Are GM crops a threat to India’s ecology?

Sind gentechnische Eingriffe in das Erbgut von Feldfrüchten eine Gefahr oder ein Segen für den bevölkerungsreichen indischen Subkontinent? Talitha Linehan hat zwei Meinungen gehört.

Yes!

Dr Vandana Shiva lives in Delhi, India. She is a physicist, environmental activist and author, and one of the leaders of the International Forum on Globalization.

Dr. Vandana Shiva is a a physicist, environmental activist and author

In 2002, farmers in India started using a GM cotton seed called BT cotton, which contains a toxin against certain pests. However, BT has resulted in the evolution of super pests resistant to the toxin. Studies show that these genes can be transferred to micro-organisms, which cause diseases. This could lead to the development of a new form of TB resistant to antibiotics. Biotech firms are hiding information about these risks to the public.

Once in the environment, GM toxins kill species they weren’t intended to destroy. A toxin that kills harmful bacteria can also kill useful bacteria. And if a toxin is going to kill pests, it’s going to kill other insects, too. Bees, butterflies and cattle have all died because of GM crops. Indian scientists have found that the toxin in BT cotton is killing the bacteria in cows that allow them to digest food.

The toxic traits of GM crops can spread to non-GM crops in neighbouring farms through cross-pollination. When this happens, the firm Monsanto sues those farmers for stealing their seed. This is a huge scandal.

Monsanto officials often use religious themes to sell their seed in India. They tell farmers BT seeds are a gift from God and will make them millionaires. This is a lie. GM seeds aren’t aimed at increasing productivity — they are aimed at increasing debt. The first year the farmer uses the seed, the crops fail. Monsanto says it’s because the farmer didn’t irrigate the land. So now he has to pay to irrigate the land. He also has to buy new seeds every year because those produced from the original crop belong to the biotech company. And GM seeds cost ten times more than the old seed. Soon the farmer is hopelessly in debt. More than 40,000 farmers in India have committed suicide as a result. But there’s hope.

About 20 years ago, I started the organization Navdany in response to the Monsanto threat. We work with over 200,000 Indian farmers, and there is growing awareness that organic farming earns ten times more.