crops and their pesticides and herbicides decimating bee populations all around the world, biotechnology behemoth Monsanto has decided to buy out one of the major international firms devoted to studying and protecting bees. According to a company announcement, Beeologics handed over the reins to Monsanto back on September [...]

BBC’s Panorama reporter Paul Kenyon goes undercover as a cocoa trader in West Africa and discovers children as young as seven working long hours on cocoa farms, helping to make the chocolate we love so much. He buys a tonne of cocoa made with child labour, and sees how easy it is to sell it [...]

At an interactive session on the economy in Missouri, the President of the US argued that prosperity in countries like India has triggered increased demand for better nutrition, which in turn leads to higher food prices. “There are 350 million people in India who are classified as middle class. That’s bigger than America. Their middle [...]

Over 169 new GMOs in India’s food crops leaving consumers no choice, states Genetic Gamble, a Greenpeace report “We will survive without GM (Genetically Modified) food but we will never be able to survive the change unleashed by the tide of modification that is called Genetic Engineering” said Aruna Roy, at the launch of Greenpeace’s [...]

Report by FT Cambodia is in talks with several Asian and Middle Eastern governments to receive as much as $3bn in agricultural investment in return for millions of hectares in land concessions, according to a senior government official. Some of the deals would be finalised “in coming months”, said Suos Yara, under-secretary of state responsible [...]

Expert independent scientist verdict contradicts Indian regulatory authorities on biosafety of GM aubergine Release of Bt brinjal into the environment for food, feed and cultivation may present a serious risk for human and animal health; the GM aubergine is unfit for consumption [1] . That’s the verdict of French scientist Professor Gilles-Eric Seralini of the [...]

Despite its year-long sunshine and favourable climate, Senegal is a big importer of food – 2/3 of the rice its population consumes is brought in from Asia. This makes the country extremely vulnerable to fluctuations in global food prices.

Alternet.org report asks: Why We Are Complicit in these Deaths Crop failure may have pushed farmers over the edge, but American companies have been leading them to the cliff for years.

A university trial cultivation of genetically modified potatoes has begun in secret in northern England. The Telegraph reported in late July that the trial, destroyed by unidentified vandals in 2008, had been replanted by the University of Leeds without announcement. European Union rules stipulate that the location of every GM trial must be published before [...]

New Delhi’s shameless attitude towards Stockholm Convention angers enraged victims who seek court help The Anti-Endosulfan Committee in Kerala’s Kasargod district is all set to take on the Indian government over its attitude towards the Stockholm Convention and Rotterdam Convention, which seek to regulate the use of hazardous chemicals and pesticides. The committee is planning [...]

Livemint.com has an investigative article written by Ajayan: Kuttanad cancer spread linked to chemicals? The spectre of cancer is gripping Kuttanad, a water-logged rice bowl in central Kerala that is home to about 1.8 million people and where roughly 15,000 tonnes of chemical fertilizers, 500 tonnes of insecticides and 50 tonnes of fungicides are used [...]

P Sainath has written a brilliant piece, Our drought came before yours That price rise has hit the mid-day meals at schools and squeezed the SHGs that provide them at Rs. 3 per schoolchild each day. At the High School in A. Gokulapadu village of Kurnool, the SHG women say “We were getting 5-6 quintals [...]

The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), India’s biotech regulator, has cleared Bt brinjal — the country’s first genetically modified (GM) food — for commercial use. Now it is up to the Government of India to put its political stamp of approval — for the floodgates to open. India’s environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, has been quoted [...]

The world’s largest manufacturer and user of the antiquated, persistent and highly hazardous pesticide endosulfan – India – is standing in the way of a global ban of the chemical. In mid-October, experts from around the world will meet in Geneva to consider the science behind the pesticide, and make decisions as to whether endosulfan [...]

France’s highest court has ruled that US agrochemical giant Monsanto had not told the truth about the safety of its best-selling weed-killer, Roundup. According to a BBC report: The court confirmed an earlier judgment that Monsanto had falsely advertised its herbicide as “biodegradable” and claimed it “left the soil clean”. The company was fined 15,000 [...]

According to India’s Minister of State for Agriculture, KV Thomas, the central government will not blindly oppose genetically modified Bt Brinjal. He said, “Agriculture production will have to be increased once parliament passes the Food Security Act. So the government will have to rely on modern scientific methods to increase food production. We will not [...]

Devinder Sharma has written a brilliant analysis piece on the approval Bt Brinjal was given by The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), India’s biotech regulator. Sharma explains how there has been a clear manipulation of the scientific norms. “I can point a number of glaring flaws in the way the experiments were conducted. Only stupid [...]

Vandana Shiva is the founder of Navdanya, the movement of 500,000 seed keepers and organic farmers in India. She is author of numerous books, including “The Violence of the Green Revolution” and “Soil, Not Oil.” Food security over the next two decades will have to be built on ecological security and climate resilience. We need [...]

According to a NewScientist report, “Genetically modified rice cleared for commercial sale could be growing on Chinese farms as early as next year, making China the first country to allow commercial cultivation of GM strains. The field trials required for any new variety are now under way, following official safety clearance November. Two varieties, called [...]

Frontline magazine in India has published an interview with Joan Mencher, an anthropologist who has worked in India since 1958 on issues such as agriculture, ecology and caste. About the state of Indian agriculture, Mencher says: There were three processes that destroyed the traditional face of Indian agriculture. First, the Green Revolution; second, the 1991 [...]

Kelly Brownell has long studied the relationship between rising levels of obesity in the U.S. and the way our food is grown, processed, packaged, and sold. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, he discusses the common marketing and lobbying tactics employed by the food and tobacco industries.

233 consumer and farmer groups in 26 countries have joined the “Definitive Global Rejection of GM Wheat” statement to stop the commercialization of genetically modified (GM) wheat and remind the biotechnology corporation Monsanto that genetically modifying this major crop is not acceptable to farmers or consumers. (1) The 233 groups signed the rejection statement first [...]

According to a report in India Today, “Former managing director of Monsanto India, Tiruvadi Jagadisan, is the latest to join the critics of Bt brinjal, perhaps the first industry insider to do so.” Jagadisan, who worked with Monsanto for nearly two decades, including eight years as the managing director of India operations, spoke against the [...]

The Government of India finally acceded to the overwhelming public opinion in India. The Environment Ministry announced its decision to impose a moratorium on the release of the transgenic brinjal hybrid developed by Mahyco, a subsidiary of global seed giant Monsanto. The central government was under pressure with 13 state governments making it clear their [...]

An International conference on “Two Decades of the GMO Free Movement” was organized by Navdanya / Research Foundation for Science, Technology & Ecology in association with the International Commission on the Future of Food, ARSIA, Region of Tuscany, Italy, Center for Food Safety, USA, Save Our Seeds, Germany, Diverse Women for Diversity and Initiative for [...]

Misleading public about organism and products’ is one of the crimes for which punishment has been prescribed in Section 63, Chapter 13 of the Bill which deals with various “offences and penalties”.If the Ministry of Science and Technology has its way, criticising genetically-modified (GM) products could land you in jail. An Indian citizen who questions [...]

The government of India was forced by an overwhelming public opinion to declare a moratorium on the release of the transgenic Brinjal (Aubergines/Egg plant) hybrid developed by Mahyco, a subsidiary of American seed giant Monsanto. Bt brinjal is created by inserting a gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis into the brinjal cell. Monsanto claims [...]

Say NO to the principles of “responsible” agro-enterprise investment promoted by the World Bank State and private investors, from Citadel Capital to Goldman Sachs, are leasing or buying up tens of millions of hectares of farmlands in Asia, Africa and Latin America for food and fuel production. This land grabbing is a serious threat for [...]

After farming, retailing is India’s major occupation. It employs 40 million people. A sizeable majority of owner/employees are in the business because of lack of other opportunities. The decade of liberalisation has so far been one of jobless growth. It is no wonder that retail has become the refuge of these millions. Lopsided economic development [...]

In a village in India’s poorest state, Bihar, farmers are growing world record amounts of rice – with no GM, and no herbicide. Is this one solution to world food shortages? Sumant Kumar was overjoyed when he harvested his rice last year. There had been good rains in his village of Darveshpura in north-east India [...]

Global Warming is real. Climate Change driven by Global Warming is also real. The Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets are thinning and breaking up. Glaciers in Kilimanjaro and Himalayas are also shrinking at an alarming rate. The reliable monsoon has been very weak in India – which is going to create a massive food and water shortage this year. We are desperately short of resources – consuming more than what nature can replenish.

India’s Environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, finds himself in a quagmire after the leak of a letter he wrote to prime minister Manmohan Singh. Minister Ramesh last week had called the campaign by Greenpeace against genetically modified Bt Brinjal as a “blackmail”. As per newspaper reports, Jairam Ramesh wants to make a U-turn on India’s Climate [...]

By Rev Thomas John A travesty played on the people to bring in Corporatisation of Agriculture and Retail Industry The US-India Agricultural Knowledge Initiative is a sellout of the interests of the majority of Indian population who constitute the unorganised sector – the small and marginal farmers, agricultural labour, small scale retailers, street vendors, etc [...]

Over 169 new GMOs in India’s food crops leaving consumers no choice, states Genetic Gamble, a Greenpeace report “We will survive without GM (Genetically Modified) food but we will never be able to survive the change unleashed by the tide of modification that is called Genetic Engineering” said Aruna Roy, at the launch of Greenpeace’s [...]

Expert independent scientist verdict contradicts Indian regulatory authorities on biosafety of GM aubergine Release of Bt brinjal into the environment for food, feed and cultivation may present a serious risk for human and animal health; the GM aubergine is unfit for consumption [1] . That’s the verdict of French scientist Professor Gilles-Eric Seralini of the [...]

Alternet.org report asks: Why We Are Complicit in these Deaths Crop failure may have pushed farmers over the edge, but American companies have been leading them to the cliff for years.

A university trial cultivation of genetically modified potatoes has begun in secret in northern England. The Telegraph reported in late July that the trial, destroyed by unidentified vandals in 2008, had been replanted by the University of Leeds without announcement. European Union rules stipulate that the location of every GM trial must be published before [...]

India’s National Human Rights Commission has written to the Orissa government demanding a full report into its joint venture mining project with British mining giant Vedanta Resources, following a complaint submitted by UK-based Survival International. The complaint relates to Vedanta’s plan to mine for bauxite in the Niyamgiri Hills, eastern Orissa, which threatens the fragile [...]

France’s highest court has ruled that US agrochemical giant Monsanto had not told the truth about the safety of its best-selling weed-killer, Roundup. According to a BBC report: The court confirmed an earlier judgment that Monsanto had falsely advertised its herbicide as “biodegradable” and claimed it “left the soil clean”. The company was fined 15,000 [...]

Frontline magazine in India has published an interview with Joan Mencher, an anthropologist who has worked in India since 1958 on issues such as agriculture, ecology and caste. About the state of Indian agriculture, Mencher says: There were three processes that destroyed the traditional face of Indian agriculture. First, the Green Revolution; second, the 1991 [...]

Introduced more than a decade ago, genetically modified crops are now planted on millions of acres throughout the world. But the fundamental questions about them remain — both about their safety and their long-term impact on global food security and the environment. Verlyn Klinkenborg, a member of the editorial board at the New York Times [...]

Reviewing Dambisa Moyo’s book “Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa”, Sonia Shah writes: “Readers may not be so inclined, these days, to listen to well-coiffed economists spouting bold plans and promises. But for those who care to truly get development right, Moyo is, I think, [...]

According to a report in India Today, “Former managing director of Monsanto India, Tiruvadi Jagadisan, is the latest to join the critics of Bt brinjal, perhaps the first industry insider to do so.” Jagadisan, who worked with Monsanto for nearly two decades, including eight years as the managing director of India operations, spoke against the [...]

The Government of India finally acceded to the overwhelming public opinion in India. The Environment Ministry announced its decision to impose a moratorium on the release of the transgenic brinjal hybrid developed by Mahyco, a subsidiary of global seed giant Monsanto. The central government was under pressure with 13 state governments making it clear their [...]

After farming, retailing is India’s major occupation. It employs 40 million people. A sizeable majority of owner/employees are in the business because of lack of other opportunities. The decade of liberalisation has so far been one of jobless growth. It is no wonder that retail has become the refuge of these millions. Lopsided economic development [...]

The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), India’s biotech regulator, has cleared Bt brinjal — the country’s first genetically modified (GM) food — for commercial use. Now it is up to the Government of India to put its political stamp of approval — for the floodgates to open. India’s environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, has been quoted [...]

In a damning and ground breaking ruling, South Africa’s GM body, the Executive Council (EC), has rejected attempts by the Agriculture Research Council (ARC) to bring GM potatoes to the South African market. The EC cited no less than 11 biosafety and socio economic and agronomic concerns for rejecting ARC’s commercial release application. These support [...]

France’s highest court has ruled that US agrochemical giant Monsanto had not told the truth about the safety of its best-selling weed-killer, Roundup. According to a BBC report: The court confirmed an earlier judgment that Monsanto had falsely advertised its herbicide as “biodegradable” and claimed it “left the soil clean”. The company was fined 15,000 [...]

According to India’s Minister of State for Agriculture, KV Thomas, the central government will not blindly oppose genetically modified Bt Brinjal. He said, “Agriculture production will have to be increased once parliament passes the Food Security Act. So the government will have to rely on modern scientific methods to increase food production. We will not [...]

Devinder Sharma has written a brilliant analysis piece on the approval Bt Brinjal was given by The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), India’s biotech regulator. Sharma explains how there has been a clear manipulation of the scientific norms. “I can point a number of glaring flaws in the way the experiments were conducted. Only stupid [...]

It is sad to find the Editorial “Brinjal and Beyond” in your esteemed newspaper, which people like us advocate for its objective and scholarly position. But this editorial betrays that trust. The Hindu dated May 21, 2006 reported “the mystery that surrounds death of 25 per cent of sheep and goats after open grazing on [...]

According to a NewScientist report, “Genetically modified rice cleared for commercial sale could be growing on Chinese farms as early as next year, making China the first country to allow commercial cultivation of GM strains. The field trials required for any new variety are now under way, following official safety clearance November. Two varieties, called [...]

Frontline magazine in India has published an interview with Joan Mencher, an anthropologist who has worked in India since 1958 on issues such as agriculture, ecology and caste. About the state of Indian agriculture, Mencher says: There were three processes that destroyed the traditional face of Indian agriculture. First, the Green Revolution; second, the 1991 [...]

Introduced more than a decade ago, genetically modified crops are now planted on millions of acres throughout the world. But the fundamental questions about them remain — both about their safety and their long-term impact on global food security and the environment. Verlyn Klinkenborg, a member of the editorial board at the New York Times [...]

233 consumer and farmer groups in 26 countries have joined the “Definitive Global Rejection of GM Wheat” statement to stop the commercialization of genetically modified (GM) wheat and remind the biotechnology corporation Monsanto that genetically modifying this major crop is not acceptable to farmers or consumers. (1) The 233 groups signed the rejection statement first [...]

According to a report in India Today, “Former managing director of Monsanto India, Tiruvadi Jagadisan, is the latest to join the critics of Bt brinjal, perhaps the first industry insider to do so.” Jagadisan, who worked with Monsanto for nearly two decades, including eight years as the managing director of India operations, spoke against the [...]

The Government of India finally acceded to the overwhelming public opinion in India. The Environment Ministry announced its decision to impose a moratorium on the release of the transgenic brinjal hybrid developed by Mahyco, a subsidiary of global seed giant Monsanto. The central government was under pressure with 13 state governments making it clear their [...]

Misleading public about organism and products’ is one of the crimes for which punishment has been prescribed in Section 63, Chapter 13 of the Bill which deals with various “offences and penalties”.If the Ministry of Science and Technology has its way, criticising genetically-modified (GM) products could land you in jail. An Indian citizen who questions [...]

The government of India was forced by an overwhelming public opinion to declare a moratorium on the release of the transgenic Brinjal (Aubergines/Egg plant) hybrid developed by Mahyco, a subsidiary of American seed giant Monsanto. Bt brinjal is created by inserting a gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis into the brinjal cell. Monsanto claims [...]

The Environmental Protection Agency has refused a petition that aimed to ban the sale of a powerful pesticide linked with cancer — and while already available, a surge in sales is expected as scientists ready a new crop resistant to the chemical. Not only has the EPA rejected a petition that sought to prohibit the [...]

Amid all the controversy over genetically-modified (GM) crops and their pesticides and herbicides decimating bee populations all around the world, biotechnology behemoth Monsanto has decided to buy out one of the major international firms devoted to studying and protecting bees. According to a company announcement, Beeologics handed over the reins to Monsanto back on September [...]

Expert independent scientist verdict contradicts Indian regulatory authorities on biosafety of GM aubergine Release of Bt brinjal into the environment for food, feed and cultivation may present a serious risk for human and animal health; the GM aubergine is unfit for consumption [1] . That’s the verdict of French scientist Professor Gilles-Eric Seralini of the [...]

India has rejected patents on two life-saving HIV/AIDS drugs, tenofovir and darunavir. Tenofovir is a key HIV/AIDS drug recommended by the World Health Organisation for improved first-line treatment of HIV/AIDS. Darunavir is one of new class of expensive HIV/AIDS drugs that are needed by patients failing on their existing treatments. Access to both medicines is currently limited by their high price.

Endosulfan is a pesticide belonging to the organochlorine group of pesticides, under the Cyclodiene subgroup. It has been introduced in the 1950’s and in India has become a leading chemical used against pests in agriculture. It is used as an insecticide and also to kill fishes in lakes and rivers. It is not recommended for [...]

The Government of India finally acceded to the overwhelming public opinion in India. The Environment Ministry announced its decision to impose a moratorium on the release of the transgenic brinjal hybrid developed by Mahyco, a subsidiary of global seed giant Monsanto. The central government was under pressure with 13 state governments making it clear their [...]

Misleading public about organism and products’ is one of the crimes for which punishment has been prescribed in Section 63, Chapter 13 of the Bill which deals with various “offences and penalties”.If the Ministry of Science and Technology has its way, criticising genetically-modified (GM) products could land you in jail. An Indian citizen who questions [...]

An atrazine-induced female frog (a genetic male) is shown (bottom) copulating with an unexposed male sibling. This union produced viable eggs and larvae that survived to metamorphosis and adulthood. Yet, because both animals were genetic males, the offspring were all males. (Tyrone Hayes photo) Atrazine, one of the world’s most widely used pesticides, wreaks havoc [...]

The government of India was forced by an overwhelming public opinion to declare a moratorium on the release of the transgenic Brinjal (Aubergines/Egg plant) hybrid developed by Mahyco, a subsidiary of American seed giant Monsanto. Bt brinjal is created by inserting a gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis into the brinjal cell. Monsanto claims [...]

Misleading public about organism and products’ is one of the crimes for which punishment has been prescribed in Section 63, Chapter 13 of the Bill which deals with various “offences and penalties”.If the Ministry of Science and Technology has its way, criticising genetically-modified (GM) products could land you in jail. An Indian citizen who questions [...]

The government of India was forced by an overwhelming public opinion to declare a moratorium on the release of the transgenic Brinjal (Aubergines/Egg plant) hybrid developed by Mahyco, a subsidiary of American seed giant Monsanto. Bt brinjal is created by inserting a gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis into the brinjal cell. Monsanto claims [...]

Institutions including Harvard and Vanderbilt reportedly use hedge funds to buy land in deals that may force farmers out. Harvard and other major American universities are working through British hedge funds and European financial speculators to buy or lease vast areas of African farmland in deals, some of which may force many thousands of people [...]

Perspective Land is not merely a source of livelihood but it should be recognized as the matrix in which life is sustained. Hence, the culture represented by “Agri-culture”, of diversity, relationship and mutuality must be lifted up as one that re-produces, sustains and enhances life on this earth. Land and agriculture should not be viewed [...]

Alternet.org report asks: Why We Are Complicit in these Deaths Crop failure may have pushed farmers over the edge, but American companies have been leading them to the cliff for years.

India’s National Human Rights Commission has written to the Orissa government demanding a full report into its joint venture mining project with British mining giant Vedanta Resources, following a complaint submitted by UK-based Survival International. The complaint relates to Vedanta’s plan to mine for bauxite in the Niyamgiri Hills, eastern Orissa, which threatens the fragile [...]

Say NO to the principles of “responsible” agro-enterprise investment promoted by the World Bank State and private investors, from Citadel Capital to Goldman Sachs, are leasing or buying up tens of millions of hectares of farmlands in Asia, Africa and Latin America for food and fuel production. This land grabbing is a serious threat for [...]

Institutions including Harvard and Vanderbilt reportedly use hedge funds to buy land in deals that may force farmers out. Harvard and other major American universities are working through British hedge funds and European financial speculators to buy or lease vast areas of African farmland in deals, some of which may force many thousands of people [...]

Watch the entire discussion Further Reading: http://slowfoodnation.org/ Navdanya International – Vandana Shiva

Part-I Part-II Part-III

Despite its year-long sunshine and favourable climate, Senegal is a big importer of food – 2/3 of the rice its population consumes is brought in from Asia. This makes the country extremely vulnerable to fluctuations in global food prices.

Endosulfan is a pesticide belonging to the organochlorine group of pesticides, under the Cyclodiene subgroup. It has been introduced in the 1950’s and in India has become a leading chemical used against pests in agriculture. It is used as an insecticide and also to kill fishes in lakes and rivers. It is not recommended for [...]

The world’s largest manufacturer and user of the antiquated, persistent and highly hazardous pesticide endosulfan – India – is standing in the way of a global ban of the chemical. In mid-October, experts from around the world will meet in Geneva to consider the science behind the pesticide, and make decisions as to whether endosulfan [...]

France’s highest court has ruled that US agrochemical giant Monsanto had not told the truth about the safety of its best-selling weed-killer, Roundup. According to a BBC report: The court confirmed an earlier judgment that Monsanto had falsely advertised its herbicide as “biodegradable” and claimed it “left the soil clean”. The company was fined 15,000 [...]

Devinder Sharma has written a brilliant analysis piece on the approval Bt Brinjal was given by The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), India’s biotech regulator. Sharma explains how there has been a clear manipulation of the scientific norms. “I can point a number of glaring flaws in the way the experiments were conducted. Only stupid [...]

It is sad to find the Editorial “Brinjal and Beyond” in your esteemed newspaper, which people like us advocate for its objective and scholarly position. But this editorial betrays that trust. The Hindu dated May 21, 2006 reported “the mystery that surrounds death of 25 per cent of sheep and goats after open grazing on [...]

Frontline magazine in India has published an interview with Joan Mencher, an anthropologist who has worked in India since 1958 on issues such as agriculture, ecology and caste. About the state of Indian agriculture, Mencher says: There were three processes that destroyed the traditional face of Indian agriculture. First, the Green Revolution; second, the 1991 [...]

An atrazine-induced female frog (a genetic male) is shown (bottom) copulating with an unexposed male sibling. This union produced viable eggs and larvae that survived to metamorphosis and adulthood. Yet, because both animals were genetic males, the offspring were all males. (Tyrone Hayes photo) Atrazine, one of the world’s most widely used pesticides, wreaks havoc [...]

The government of India was forced by an overwhelming public opinion to declare a moratorium on the release of the transgenic Brinjal (Aubergines/Egg plant) hybrid developed by Mahyco, a subsidiary of American seed giant Monsanto. Bt brinjal is created by inserting a gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis into the brinjal cell. Monsanto claims [...]

The Environmental Protection Agency has refused a petition that aimed to ban the sale of a powerful pesticide linked with cancer — and while already available, a surge in sales is expected as scientists ready a new crop resistant to the chemical. Not only has the EPA rejected a petition that sought to prohibit the [...]

In a village in India’s poorest state, Bihar, farmers are growing world record amounts of rice – with no GM, and no herbicide. Is this one solution to world food shortages? Sumant Kumar was overjoyed when he harvested his rice last year. There had been good rains in his village of Darveshpura in north-east India [...]

BBC’s Panorama reporter Paul Kenyon goes undercover as a cocoa trader in West Africa and discovers children as young as seven working long hours on cocoa farms, helping to make the chocolate we love so much. He buys a tonne of cocoa made with child labour, and sees how easy it is to sell it [...]

An International conference on “Two Decades of the GMO Free Movement” was organized by Navdanya / Research Foundation for Science, Technology & Ecology in association with the International Commission on the Future of Food, ARSIA, Region of Tuscany, Italy, Center for Food Safety, USA, Save Our Seeds, Germany, Diverse Women for Diversity and Initiative for [...]

The government of India was forced by an overwhelming public opinion to declare a moratorium on the release of the transgenic Brinjal (Aubergines/Egg plant) hybrid developed by Mahyco, a subsidiary of American seed giant Monsanto. Bt brinjal is created by inserting a gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis into the brinjal cell. Monsanto claims [...]

After farming, retailing is India’s major occupation. It employs 40 million people. A sizeable majority of owner/employees are in the business because of lack of other opportunities. The decade of liberalisation has so far been one of jobless growth. It is no wonder that retail has become the refuge of these millions. Lopsided economic development [...]

In a village in India’s poorest state, Bihar, farmers are growing world record amounts of rice – with no GM, and no herbicide. Is this one solution to world food shortages? Sumant Kumar was overjoyed when he harvested his rice last year. There had been good rains in his village of Darveshpura in north-east India [...]

Choose Life (I King. 21: 1- 15) Rev. Thomas John M.A., M.Div. The fundamental conflict in the Bible is not between theists and atheist, but between those who worship the living God and those who worship the un-gods or false gods. The greatest threat that Christianity faces today is not atheism, nor Islam or Hinduism [...]

The Lord’s Supper: Let Us Wait For One Another 1 Corinthians. 11: 17- 33 Paul raises a critique against the way the Christians of Corinth had celebrated the Lord’s Supper. The context is that of the agape or love feast- a common meal in which the congregation had participated before they celebrated the Lord’s Supper. [...]

The Story of Genetically Engineered Seeds and Foods (Genesis Ch. 6: 1-8, 11: 1-9) The Problem Some of the recent advances in genetic engineering and transgenic development of organisms are astonishing: A company called Nexia has managed to put the gene of a spider into goats. The “spider-goats” produce milk with a silk protein which [...]

India’s National Human Rights Commission has written to the Orissa government demanding a full report into its joint venture mining project with British mining giant Vedanta Resources, following a complaint submitted by UK-based Survival International. The complaint relates to Vedanta’s plan to mine for bauxite in the Niyamgiri Hills, eastern Orissa, which threatens the fragile [...]