Do you know if the food you eat is GM- (genetically modified) free or not? Maybe it doesn’t bother you right now. But with the entry of Bt brinjal, it could make a huge difference to your life.
In an attempt to increase awareness about the ill effects of GM foods, various organisations like Sahaja Samrudha, ICRA, Samvada along with concerned consumers and civil society groups came out in large numbers to protest at the Mahatma
Gandhi statue on Saturday.
The groups gathered carried banners that read ‘Nature best creator not GM’ and drew the attention of passers-by with their slogan shouting — “GM quit India”, “Monsanto go back”. They carried posters with photographs of a spider-like brinjal showing how it’s different from a normal brinjal to educate people and coax them to make the right choice.
“Bt is the worst science. For farmers, this is not the right path as it goes against nature,” said Kodihalli Chandrashekar, president, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) and green brigade. He said that inserting a toxin gene - Cry 1 Ac from a soil bacterium called Bacillus thuringenesis (Bt) is unnatural.
Day-long fast
On the occasion of Gandhi Smriti (Martyr’s Day), consumers, farmers and students observed a day-long fast to express their unwillingness to accept Bt brinjal. The fast was observed across various cities in the country. The protest was ahead of the public consultation to be held on February 6 by Jairam Ramesh, union minister of state for environment and forests.
“It’s not tested properly. Ninety days is not sufficient time,” said Shobha CS, wife of Kannada film director Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar. She added: “We don’t know if our body can take GM foods; we don’t know what kind of impact it will have on the human body.” Anupama Rao, another concerned consumer, said: “Everything I have read about GM foods confirms that it’s bad. Most countries abroad are banning it. Why does India need to blindly adopt this engineered brinjal?”
“Today’s invention will become tomorrow’s need and the day-after that, the problem,” is how Bhakti Nefrtiti, green peace campaigner explained how she sees the introduction of Bt brinjal. “We are fasting in solidarity to ensure that this brinjal is not introduced, because once it enters the system, it will be difficult to do anything to stop contamination.”
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