by Rhoda Wilson, Daily Expose:
Natural farming and genetically modified (“GM”)crops are fundamentally incompatible. The promotion of natural farming methods, which prioritise ecological balance and biodiversity, cannot coexist with the widespread cultivation of GM crops.
Natural farming emphasises cooperation with nature, whereas GM crops rely on technological intervention and manipulation of biological systems. These differing philosophies are incompatible and cannot be reconciled.
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Natural farming aims to promote ecological balance and minimize harm to the environment. GM crops, on the other hand, have been linked to negative environmental and health impacts, including reduced biodiversity, increased pesticide use and potential harm to human health.
Natural farming relies on diverse, open-pollinated seeds, whereas GM crops are often proprietary and controlled by multinational corporations. This shift in seed ownership and control undermines farmers’ autonomy and sovereignty over their agricultural practices.
And there are serious health implications for humans and animals as well. With genetic engineering, familiar foods could become dangerous or even toxic. it could also upset complex biochemical networks and create new bioactive compounds or change the concentrations of those normally present. In addition, the properties of proteins may change in a new chemical environment because they may fold in new ways.
Natural Farming Cannot Co-exist with GM Crops
By Bharat Dogra
Some countries are taking up the promotion of natural farming crops which is very welcome. However, a big problem and constraint arises when they say at the same time that they will spread genetically modified (“GM”) crops, forgetting that natural farming cannot co-exist with GM crops. Apart from the high risk of contamination, there is the wider reality that GM crops involve very high environment, safety and health risks
We should look carefully at what the most senior scientists known also for their commitment to the public interest have been saying. Surely the opinion of such scientists should get preference over those who have been working with multinational corporations known to be very exploitative towards farmers and known also for their attempts of trying to dominate the farm and food systems of developing countries. If according to reviews by very reputed scientists it can be shown that GM crops have been a disaster, then this view should get adequate importance.
Here we may note that GM crops and the herbicides accompanying them have been in court cases in some countries; generally, courts have been sympathetic to the victims of these crops and the agro-chemicals accompanying them. A case which attracted worldwide attention relates to the award of huge compensation to Johnson, a school groundskeeper, by a California jury on account of his health being damaged severely by a herbicide glyphosate which this groundskeeper had to use regularly, resulting in very painful and life-threatening blood-cell cancer. There was widespread sympathy for this victim and [Robert F. Kennedy Jr.], nephew of former President John Kennedy, (he is now a Presidential candidate in the USA) was among the team of lawyers who argued this case.
For people involved in food safety issues, this case had an additional significance. The herbicide in question is produced most prominently by a multinational company which is also at the forefront of the spread of GM crops. It has been involved in providing packages in which the company’s GM seeds are closely tied to the marketing of the disputed herbicide whose serious health hazards had been the subject of much debate earlier also. In the course of the hearings of this case, however, it became increasingly clear that the so-called scientific evidence of the safety of its products by which the giant multinational company had been swearing had many holes in it and at times its own findings were being passed off as the opinion of reputed scientists.
All the time some of the most eminent scientists have been warning against GM crops. The most eminent scientist of India on this subject Dr. Pushpa M. Bhargava was at the forefront of voicing these warnings. He was the founder of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology and in addition, he was also the Vice Chairperson of the National Knowledge Commission. Many people’s science movements looked upon him as their mentor. He had been appointed by the Supreme Court of India as an observer in the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee as he was widely perceived to be not only a very accomplished expert on this issue and that too of the highest integrity but in addition he was also seen on the basis of his past record as a very strong and persistent defender of public interest.
Therefore, it is very useful and interesting to see what this very senior scientist with a comprehensive understanding of this issue had to say about GM crops. First of all, he made a strong and clear effort to break the myth which had been created by relentless manipulation by the very powerful forces trying to spread GM crops In India. According to this myth, most scientific research supports GM crops. While demolishing this myth Dr. Bhargava wrote, “There are over 500 research publications by scientists of indisputable integrity, who have no conflict of interest, that establish harmful effects of GM crops on human, animal and plant health, and on the environment and biodiversity. For example, a recent paper by Indian scientists showed that the Bt gene in both cotton and brinjal leads to inhibition of growth and development of the plant. On the other hand, virtually every paper supporting GM crops is by scientists who have a declared conflict of interest or whose credibility and integrity can be doubted.”
In another review of recent trends titled ‘Food Without Choice’ (published in the Tribune) Prof. Pushpa M. Bhargava, who was an internationally acclaimed authority on this subject, drew pointed attention to the ”attempt by a small but powerful minority to propagate genetically modified crops to serve their interests and those of multinational corporations (read the US), the bureaucracy, the political setup and a few unprincipled and unethical scientists and technologists who can be used as tools.” Further, he warned, “The ultimate goal of this attempt in India of which the leader is Monsanto, is to obtain control over Indian agriculture and thus food production. With 60 per cent of our population engaged in agriculture and living in villages, this would essentially mean not only a control over our food security but also over our farmer security, agricultural security and security of the rural sector.”
The strong stand of Dr. Bhargava against GM crops is supported by other eminent scientists in various parts of the world. A group of eminent scientists organised under the Independent Science Panel have stated in very clear terms, “GM crops have failed to deliver the promised benefits and are posing escalating problems on the farm. Transgenic contamination is now widely acknowledged to be unavoidable, and hence there can be no co-existence of GM and non-GM agriculture. Most important of all, GM crops have not been proven safe. On the contrary, sufficient evidence has emerged to raise serious safety concerns, that if ignored could result in irreversible damage to health and the environment. GM crops should be firmly rejected now.”
The Independent Science Panel (“ISP”) is a panel of scientists from many disciplines and countries, committed to the promotion of science for the public good. In a document titled ‘The case for a GMO-free Sustainable World’ the ISP has stated further, “By far the most insidious dangers of genetic engineering are inherent to the process itself, which greatly enhances the scope and probability of horizontal gene transfer and recombination, the main route to creating viruses and bacteria that cause disease epidemics. This was highlighted, in 2001, by the ‘accidental’ creation of a killer mouse virus in the course of an apparently innocent genetic engineering experiment. Newer techniques, such as DNA shuffling, are allowing geneticists to create in a matter of minutes in the laboratory millions of recombinant viruses that have never existed in billions of years of evolution. Disease-causing viruses and bacteria and their genetic material are the predominant materials and tools for genetic engineering, as much as for the intentional creation of bio-weapons.”
