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Genetically Modified seeds
- 1. GM SEED (Are weready to re-establishing our relations with seeds?) Kapil Shah Member, National Taskforce on Organic and Chemical-fee agriculture Govt. of India National Secretary, Organic Farming Association of India Founder Trustee, JATAN Vinoba Ashram, Gotri, Vadodara
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- 5. Genetically Modified Animals Catswith a gene from Fire-fly Goat with a gene from spider
- 6. Size of theDNA of the all people of the world: A Grain of chick pea Length of the DNA of one person: 67 X 2 X Distance between Sun and Earth
- 7. 7 Plant Transformation Plant productivity (Tolerance toabiotic stress and Herbicide) Nutritional value (Protein, Lipid, Amino acid) Agronomic traits (Seed dormancy, disease resistance, nematode resistance) Phytoremidiation (Salt tolerance, pollution removal) Pharmaceutical compounds (Antibody, vaccine, therapeutic protein) Metabolic pathway regulation (Nutrient capture carbohydrate or Plant oil production) Novel traits ( Fruit ripening, flower colour) Why alter plants?
- 8. Pesticide Producing (Bt) Purpose •Make plants resistant to a specific pest eg bollworm for cotton Short Term Benefits • Decrease target pest and reduce loss of crop to it • Reduce insecticide use and cost initially for main target pest Long Term Consequences • Resistance develops by target pest. • Great increase in new insect pests eg whiteflies & other sucking pests • Farmers put on a costly technology treadmill of buying new GM seeds each year Other possible impacts Herbicide Tolerating (HT) Purpose • Control weeds without damaging crops Short Term Benefits • Labour costs reduced for huge farms of US, Brazil, Argentina etc • Ease of spraying since all other plants die, except the crop Long Term Consequence • Plant absorbs the herbicide and this enters the human food system • Herbicide Resistant weeds multiply greatly result is more weedicide purchase Other possible impacts • Sickness by herbicides in air, water, food • Pest controlling insects killed eg
- 9. Herbicide Is SprayedLiberally on Herbicide Tolerant (HT) Crops 183 Million Kg Increase in Pesticides in USA in 16 Years was due to GM GLYPHOSATE (HERBICIDE) USE INCREASED BY 239 MILLION KG WHILE INSECTICIDES DECREASED BY ONLY 56 MILLION KG (Based on USDA data, 2003 ).
- 10. ‘SUPERWEEDS’ Over 20 glyphosate resistantweeds in USA. Horseweed is one….. Grows huge Nightmare for farmers What do farmers do ? Spray more glyphosate. Spray more toxic herbicide cocktails. Cut by hand. Abandon field.
- 11. Constant Exposure toGlyphosate (herbicide) Results in ‘Superweeds’ Growing Rapidly. Over 33% of US Farmland Affected. 32.6 40.7 61.2 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 2010 2011 2012 Million acres Stratus AgriMarketing Report
- 12. 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 2002 2003 20042005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 ValueofInsecticidesinCrores Insecticides used for Bollworms Insecticides used for Sucking pests Total insecticides on cotton Source: Dr. K.R. Kranthi, Director , Central Institute of Cotton Research DO GM Bt CROPS REDUCE INSECTICIDES ? Value of Insecticides on cotton in India (2002-13) Bollworm decreased with Bt . Other pests increased.
- 13. 1965 1975 19801985 1990 1995 2005 Changing pest scenario 5 BPH Stem borer Gall midge GLH WBPH 3 Stem borer Gall midge GLH 8 BPH Stem borer Gall midge (3 biotypes) GLH WBPH Cut worm Gundhi bug 9 Stem borer Gall midge (biotype 4) Leaf folder BPH WBPH GLH Cutworm Gundhi bug 11 Stem borer Gall midge Leaf folder GLH BPH WBPH Cutworm Gundhi bug Hispa Thrips 13 Stem borer Gall midge (Biotype 5) Leaf folder BPH GLH WBPH Cut worm Gundhi bug Hispa Thrips 14 Stem borer Gall midge (Biotype 6) Leaf folder BPH GLH WBPH Cut worm Gundhi bug Hispa Thrips Root weevil Black bug 1965 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2005 Don’t Kill.. Manage
- 14. PINK BOLLWORM DEVELOPSRESISTANCE
- 15. Gujarat Farmers uprootingBt Cotton crop due to infestation of pink boll worm
- 16. Australia Israel Mexico Turkey Brazil China Venezuela Syria Tunisia Bulgaria Peru Greece SouthAfrica Spain USA Colombia Pakistan Egypt Kyrgyzstan Azerbaijan Uzbekistan Myanmar Ecuador Korea Bolivia Bangladesh Iran Turkmenistan Nicaragua Angola India Cotton Yields inKg per Ha (INDEX MUNDI 2014) AFTER 14 YEARS OF Bt COTTON, INDIA RANKS 31 OUT OF 72 21 COUNTRIES AHEAD OF INDIA DO NOT GROW BT COTTON1 31
- 17. IN USA ESTIMATED70% OF STORE FOOD HAS GM. GM CORN SYRUP AND SOY OIL WIDELY USED GM AND CHEMICALS TRANSMITTED TO FOETUS OF 17 MOST DEVELOPED NATIONS, USA IS LEAST HEALTHY. POST 1966 SHARP INCREASE IN USA OF : Autism, ADHD, Alzheimers, Asthma, Autoimmune diseases, Cancers, Diabetes, Infertility, Liver and Kidney Damage, Obesity, Thyroid Disorders. CLAIM THAT GM IS SAFE IS QUESTIONABLE SINCE…. LIKE TOBACCO, EFFECTS OF GM WILL TAKE LONG TO SHOW. DOCTORS REPORT ARE GM FOODS SAFE ?
- 18. GM Approvals require90 days studies on rodents ie < 12 human years. Dr Seralini’s study showed organ damage, huge increase in tumours and high mortality appearing after 90 days. Study attacked. Publisher withdrew study. Hundreds of scientists protested this Tumours in landmark Study of 2 Years…instead of 90 days
- 19. IN 2015, GLYPHOSATE (USED IN MONSANTO’S ‘ROUND UP’ HERBICIDE & WITH IT’S HT SEEDS) CLASSIFIED BY THE WHO AS “PROBABLY CARCINOGENIC TO HUMANS” 30,000 Doctors & Medical Professionals Association in Argentina called for ban on GM soy as birth defects and
- 20. Economic Impacts ofGM Crops • IMPORTS REFUSED by countries which do not grow GM, if there is any GM contamination or if GM crop of that variety . • HUGE LOSSES TO US RICE & WHEAT FARMERS as loss of exports as traces found from GM Field Trial crops, supposedly destroyed • INDIA’S ORGANIC COTTON EXPORTS WERE DAMAGED BY GM contamination. India had become the world’s largest exporter. • FARMERS & INDIAN ECONOMY IMPACTED High cost of seeds & chemical fertilisers = high debt & suicides OR Loan Waivers. • SEED DIVERSITY AND SELF RELIANCE LOST as GM takes over.
- 21. Why Should GMField Trials Stop ? Lab or Greenhouse Trials are not risky. In Field Trials contamination occurs by pollen flow, admixture. No deterrent liabilities exist. TOP COMMITTEES’ FINDINGS • India’s Joint Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture unanimously found regulatory failures, high risks, poor benefits. Called for moratorium on GM crops & GM Field Trials (2012) • Supreme Court appointed Technical Expert Committee in 2013 has called for : Ban on all Herbicide Tolerant GM Crops Ban on crops where India is Centre of Origin
- 22. Over 400 peerreviewed scientific studies on ‘ADVERSE IMPACTS OF TRANSGENIC CROPS/FOODS’ can be accessed at : www.indiagminfo.org Latest edition of ‘GMO MYTHS AND TRUTHS’ Over 400 Scientific Studies on Hazards of GM Crops
- 23. Crops Pending forGM Approval in India GM Mustard is the Start for More GM Crops Rice Wheat Jowar Corn Groundnut Mustard Potato Cabbage Cauliflower Brinjal Okra Papaya Watermelon Sugarcane
- 24. 3 major crops 30 ‘feed theworld” 200 recorded in statistics 7,000 plant species utilised 30,000 plant species edible 300,000 plant species documented 400,000 plant species estimated world-wide The Green Revolution has contributed to the narrowing of the genetic base of cultivated crops and loss of on-farm diversity due to the intensification and simplification of agriculture. Narrowingofspecies diversity PGR contributed to Green Revolution
- 25. Brinjal Diversity inIndia (More than 3400 varieties)
- 26. US Patent No.: 57,23,765 Terminator Technology Killing the basic Instinct of Survival
- 27. 27 LARGEST PESTICIDECos.. Bayer Syngenta, BASF DOW Monsanto Dupont LARGEST GM SEED Cos…. Monsanto Dupont (Pioneer) Syngenta DOW BASF Bayer Herbicide Tolerant GM Seeds tolerate use of herbicides….. But Result is….. Increased use of herbicides.
- 28. GM MUSTARD Mustard leaves,seeds and oil important food and medicine in India Opposed by Farmer Unions, Beekeepers, State Govts, Scientists etc If GM mustard approved, it will be first GM food crop in India Will open door to other GM crops in pipeline Has herbicide tolerant gene. Will lead to increased herbicide use. HONEY BEES AND MUSTARD • Mustard pollen major food for honey bees. • GM will contaminate honey • Millions of bee & butterfly
- 29. Flaws in GMMustard Approval . Biosafety data not made available for independent scrutiny. Bt brinjal showed up flaws when scrutinised. Herbicide use will occur, but not tested as HT crop Impact on Honey bees not fully studied. India is Centre of Diversity. Violates UN and TEC norms
- 30. 1278 1474 1278 2010 2993 2563 1178 2708 1470 895 1380 3478 1338 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 Average yield (Kg/ha)of Rapeseed-Mustard in Major Producing Countries 2010-14 GM TOP YIELDERS ARE NON GM Source: FAO Statistics
- 31. WHAT IS THEVIEW ON GM BY WORLD’S LARGEST AGRICULTURAL STUDY ? IAASTD STUDY, done for World Bank and United Nations, by 400 scientists from > 50 countries, says: “such techniques as genetic engineering are no solution for soaring food prices, hunger and poverty.” “Agro Ecology done by small farmers is best approach for removing hunger, poverty and inequity.” FAO Study, by its Special Raconteur on Food, found: “289 AGRO ECOLOGY projects in 57 countries increased
- 32. NON PESTICIDAL MANAGEMENT(NPM) IN ANDHRA 10,000 NPM villages with Govt support. Pesticide and fertiliser use halved in AP. Village could save Rs 60 lakhs. ASSOCHAM STUDY for West Bengal, says organic farming over 5 years would result in : Increase in farmer incomes by 250% Exports worth Rs 5.5 billion Wealth accumulation of Rs 120 billion Increase in employment by 20 lakhs SOME INDIAN EXAMPLES
- 33. ORGANIC DEMAND GROWINGat > 25% pa globally. India has 6,00,000 of world’s 16,00,000 organic farmers. We became world’s largest organic cotton exporter Largest organic soya supplier to USA…. A TRUE ‘MAKE IN INDIA’ OPPORTUNITY! Govt Must Promote Better Options
- 34. Indian farmers canbe highly innovative. An Indian organic farmer broke world records for rice yields. GM rice if it is approved will be a risk for India’s farming.
- 35. We can STOPuse of DDT We can STOP use of CFCs We can recall exotic cattle breeds We can NOT recall GM seeds CAN WE AFFORD REPEATING THE MISTAKE? GM seeds are Irreversible
- 38. Best Technology ?Will INDIA be Left Behind ? Since 1996: Only 6 Countries have 90% of World’s GM Area. USA 40% Brazil 23% Argentina 14% Canada 6% India 6% China 2% Other 21 Countries 9% Data sourced from FAO and ISAAA reports STATUS AFTER 20 YEARS : < 4% OF AGRIC LAND
- 39. • 17 OUTOF 20 MOST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES DON’T GROW GM: Almost all countries in Europe, Japan, Russia, Israel, Singapore etc • CHINA, ONE OF THE FIRST, IS NOW GOING SLOW ON GM - Has cancelled field trials of GM rice and corn. - Banned GM food for its army . - Grows GM on only one third the area as India. • IN 2015 8 COUNTRIES REDUCED GM AREA (Incl. USA, Canada, China). 16 COUNTRIES STAGNANT. 4 COUNTRIES INCREASED Who is NOT Growing GM Crops ?