The government of India has made it very clear that they will not
tolerate Monsanto's attempts to commercialize on their indigenous
knowledge, a practice known as biopiracy.
India's National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), a government
agency, is suing Monsanto, the world leader in genetically modified
(GM) crops and seeds, and their collaborators, the Maharashtra
Hybrid Seeds Company, for using local varieties of eggplant to
develop a genetically modified version.
Quite simply, the biotech giant did not get prior approval to use
the naturally occurring breeds for the purposes of genetic
modification, and in so doing violated the country's Biological
Diversity Act (BDA), enacted in 2002.
India Stands Up Against Corporate Control of Their Food Supply
India's BDA requires that any entity attempting to use a native
plant for commercial or research purposes must first get approval
from the NBA; the Act is in force specifically to protect
the nation's biodiversity.
Monsanto, however, neglected to do this opting instead to
essentially steal the native plants in order to modify them for
their own commercial gain.
"American seed giant Monsanto and its Indian
collaborator, Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco) are to
be prosecuted for allegedly 'stealing' indigenous plant material
for developing genetically modified brinjal variety known as Bt
brinjal.
The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), a statutory
body set up under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, has
decided to initiate legal proceedings against the two companies
and their collaborators for using indigenous brinjal germplasm
without necessary permission. Taking plant material without any
permission and using it for commercial purposes is considered an
act of biopiracy."
The Environment Support Group, which filed the initial complaint
against Monsanto with the NBA, stated that Monsanto and their
collaboraters used six local varieties of brinjal [eggplant] for the
development of Bt brinjal. Monsanto has fired back, stating they are
not to blame for the development of GM eggplant, other than
supplying their Cry1Ac gene, a type of Bt toxin.
The Indian media called this a "half truth," noting:
"When contacted Monsanto tried to distance itself from
the case by saying that it had not developed Bt brinjal, but it
had been 'developed by Mahyco, with the Cry1Ac gene accessed
from Monsanto, in collaboration with multiple public sector
institutions'. This is a halftruth because Monsanto owns 26
percent of Mahyco, and also has a separate joint venture Mahyco
Monsanto Biotech Limited which handles its business related to
Bt."
Finally, A Country Stands Up to Monsanto for its Indigenous Rights
The case marks the first time a government has accused Monsanto
of biopiracy, and the results could set an important precedent for
the future of the food supply. In essence, will we continue to allow
corporations like Monsanto to steal, profit from, and patent native
plants without compensating the native country from which it came?
"The issue of granting intellectual property rights
(IPRs) to life forms—such as seeds, plants, or animals—is a
contentious one worldwide. Critics say it's impossible to define
when the creation of such a thing took place, and that granting
patent rights for a crop such as brinjal negates generations of
farmers who, using conventional plant breeding techniques, have
managed to develop successful cultivars."
Monsanto has long been trying to establish control over the seeds
of the plants that produce food for the world, with little regard
for farmers' rights or even
basic levels of morality. They have already patented a number of
genetically altered food crops, which can only be grown with proper
license and the seeds for which farmers must purchase anew each year
or face legal prosecution. They have even developed terminator
technology—which they hope to deploy soon.
These are seeds that have been genetically modified to
"self-destruct." In other words, the seeds (and the forthcoming
crops) are sterile, which means farmers must buy them again
each year.
The implications that terminator seeds could have on the world's
food supply are disastrous: the traits from genetically engineered
crops can get passed on to other crops. Once the terminator seeds
are released into a region, the trait of seed sterility could be
passed to other non-genetically-engineered crops, making most or all
of the seeds in the region sterile. If allowed to continue, every
farmer in the world could come to rely on Monsanto for their seed
supply!
Why Bt Eggplant is a Disaster in the Making
There's more reason than biopiracy to thwart the development of
Bt eggplant, and that has to do with the technology itself.
Some GM crops, such as GM sugar beets and certain varieties of GM
corn and soy, are engineered to withstand otherwise lethal doses of
Monsanto's herbicide Roundup. Other GM crops, such as Bt
eggplant, are designed to produce their own pesticide internally.
In 2011, Cry1Ab, a type of Bt toxin from GM crops, has for the
first time been
detected in human and fetal blood samples. It appears the toxin
is quite prevalent, as upon testing 69 pregnant and non-pregnant
women who were eating a typical Canadian diet (which included foods
such as GM soy, corn and potatoes), researchers found Bt toxin in:
93 percent of blood samples of pregnant women
80 percent of fetal blood samples
69 percent of non-pregnant women blood samples
As you may know, chronic inflammation is at the root of many
increasingly common diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease.
According to Jeffrey Smith:
"There's already plenty of evidence that the Bt-toxin
produced in GM corn and cotton plants is toxic to humans and
mammals and triggers immune system responses. The fact that it
flows through our blood supply, and that is passes through the
placenta into fetuses, may help explain the rise in many
disorders in the US since Bt crop varieties were first
introduced in 1996.
In government-sponsored research in Italy, mice fed
Monsanto's Bt corn showed a wide range of immune responses.
Their elevated IgE and IgG antibodies, for example, are
typically associated with allergies and infections. The mice had
an increase in cytokines, which are associated with "allergic
and inflammatory responses."
Monsanto Quickly Falling From Grace
In the grander scheme, India's suit against Monsanto for
biopiracy is yet another nail in the coffin for this corporate
giant. Along with being named the
worst company of 2011 by Natural Society -- for "threatening
both human health and the environment" -- genetically engineered
seeds are
banned in Hungary, as they are in several other European
countries, such as Germany and Ireland. Peru is also following the
precautionary principle, and has even passed a law that
bans genetically modified ingredients within the nation for 10 years.
The cat is out of the bag, so to speak, and it is now becoming
common knowledge why Monsanto is top on list of immoral and
destructive corporations. Here are just several examples:
Suing small farmers for patent infringement after Monsanto's
GM seeds spread wildly into surrounding farmers' fields
contaminating their conventional crops
Unfortunately, in the United States Monsanto still has undue
influence. Certain states are passing legislation that protects the
use of GM seeds and allows for unabated expansion. To date, 14
states have passed such legislation and
Michigan's Sen. Bill 777, if passed, would make that 15. The
Michigan bill would prevent anti-GMO laws and would remove "any
authority local governments may have to adopt and enforce ordinances
that prohibit or regulate the labeling, sale, storage,
transportation, distribution, use, or planting of agricultural,
vegetable, flower or forest tree seeds."
Bills like these are obviously music to Monsanto's ears, which
spends
millions of dollars lobbying the U.S. government at the federal
level for favorable legislation that supports the spread of their
toxic products.
How to Take Back Some of Monsanto's Drive for Power…
It's quite clear that genetically engineered foods threaten not
only biodiversity and the environment; they can also pose
potentially
serious threats to animal and human health when consumed.
Unfortunately, the revolving door between Monsanto and the biotech
industry as a whole and the agencies in charge of industry
legislation makes it very difficult to stop the ongoing madness.
That does not mean it's impossible, however. But it does require
your active participation First and foremost, avoid buying GM
foods! Since the industry has so far successfully squelched
every attempt at getting genetically engineered foods labeled,
avoiding them requires you to be an educated consumer.
Print out the
Non-GMO Shopping Guide and refer to it often. It can help
you identify and avoid foods with GMOs. You can also download
the free iPhone application that is available in the iTunes
store. You can find it by searching for ShopNoGMO in the
applications.
Better yet, always buy USDA 100% Organic products when
possible, as these do not permit GM ingredients, or buy whole
fresh produce and meat from local farmers. The majority of the
GMO's you're exposed to are via processed foods, so by cooking
from scratch with whole foods, you can be sure you're not
inadvertently consuming something laced with GM ingredients.
When you do purchase processed food, avoid products
containing
anything related to corn or soy that are not 100 percent organic,
as any foods containing these two non-organic ingredients are
virtually guaranteed to contain genetically engineered
ingredients, as well as toxic herbicide residues.
We CAN shift the balance by simply voting with our pocketbooks
and forks.
Europe successfully did this over a decade ago, without any
government assistance, and Americans can drive GMO's out of our food
supply as well, but it requires educating the public about
what GM foods are.
Important Action Item: Support California's Ballot Initiative to
Label GMO's!
In 2007, then-Presidential candidate Obama promised to
"immediately" require GM labeling if elected. So far, nothing of the
sort has transpired.
Fortunately, 24 US states have (as part of their state
governance) something called the Initiative Process, where residents
can bring to ballot any law they want enacted, as long as it has
sufficient support. California has been busy organizing just such a
ballot initiative to get mandatory labeling for genetically
engineered foods sold in their state. The proposed law will be on
the ballot for 2012.
Michigan and Washington are also starting similar campaigns.
Since California is the 8th largest economy in the world, a win
for the California Initiative would be a huge step forward, and
would affect ingredients and labeling nation-wide. Last month, a
coalition of consumer, public health and environmental
organizations, food companies, and individuals submitted the
California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act to the
State Attorney General. Now, they need 800,000 signatures to get the
Act on next year's ballot.
I urge you to get involved and help in any way you can.
If you live in California,
volunteer to gather petition signatures. If you live outside of
California,
please donate to help support this Initiative and spread the
word to everyone you know in California. Be assured that what
happens in California will affect the remainder of the U.S., so
please support this important state initiative, even if you do not
live there!