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When Santa went green
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It's the season of red wine and Christmas cake, but don't forget the fundamentals, like rice for example
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Greenpeace: `There's very little awareness amongst the powerful community of exporters about GE rice.' — Photo: Murali Kumar K.
AS SHOPPER'S scurry around Bangalore's mega malls to make the most of season discounts and offers, international NGO Greenpeace unleashes a band of Santas who carry a sobering warning. These `Green Santas' mark the first instance of Greenpeace India volunteers hitting the streets to popularise a specific issue: that of GE (genetically engineered) crops.
Unleashing its volunteers in some seven cities, Greenpeace is calling for citizens to join the fight against GE rice; a contribution is welcome after the volunteers' presentation, but not mandatory.
Young volunteers approach shoppers and passers by to explain the "immediate, grave threat to our rice" caused by GE rice, encouraging people to join a cyber petition on greenpeaceindia.org
Dubious claims
GE rice may promise enhanced vitamin content and greater resistance to pests, explains volunteer Ushri Gupta, but research shows that a child will need to consume some nine or 10 kilos of GE rice everyday to meet her daily vitamin requirements.
Greenpeace also argues that agrochemical companies who propagate GE rice claiming it is more resistant to pests are making false claims, since secondary pests will soon find a way to resist even GE strains.
Low awareness
There's very little awareness amongst the powerful community of exporters about GE rice, explain Greenpeace representatives; a vital area since GE rice could affect local strains of basmati rice and, in turn, India's exports, particularly to Europe which is emphatically opposed to GE foods.
With the U.S. pushing for GE rice and China looking ready to welcome it even over the next few months, India is now at a crossroads to decide whether join this flow, or take a cue from Europe where Greenpeace has run some typically high profile and made-for-TV campaigns, lobbying for GE foods to be labelled and firming up a solid resistance against it.
Indian campaign
In India, the campaign against GE rice is being focussed around issues of health, economics, regulatory aspects and consumer choice. "India might be just one or two years away from introducing GE rice, but there's not enough information about what its impact will be," says Divya Raghunandan, GE campaigner for Greenpeace. She says the NGO is calling for a public debate on the issue, which is dependent on the circulation of information about GE rice in the form of studies or research.
China's jumping on the GE bandwagon could cause cross border contamination, she says, making it important for us in India to adopt a precautionary approach and not wait for a disaster to happen.
HEMANGINI GUPTA
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