Old Project Avalon Forum (ARCHIVE) - India Bans Farming of GM Aubergine...Kudos to Ramesh

India Bans Farming of GM Aubergine

Posted by philprism on 02/15/10 1:03 PM

Dr. Mira Shiva, a prominent member of the Forum, told IPS that rats fed with GM crops have developed fatal lung, liver and kidney problems - an indication that humans could develop similar problems. "Moreover, in this country there is no system in place for post-market surveillance on human consumers of GM food crops," she added.

By Ranjit Devraj

NEW DELHI, Feb 9, 2010 (IPS) - After India’s Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh announced Tuesday a ban on the cultivation of Bt brinjal, the country’s first genetically modified (GM) food crop, food security experts and activists said this major farming country has been saved from a biodiversity disaster.

"This is a historic decision. The minister deserves to be congratulated, given that he was under enormous pressure to give approval for Bt brinjal, especially after the country’s Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) cleared it," leading food security specialist Devinder Sharma told IPS.

Had Bt brinjal - more widely known as eggplant or aubergine - been cleared in India, it would have opened the floodgates to a technology that is regarded with huge suspicion around the world, Sharma said. "Countries like the Philippines and Bangladesh were waiting to see which way India would go on this."

Continues: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50265

SOURCE: http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=32606