The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : ‘Consumers must reject GM products’

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Monday, Jan 19, 2009
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

‘Consumers must reject GM products’

Staff Reporter

U.R. Ananthamurthy releases book titled ‘Genetic Roulette’
The book presents 65 health dangers
of GM foods

Bangalore: A consumer-led revolution alone can win the battle against genetically modified (GM) products as the Government — irrespective of political parties — cannot be trusted when it comes to protecting the interest of the people, said Jnanpith awardee and Kannada litterateur U.R. Ananthamurthy.

Speaking after releasing a book titled “Genetic Roulette” authored by Jeffrey M. Smith here on Saturday, Mr. Ananthamurthy said: “We cannot trust the Government as it does not care about what is good for people’s health.” Calling upon the people to reject the GM products and create a revolution, Mr. Ananthamurthy said there was a need to create consumer awareness in this regard.

He suspected the involvement of an “organised group” behind the promotion of GM products as there were many “beneficiaries”. “The possible health risks will benefit the drug manufacturers, reduced land usage for agriculture will make available more land for IT, BT and other sectors...,” he pointed out.

Mr. Ananthamurthy called upon the people to be cautious about the word “development”. “It has now become a dangerous word as every political party is using this for their convenience and this has necessitated the need for a critique or review of development.” Referring to the science and development of GM, he said society wanted science but not the one that destroys mankind.

“Genetic Roulette” presents 65 health dangers of GM foods, linking them to health impacts across the world such as toxic and allergic reactions, thousands of sick, sterile and dead livestock and damage to virtually every organ in lab animals.

Playing with food?

Addressing presspersons on Friday, author Jeffrey M. Smith, who has also written bestseller “Seeds of Deception” said that while evidence had been mounting about the health risks posed by genetically modified food — whether soy, corn or cotton — “the deception by powerful biotech companies and manipulation by governments misled the public and silence critics.” Mr. Smith is executive director of the Institute for Responsible Technology.

Soy allergies have gone up 50 per cent in the U.K. ever since GM varieties were introduced and experiments have shown that offspring of rats fed on GM soy were considerably smaller than their counterparts fed on non-GM soya, he added.

Bt Cotton

On the dangers of Bt cotton he explained that a gene from a soil bacterium (Bacillus thuringiensis) was inserted into cotton DNA where it secretes an insect killing Bt-toxin in every cell — in other words, it produces its own pesticide. It has been observed that several sheep fed on these plants after harvest died in a week, and in India shepherds estimate that 10,000 sheep died after eating Bt cotton plant, Mr. Smith added.

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