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Plea to declare Orissa ‘GM-free’
Statesman News Service
BHUBANESWAR, June 29: Voluntary organisations, particularly Thread, have urged chief minister Mr Naveen Patnaik to follow Uttaranchal’s steps in declaring Orissa a “GM-free state”.
In a letter to the chief minister, Mr G John, executive director of Thread, cautioned against the move to introduce Bt Brinjal (the first genetically modified food crop) in the Indian fields. Since brinjal is a widely grown crop in Orissa, the introduction of Bt Brinjal will destroy the backbone of farmers, he said.
It will have an adverse impact on the health of a large section of the population, besides affecting livestock because people are used to feed livestock with leftovers and waste vegetables, including brinjal.
The disaster of growing Bt Cotton in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra ought to be kept in mind, the NGO, which works on food security for tribals in Orissa, said.
Even if the genetically modified crops are free of health and environment hazards, the fact is that it will lead to dependency on foreign seed providers, “something which spells disaster”.
Listing out certain demands, the NGO said since effects of the modified organism are unknown and potentially hazardous, the use of it should be restricted till these seeds are properly examined.
Bio-safety testing should include both medium and long-term effects on environment and health and needs to be carried out by independent and scientifically competent bodies.
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