Challenging the narrative of GM Mustard
by Vipesh Garg on 17 Jun 2017 10 Comments
Public Law (P.L.)-480, a food-aid programme, was major part of American foreign policy during the Cold War, to liquidate communist influence. It was signed as Agricultural Trade Development and Assistant Act, 1954 by President D. Dwight Eisenhower and administered strongly under ‘Food for Peace’ during John F. Kennedy’s administration. Henry Kissinger, Secretary of State under President Nixon, used to say, ‘Control oil [crude] and you control nations; control food and you control people’. The ‘green revolution’ did not happen in India alone; it was pushed as a hidden design in many developing and least developed countries to support the chemical industries that became unemployed after the Second World War and the seed corporations to take control the world’s food system.

 

If we connect the dots, we can clearly see we in India were made deficient in pulses, edible oils and millets – in order to hijack the seeds, food system and rich biodiversity of India. 

 

Under the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) consortium, India was provided with high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of seeds and chemicals to increase yields, like many other countries. There is no dispute; in disguise the green revolution made us rice-wheat sufficient and even a food exporter.

 

But we cannot sit back and eulogise the green revolution because over the years it has brought a great number of socio-economic problems which are ticking like time bombs within the Indian agriculture system. It is important to discuss how we were made deficient in pulses, edible oil and millets over the years, through false narratives and hidden designs, so that our seed, food system and diversity could be taken over by some seed giants.

 

The controversy of GM mustard and GM food crops again contain false narratives and hidden designs which need to be challenged to save our farmers and agriculture.

 

The Rajiv Gandhi government wanted to make India self-sufficient in edible oils and pulses, and cut down the huge import bill. The government launched a Technology Mission on Oilseeds and Pulses [TMOP] in 1986-87, and ushered in the Yellow Revolution with self-sufficiency in edible oils and pulses successfully. By 1993-94, India was made 97 per cent sufficient in edible oils under the oilseeds production programme [OPP]. Apart from mustard oil, the Indian oil basket has been remained very diverse, with edible oils from diverse sources - mustard, sunflower, safflower, coconut, sesame, castor, cotton etc.

 

After the 1991 balance of payments crisis, India opened its market and agriculture to the world. It has been observed that despite the Indian economy benefitting from globalisation, agriculture was deeply impacted, adversely, by liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation. The neo-colonial agenda for developing and least developed countries (LDCs) was further pushed through the World Trade Organisation (WTO) after the Uruguay round.

 

WTO was set up to take control of the economies of developing and LDCs in the name of technology, development and free trade agreements [FTAs]. Under WTO, India was bound to raise import duties of edible food oils [except soyabean] up to 300 percent. In the 1990s, some seed companies lobbied and forced India to slash its import duties on edible oils to 45 per cent, in the name of transfer of agricultural technology (in the form of Bt cotton seed technology). Import duty was further slashed to almost zero and the whole of India was flooded with subsidised and cheap GM soya and palm oil.

 

Side by side, a pseudo-narrative was planted claiming that Indian mustard oil had adulteration of Argemone Mexicana (Satyanashi) which caused endemic dropsy in children. Using false science, a few seed companies destroyed the diversity of our edible oils and attacked our local mills and local cultivation of mustard seed varieties. This is similar to the manner in which the British de-industrialised India through biased trade policies and destruction of local textiles and mills.

 

When Bt cotton was introduced in India, it was introduced as a non-food crop to bypass bio-safety concerns. Today, a false narrative has been peddled that domestic Bt cotton oil is now the second largest indigenous edible oil after mustard oil, and that if imported (GM Canola) and indigenous edible oil can be GM, why farmers should fear GM mustard? It is pertinent that the Government of India has permitted several GM food items to be imported without labelling.

 

In the aftermath of the green revolution, lack of social support and market infrastructure, poor procurement and integrated value chains for pulses, edible oil and millets, has led to the current imbalance in the Indian food basket. Most R&D and extension services have been devoted to only two crops, rice and wheat. Decades of unbalanced polices, vote-bank politics, cereal-centric food system, lack of attention to pulses, mustard and millet, has brought us to the current pass.

 

Today we are importing Rs 80,000 worth edible oils and Rs 10,000 worth pulses annually. Most of our coarse grains have been taken out of cultivation in irrigated areas due to poor social, market and procurement infrastructure. The bottom line is that we have been made deficient in pulses, edible oils and millets over the years.

 

Industry promoted science is not science, it is propaganda. Further, in this age of information terrorism, these resourceful seed giants are controlling and planting the wrong information. They have manipulated information through education, media, scientific community, R&D funding, pseudo-journalism, pleasing some scientists through prizes and appreciation. These seed giants have successfully fragmented the science, sociology, economics and environment of academia.

 

Integration is key to examining the GM mustard case organically, which is lacking among our scientific community and policy formulators. Scientists, environmentalists, socio-economists, all are fighting in their own compartments. There is lack of inter-disciplinary cooperation and integration. This is fertile ground for the seed giants to push their agenda smoothly.

 

GM Mustard is a scientific fraud to hijack the food and biodiversity of the world, which needs to be challenged. In the regulatory pipeline, there are hundreds of other GM food crops waiting to get approval. Once GM Mustard gets approval, our whole food chain would be flooded with GM food crops having bio-safety dangers.

 

In this age of free trade and biased policies, Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and trade laws, government faces huge external pressures to push Western corporate interests. There is a move to dilute and strike off the Indian sui generic system of IPRs and to follow the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants 1991 (UPOV-91), which would enable the seed companies to take patents of Living Modified Organisms (LMOs) and GMOs. How can life giving seeds be considered the property of these seed companies? There are lots of reports that in the name of aid, many of African countries’ farmers are handing over their rights to save, share and swap traditional seeds. Tanzanian farmers are facing heavy prison sentences and penalties if they continue their traditional seed exchanges. 

 

This is really a fight between David and Goliath. Agricultural scientists need to realise these false narratives and hidden designs for the overall benefit of the nation and food system. We are seeds of Mother Nature. We have equal right to live with purity and freedom. Indian farmers are most resilient and hardworking. They always have made the nation self-sufficient when called upon to produce. Green revolution, yellow revolution, operation flood, are some prime examples.

 

The majority of farmers do not want technology in the form of GM seeds, HYVs or chemical formulations. They want only an assured market and procurement infrastructure. In the 2016-17 rabi year, there was record area planted under pulses and edible oils despite suffering from demonetisation. But farmers were forced to sell their produce below MSP.

 

The on-going farmers’ protests in many states reflect the chasm between reality at the ground level and the government’s thinking. It is painful that scientists, policy makers and government are pushing farmers to the wall by making farming input-intensive and costly, without supporting them with basic infrastructure.

 

The author is an under graduate from Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hissar, Haryana, and post-graduate from Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana, Punjab, and a student of natural agricultural systems and Indian agricultural policies

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Bharati
June 17, 2017
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This is an admirable effort for a post graduate in agriculture.In this connection, may I invite the readers to read my article "The Dangerous GM mustard' published on May 19? The story of GM crops in India would not have come to such as pass, but for the collusion between unscrupulous politicians-journalists- bureaucrats- and "purchasble" so-called "eminent" scientists, some of whom even manage to get their names proposed for the Presidentship of India!!! The story of the so-called green revolution is no different. This author had predicted that the green revolution in India would fall, as far back as 1976, fall it did, with innumerable environmental hazards. He had also predicted the fall of the first transgenic crop in India, the Bt cotton, as early as 2003. It takes both courage and a strong character to fight against these, but, one pays a huge price, for defending the interests of the motherland, as this author has realised, and, through his fight against Bt brinjal, which he took right up to the Supreme Court, and won.. .
Professor K.P.Prabhakaran Nair
June 17, 2017
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How Saudi Arabia and UAE Work the U.S. Media to Push for War
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/emails-expose-how-uae-and-saudi-regime-work-us-media-push-wa

...(just sharing)
Leo
June 17, 2017
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Where is the question of doubting the truthful contents of an article by Vipesh garg when the noted scientist Sri Prabhakaran Nair has endorsed it ? I will go one step further and request our beloved P.M to get Sri Nair as his consultant for the balance of his term now to ensure the fairness of evaluating the GM seeds and Monsanto and Bayer in particular to have free and fair analysis of the subject and also as to why the western nations have rejected GM seeds and crops. I have been following Prof Nair 's writings for long and trust him to not only to save our food chain but also block new diseases arising on account of G.M seeds and crops.This young man Garg richly deserves our support in negating G.M seeds and crops. Let him cotinue to educate people like me.
doraiswamyganesh
June 17, 2017
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It is well known that Monsanto is a predator.
Dr. Vijaya Rajiva
June 18, 2017
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This author greatly appreciates the warm words of encouragement of Shri Doraiswamy Ganesh. If only more persons like this come forward against the GM menace, India can take up a battle against the sinister moves of entrenched "eminent" scientists, whose prime interest is personal pecuniary gain, no matter if the interests of the motherland is mortgaged to these multinationals. On Dec 9, 2015 this author was invited to deliver the prestigious Bharat Ratna Salim Ali Memorial Lecture (normally reserved only for Nobel Laureates) at the Salim Ali Centre For Ornithology and Natural History, Coimbatore. He spoke on a theme entitled "Altered Genes and Twisted Truth - The Story of GM crops in India" to a huge audience of scientists, politicians, activists, students, and others concerned about GM crops. The lecture was greatly appreciated and widely covered by both the print and electronic media
Professor K.P.Prabhakaran Nair
June 18, 2017
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The current NDA had strongly opposed the GM agriculture before elections and it was put in the election manifesto during 2014 elections as one of main planks. But after elections, BJP/NDA government under Mr Modi is pushing GM goods much against the earlier promises. Without bribed politicians including the top people, the GM companies such as Monsanto will not be able to push GM in India.
C Prabhu
June 18, 2017
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Shri Prabhu has made a very valid point. I guess, the ring of bribe spreads far and wide, very much including some of those scientists who run Foundations, with a hidden agenda. I know the inside truth and have been fighting this menace, paying a huge price in the process. Many years ago, some of the important Germans, when I was in that country to take up the world-renowned Senior Fellowship of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, told me that Indians are not patriotic. If there is real patriotism for the motherland, such things will never happen. There are people who are ready to sell the motherland for personal gain. That is what one sees all round!!!
Professor K.P.Prahakaran Nair
June 19, 2017
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I am really feeling grateful and humble to have encouragement words from mouth of of people like @Prof KPP Nair. I humbly accept I was not heard of his name before. But now I have got to know little bit about him and his work. He really is great scientist and hero of global recognition. His words speak his heart. I have read his piece published on same platform titled "The Dangerous GM mustard'.

I have somethings to understand in his article. I would like Prof Nair to respond.

I have heard that PMO is direct advocating GM crops and files are on move, there is not any crack in BJP. I have heard that MoAFW has already supported the GM mustard and ready to produce the seeds themselves to further distribute among farmers.

Cracks are appearing in the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central Government over the issue of Genetically Modified (transgenic) crops. The Union Ministry of Environment & Forests has revived a committee to consider proposals on new GM crops, while the Union Ministry of Agriculture has flagged serious concerns that make approval virtually impossible.


There is no doubt scientists who have developed this GM mustard are kept scientists and Trojan horses to push interest of these seed companies. These companies are very powerful and have huge resources and trying to capture the food and recolonize the developing nations like India thorough their biotech seeds which i try to connect in my above article.

Our vedas enlightened us that we are what we eat. we are just accumulation of food.
We are today facing indirect war through many external forces. It has been reported that many dangerous pests and diseases have been pushed with seed material to exploit pecuniary benefits in name of R&D, selling of chemicals, trade etc.
GM food leads to diseased, impotent, infertile and weak people. China does not feed his army GM food. After cattle it is army which is so much big and turns Guinea pig in this nation. Thanks to our corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and officers.

In this indirect war societies are at war and main battle ground. Some countries want to turn our demography benefits to burden. Our food chains and system has contaminated with chemicals, genetically modified food and poison to make our society unstable. Human resources are real gold to any nation so few companies want to turn all humanity into slaves. These powerful seed companies are getting success through greedy politicians, scientists and bureaucrats. Our student and scientific community in main stream agricultural institutions are aloof of this controversy. You can imagine if agricultural graduates or mainstream scientist are not aware off who is controlling and governing us?

Then to control trade through food and seeds these companies are impacting our laws, judicial system and acts. I have write it in details. PFA anther article in this context. It has been heard that these companies are putting pressure on the govt to dissolve our unique sui generic system with UPOV-91. This aspect also need to taken care and speak off.

http://www.navdanya.org/news/573-monsanto-vs-indian-farmers

I have written an article titled 'GM Mustard – A scientific fraud to hijack Indian farmers' where I reviewed GM mustard in details. I have sent this article to all main persons of GOI, state govts, around 500 scientists. I have written few articles which i want to share.

I am really in pain that our scientific and student community in main agricultural institutions are insensitive and stoic breed. They are doing not much for farmers. Not much has done in context to socio-economic aspects of Indian farmers. Studies and researches are conducted to get them publish in controlled journals to get promotion.

Our system and mind has been hijacked by few intellectuals through hidden designs and false narratives. There is not doubt it requires courage and need to pay price to speak against such MNCs and so called scientists. But Dr Nair you are hero and I really wish Universe provide you all the strength and energies to act against such external forces. Please communicate me on me vipeshgarg@gmail.com. I would like to share some of my articles and insight and want to learn from you further.

P.S. GM mustard is simply gateway to flood India with GM food and to turn all Indians into Guinea Pig. And we are in deep slumber and eulogizing Ignorance is bliss.
Vipesh Garg
June 19, 2017
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Dear Shri Garg,


I thank you for your warm words of encouragement. You can always connect with me at drkppnair@gmail.com
Professor K.P.Prabhakaran Nair
June 20, 2017
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