Oilmeal exports from the country dropped in January on poor demand and emergence of South America as a serious competitor in the global market. [...] A heartening feature of the exports is shipments to South-East Asian and Far-East countries, barring Vietnam increased. Japan, in particular, has been lapping up Indian soyameal as it is seen as non-genetically modified organism.

At a time when Bt Brinjal may soon be introduced into the market, several renowned doctors of the city today initiated a consumer awareness campaign against genetically modified (GM) foods, citing health problems. The doctors called for an immediate moratorium on all GM foods and vowed to intensify the campaign in the coming months so that the Government sets up a safety assessment protocol to look into the safety of such food items.

India needs changes in existing policies and a political will to stop the invasion of genetically modified (GM) products, said Fellow from the World Health Organisation (WHO), Canada in Ahmedabad on Monday. Dr Shiv Chopra, former scientific advisor to the Candian Ministry of Health said that the option of not to utilize GM products cannot be left solely with the farmers, with multi national companies knocking at their doors with lucrative profit-making offers.

If Syngenta is serious about giving away Golden Rice for free, Swaminathan says it should drop its patents. Syngenta says poor farmers in India will never have to pay for Golden Rice, but the company may want to use the technology elsewhere. So it’s holding on to its patents. There are also questions about how much it will cost to complete development, to distribute seeds, to ensure children actually eat it, and that it provides enough Vitamin A.

A team of scientists from Tamil Nadu Agriculture University (TNAU) and Central Research Institute of Cotton (ICAR) visited Gobi and Perundurai areas on Tuesday to inspect the damaged cotton crop raised from Bt cottonseeds. The visit was made after a complaint by the Tamil Nadu Farmers Association leaders M Kannayan and Selvam in the farmers’ grievance redress meeting that the Bt cotton crop withered in many areas across the district.

With new scientific studies now finding genetically modified foods not fully safe for human consumption, the government has put a ’temporary halt’ on the commercialisation of BT brinjal, the move prompted by the Supreme Court’s special representative at the Centre’s Genetic Engineering Approval Committee. Dr Pushpabhargava said, ”I have fears that there are vested interests. Any study that does not suit them are just dismissed.” However, Bhargavas intervention has not stopped biotech company Mahyco from going ahead with field trials showing here a clear clash of interests.

Orissa has seen it all. The livestock allergy leading to serious health ailments, including deaths in Khaprakhol of Patnagarh sub-division in Balangir district where a herd of goats was affected by Bt cotton and other incidents in KBK districts and areas in Rayagada speak volumes about the effects of genetically modified (GM) crops. However, as the recent news of trials of Bt brinjal has become the talk of the town, the pertinent question is, however, should Orissa go for it?

What was long feared may finally turn out to be true. Genetic contamination of natural crop strains because of unsafe field trials of GM crops has reportedly begun in Jharkhand, if Gene Campaign, a Delhi-based research group, is to be believed. It alleges that seed company Mahyco was careless in its field trials of GM rice in Saparong village, Ranchi district. This, Gene Campaign says, led to a second generation of illegal GM rice in and around the trial fields.

For about 10 days now, a group of 23 farmers from South Africa has been going around the south Indian States telling farmers to be ultra cautious about the genetically modified (GM) seeds, crops and food besides learning from the Indian expertise in agriculture. The group was here on Sunday for an interactive session with organic farmers of Tamil Nadu. The meeting saw exchange of ideas and experiences in farming. Vetavalam Manikandan and other farmers traced the journey of Indian agriculture since Independence through green revolution and the gains of organic farming.

Meghalaya Mission for Indigenous Knowledge has found a 6000-year-old traditional species of rice in the Garo hills of the state. [...] Women are the caretakers of these varieties of rice. They select the right varieties for cultivation and handle processing and storage of rice. Men help in cultivation and manage the fields. ”These hardy strains of rice must be protected and should not be contaminated by any hybrids or genetically modified (GM) crops,” the document paper of the Meghalaya Mission for Indigenous Knowledge noted.