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WHO: Popular weed killer 'Roundup' likely causes cancer
- EA-STANDARD - March 24th 2015
Kenya: Roundup, a widely used weed-killer in the country, probably causes cancer, according to a new report from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
In the local market, about 30 generic versions of Roundup are some of the best-selling herbicides and most popular with farmers for their low cost and effectiveness.
Roundup is manufactured by the [U.S.] American seed giant Monsanto, and now the cancer arm of WHO is warning farmers to be careful when using the herbicide or its generics.
Roundup is made from the chemical glyphosate which was discovered by Monsanto in 1970 and distributed in global markets the same year.
Its patent expired in 2000, which opened a floodgate for generics but the original Roundup remains popular.
The use of Roundup has remained relevant with the introduction by Monsanto of genetically engineered crops that are tolerant to the chemical glyphosate.
The new WHO report that was published in Lancet last week on Friday puts glyphosate at the second-highest level of the agency’s classifications for cancer. The report says glyphosate has been detected in the blood and urine of agricultural workers, indicating that it is absorbed by the human body.
GMO PRODUCTS
But in a rejoinder, Monsanto disagrees with the WHO classification of their product as a cancer risk, arguing that the action went against the available scientific evidence on the safety of glyphosate.
“We don’t know how the agency could reach a conclusion that is such a dramatic departure from the conclusion reached by all regulatory agencies around the globe,” says a statement released by Monsanto.
The company, which has been relentlessly pushing for the acceptance of its GMO products in Kenya, has issued an urgent request for WHO to present the scientific evidence it used to reach its conclusion on glyphosate.
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N.B.: Finally even the WHO wakes up now to what scientists and activists have been saying since over 30 years: Monsanto's Roundup-ready GMO/GE crops are not only NOT SAFE, but outright killing people. Thousands of scientists and organizations all over the world did already provide since long evidence that MONSANTO is a pathological LIAR and the answer to their rehoric but stupid question why the WHO statement would be "a dramatic departure from the conclusion reached by all regulatory agencies" is rooted in the deep corruption entangling all GMO/GE ops and crops worldwide.
The trans-national corporate company MONSANTO (with their plush regional HQ-offices along Mombasa Road Nairobi) and similar GMO/GE pushers must be kicked out of Kenya and East-Africa altogether, if we want to stay safe.
The synthetic, non-selective and systemic herbicide GLYPHOSATE (C3H8NO5P) is a toxic broad-spectrum biocide that not only causes cancer, it also causes Alzheimers, Obesity, Autism and many other ailments. The additional surfactant ingredient in Roundup and similar herbicides [polyoxyethyleneamine or polyethoxylated tallow amine (both abbreviated POEA)] is even more acutely toxic than glyphosate itself, and the combination of the two is deadly toxic.
In Kenya Monsanto already had their hands deep in the pie of the so-called "Biosafety Bill", which now has leaks and loopholes like a squatter's hut - while those who can issue "exemption permissions" are getting richer and richer. In Tanzania Monsanto's reach is up to President Kikwete directly, who suddenly turned into a stout promoter of genetically engineered (GE) organisms - RoundUp Ready for sure.
Do people not realize the dangers of horizontal gene transfer (HGT)? Roundup-ready GMO/GE maize from Monsanto contains strains from bacteria and even from a virus. Will the Kenya government protect Wananchi this time around or will some lawmakers again only get fat bellies and coffers by tip-toeing around RoundUp and not banning it? GMO stop and import bans actually do help local farmers, as just now practised large-scale by France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Austria, Russia and China, while worldwide non-GE-crop success-stories are increasing. Countries and Regions are called upon to declare their own GE-free, nuclear-free and biocide-free LifeProtect-Zones.
In addition RoundUp, GE-crops and especially glyphosate are very dangerous, harmful and even deadly toxic to animals ranging from rodents, earthworms, to honeybees, dairy cows, pigs and piglets - not to mention East Africa's extremely important wild animal species. The important additinal ingredient of Roundup is the surfactant POEA (polyethoxylated tallow amine), which is known for its toxicity in wildlife.
Many farmers in East Africas use Roundup also to kill off even their non-GMO/GE grain-crop (e.g. wheat) at the end of the ripening season and before bad weather could set in - to get it dry for fast harvesting and storage. Glyphosate thereby goes directly in the milled flour and into YOUR FOOD. That is a prime crime par excellence!!! But in Kenya there was so far not even a single lab able or willing to test flour for glyphosate residues. Thanks and due to the proactive intervention and facilitation of ECOTERRA Intl. this situation has now changed and proper tests for glyphosate and POEA can now be carried out. Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for details.
Lawmakers don't need to cry publicly if one of their parliamentarian collegues passes away untimely due to "cancer". They have to ask themselves why they didn't protect people better from unscrupulous corporations and their dangerous, damaging or killing products.
The report "Roundup and birth defects: Is the public being kept in the dark?" published by Earth Open Source after researchers found that genetically-modified crops used in conjunction with Roundup contain a pathogen that may cause animal miscarriages was just one of many warnings.
Clear scientific evidence against glyphosate and GE-crops is emerging more and more - all pointing into the same direction. Why only now? - is a good question and might be explained by the QuiBono-Factor (who makes the money?). Monsanto's patent expired and now there are plenty generic players on the field contaminating Africa and the rest of the world. So, there might not be so much incentive for Monsanto anymore to pay off everybody and keep the truth concealed.
All People in East Africa Demand Proper Food Labelling
ARE YOU CONCERNED? -> If you believe you have been exposed to RoundUp or similar glyphosate containing pesticides - either directly or indirectly - and you like to test your or your animal's blood, breastmilk / milk or urine as well as water for glyphosate, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to receive advise for a reliable laboratory in Kenya, which can test your samples responsibly and correctly. We also offer the testing of control samples in reference labs in Europe.
Glyphosate, N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine3, is the active component of many widely used herbicides. The compound is adsorbed by plant leaves and acts by preventing the synthesis of essential amino acids. When Glyphosate comes into contact with soil it adsorbs strongly onto soil particles. Unbound Glyphosate is degraded by microbial activity whereas the adsorbed Glyphosate is inactive, but stable. The widespread use of Glyphosate, the fact that Glyphosate can be quiet difficult to isolate and quantify, and the potential of using Glyphosate in combination with genetically modified/engineered crops, has put much focus on the herbicide in critical medical and environmental discussions.
Please read also:
A superb and clear scientific analysis of the IARC report, by Drs Maewan Ho and Nancy Swanson, has been published on the Science in Society website.
Why Monsanto’s “outrage” at the IARC report is hokum - GMWatch
- Immediate Consumer Demands
- (Healthy Food)
- ... foodstuff-dealers and irresponsible corporations. Likewise, all school feeding programmes using imported (USAID/WFP) food as stable or having it sourced locally must be free from GE/GMOs and pesticide r ...
- Created on 05 January 2015
Africa: 'Free Sugars' Pose New Threat to Africa's Health
A 64-ounce drink is displayed alongside other soft drink cup sizes at a news conference at City Hall in New York
Credit: REUTERS/Andrew Burton
The Herald (Harare) - 7 March 2015
Africa is long known for high rates of hunger, under-nutrition and infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS but a disturbing new threat of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) associated with overweight, obesity and diet-related NCDs is emerging in many countries.
The rapid unplanned urbanisation of countries in the African region has resulted in increasing consumption of free sugars, sugar-sweetened drinks and processed foodstuffs.
To help improve dietary choices and counter the rapid upsurge of NCDs, WHO released updated recommendations for adults and children to reduce the intake of free sugars throughout the life course.
WHO further recommends that in both adults and children, the intake of free sugars be reduced to less than 10 percent of total energy intake and a further reduction to below 5 percent of total energy intake would provide additional health benefits.
"After years of research and over 9 000 studies, the dangers of high levels of sugars consumption are finally starting to be known.
"Daily intake of free sugars should be no more than 10 percent of total energy intake in order to prevent NCDs, in particular tooth decay and health problems resulting for overweight and obesity, namely diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer and it is suggested to further reduce the intake to less than 5 percent of total energy intake for added health benefits," said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.
Using a 2 000-calorie diet as an example, less than 10 percent of total energy intake of free sugars or 200 calories equates to less than 50 grams of free sugars.
Applying the suggested intake of less than 5 percent of total energy for the same example would reduce the free sugars intake to less than 25 grams.
This is of utmost importance to children and adults as over-consumption of free sugars which is contributing greatly to excess energy intake coupled with low-energy expenditures from lack of physical activity is causing unhealthy weight gains.
Much of the sugars consumed today are "hidden" in processed foods that are not usually seen as sweets. For example, one tablespoon of tomato sauce contains around 4 grams (around one teaspoon) of sugar. A single can of sugar-sweetened soda contains up to 40 grams (around 10 teaspoons) of sugars.
In recent years, the rate of increase of childhood overweight and obesity in developing countries with emerging economies has been more than 30 percent higher than that in developed countries.
In 2013, it was estimated that 42 million children under the age of five in the world were overweight or obese and about 35 million of them were living in the developing countries.
"The risk of type II diabetes in adults increases continuously with increasing obesity, and decreases with weight loss.
"The new WHO sugars recommendations contribute to halting the spread of overweight and obesity and helping individuals maintain a healthy weight throughout the life course," said Dr Tigest Ketsela, Director of Health Promotion at the WHO Regional Office for Africa.
The upsurge of sugars consumption in the African region is closely associated with many cross-cutting variables such as increased availability, cultural traditions, individual preferences and beliefs as well as geographical, environmental, economic and social factors.
"Rapid uptake of the new WHO sugars guidelines along with increased physical activity is needed to halt and reverse the obesity and NCD epidemics in Africa. New and bold intersectoral policies and actions are needed to improve overall health and quality of life of populations in the region," said Dr Chandralall Sookram, Medical Officer for the Primary Prevention of NCDs at the WHO Regional Office for Africa.
Source: WHO
This Is the No. 1 Driver of Diabetes and Obesity
Sugar = Enemy No 1
(Picture credit: Larry Washburn—Getty Images)
"A sugar calorie is much more harmful," says the lead researcher
A primary driver for type 2 diabetes is sugar, according to a new report.
In the report, published Thursday in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, a team of researchers performed a literature review to determine whether certain ingredients are much more dangerous than others when it comes to diabetes, and to challenge the idea that all calories are equal. To do so, they looked at the effects of carbohydrates from similar calories. They compared starch, pure glucose and lactose to added sugars like sucrose (table sugar) and fructose, which occurs naturally in fruit but which we mostly consume as a sweetener, such a with high-fructose corn syrup, added to food and drinks).
What they found was that the added sugars were significantly more harmful. Fructose was linked to worsening insulin levels and worsening glucose tolerance, which is a driver for pre-diabetes. It caused harmful fat storage—visceral fat on the abdomen—and promoted several markers for poor health like inflammation and high blood pressure. “We clearly showed that sugar is the principal driver of diabetes,” says lead study author James J. DiNicolantonio, a cardiovascular research scientist at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute. “A sugar calorie is much more harmful.”
DiNicolantonio and his fellow authors say current dietary guidelines are harmful since they recommend levels of sugar consumption that are unhealthy. For instance, the Institute of Medicine says added sugar can make up 25% of the total calories we consume, and the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans say up to 19% of calories from added sugars is alright. That varies greatly from the American Heart Association, which recommends no more than 6 tsp of sugar a day for women 9 tsp for men. The World Health Organization has proposed that added sugar make up only 5% of a person’s daily calories.
“The studies that we looked at clearly show that once you hit 18 percent compared to just 5 percent of your total calories from sugar, there’s significant metabolic harms promoting prediabetes and diabetes,” says DiNicolantonio. “In fact, there’s a two-fold increase.”
This is not the first time sugar has been fingered as a primary culprit in American’s bad health. Other researchers are pushing the message that it’s refined carbohydrates like added sugars that are the problem.
“We need to understand that it isn’t the overconsuming of calories that leads to obesity and leads to diabetes. We need to totally change that around,” says DiNicolantonio. “It’s refined carbs and added sugars that lead to insulin resistance and diabetes, which leads to high insulin levels, which drives obesity.”
DiNicolantonio recommends major changes to combat the problem. He says the government should stop subsidizing corn which makes high fructose corn syrup so cheap and should instead subsidize healthy foods so that consumers are encouraged to make the switch from processed foods to whole foods, since it’s the processed stuff that’s putting so much sugar in our diets. He adds that in his opinion, sugar-sweetened beverages should not be sold in schools or hospitals, and perhaps the government should put warning labels on them.
Such severe changes are not likely in the immediate future, but if sugar is indeed the number one cause for diabetes among all other foods, then more needs to happen to help Americans cut back. Especially since there is no real need for added sugar in our diets.
Vandana Shiva — Biodiversity or GMOs?
Within Vandana Shiva’s dedication to defending the natural world is a profound celebration of life. When we allow systems to sustain balance and wholeness, life truly can thrive. Below are some clips from an interview with THRIVE that never made it into the final cut of the film.
In conjunction with World Health Day, on April 7th, Vandana has asked us to share this message and call to action about choosing biodiversity over GMOs — specifically the Trojan horse that is Golden Rice. Please tune in for this important message.
— Kimberly Carter Gamble
Read a transcript of the audio (to translate the transcript, choose your language at the top of this page)
BIODIVERSITY OR GMOS: WILL THE FUTURE OF NUTRITION BE IN WOMEN’S HANDS OR UNDER CORPORATE CONTROL?
By Vandana Shiva
Summary
Women have been the primary growers of food and nutrition throughout history, but today, food is being taken out of our hands and substituted for toxic commodities controlled by global corporations. Monoculture industrial farming has taken the quality, taste and nutrition out of our food. As a result, India is facing a nutritional crisis: every fourth Indian goes hungry, and in 2011 alone, diabetes took the lives of 1 million Indians. Malnutition and Anaemia requires affordable, diverse, nutritionally rich food where health & nutrition of women & children are given high priority, with them having much more say in decision making.
Now, the same companies who created the crisis are promising a miracle solution: GMOs. Genetically engineered Golden Rice and GMO Bananas are being proposed by corporations hiding behind the cloak of academia as a solution to hunger and malnutrition in the Global South. But these are false miracles. Indigenous biodiverse varieties of food grown by women provide far more nutrition than the commodities produced by industrial agriculture. Golden Rice is 350% less efficient in providing Vit A than the biodiversity alternatives that women grow. GMO ‘iron-rich’ Bananas have 3000% less iron than turmeric and 2000% less iron than amchur (mango powder). Fenugreek (Methi), drumstick (Sahjan) and many others are far richer in Iron, & their availability & affordability need to be promoted. Apart from being nutritionally empty, GMOs are part of an industrial system of agriculture that is destroying the planet, depleting our water sources, increasing green houses gases, and driving farmers into debt and suicide through a greater dependence on chemical inputs. Moreover, these corporate-led industrial monocultures are destroying biodiversity, and we are losing access to the food systems that have sustained us throughout time. When we consider the number of patents involved in these initiatives, it becomes all too clear that the only beneficiaries of these supposedly ‘people-led’ ventures are large companies operating for profit — not for people.
This needs to stop now. We call on all women — the world’s primary food-growers and food-givers — to stand together and reclaim our knowledge, our farming, and our food. To expose the lies generated by the GMO industry, to reject the false promises of Golden Rice and GMO Bananas, and to reclaim the planet for all living beings.
India’s nutritional emergency
India is facing a nutritional emergency. We are the capital of hunger and malnutrition. Every fourth Indian is hungry. Every second child wasted and stunted. India is the diabetes capital of the world with 50.8 million patients.
In 2011 the diabetes epidemic in the country took 1 million people’s lives. Diabetes, a metabolic disorder, is a result of an imbalanced diet. The Green Revolution’s focus on rice monocultures has been made at the cost of greens, daals, and more nutritious millets — and diabetes has crept into rural areas. Contrary to popular belief, diabetes affects more people in rural India (34 million) than affluent urban Indians (28 million).
An imbalanced agriculture based on monocultures and an imbalanced diet based on further denutrified white polished rice, & fine white flour has become a cause of increasing chronic Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs). With 80% Medical costs being Out of pocket expenditure (OOPE) paid for by the patients & the families, NCDs become killers. Nearly 50% of Indian women suffer from iron deficiency anaemia.
What should be our response to this nutritional emergency: bringing biodiversity into our agriculture and food, or intensifying chemical monocultures of rice through the introduction of GMO Golden Rice? Empowering women by keeping food and nutritional security in their hands, or allowing corporations to take control of our food?
Nutritional deficiencies are a direct result of destruction of biodiverse sources of nutrition by industrial monocultures. Proponents of industrial agriculture — most significantly implemented in India through the Green Revolution — did not value nutrition. Instead, they focused on increasing inputs of imported chemicals, water and fossil fuels to grow chemical monocultures, in which food was reduced to an empty, toxic commodity. It lost is quality, taste, aroma, and — most importantly — its nutrition.
There are six processes through which industrial farming robs food of its nutrition.
First, industrial breeding is based on uniformity, long distance transport, and industrial processing. In comparison, food grown by women — who have been the primary seed breeders and producers of food — is based on diversity, taste, nutrition, quality and resilience. Traditional Indian varieties of wheat like Kathia, Bansi, and Mishri are full of taste and nutrition with low gluten varieties too. Industrially bred wheat varieties, on the other hand, are low in nutrition and have contributed to the epidemic of gluten intolerance.
Second, by replacing biodiversity with monocultures, industrial agriculture reduces the amount of nutrition per acre. With diversity we can grow enough iron for 20 Indias, and enough Vit A for all of India today.
Third, by substituting the sophisticated ecological processes of renewing fertility with chemical inputs of synthetic fertilizers, the health of the soil is destroyed, nutrition in soils is reduced, and plants which provide our food become nutritionally empty.
| Mineral | US 1963–1992 (13 fruits & vegetables) | Britain 1936–1987 (20 fruits & 20 vegetables) |
|---|---|---|
| N/A, not analyzed. * U.S. (Berginer, 1997) and British (Mayer, 1997) data. | ||
| Calcium | −29 | −19 |
| Magnesium | −21 | −35 |
| Sodium | N/A | −43 |
| Potassium | −6 | −14 |
| Phosphorus | −11 | −6 |
| Iron | −32 | −22 |
| Copper | N/A | −81 |
The British Journal of Nutrition published a meta-analysis done by Professor Carlo Leifert of Newcastle University and 15 other scientists from around the world. This research finds significant differences in the nutritional content of organic and non-organic crops (fruit, vegetables, cereals and pulses). Organic crops and crop-based food products were found to have significantly higher concentrations of antioxidants (including phenolic acids, flavanones, stilbenes, flavones, flavonols and anthocyanines) compared with their conventionally produced counterparts. The mean percentage difference for most antioxidant compounds was between plus 18% and 69%. Smaller, but still statistically significant, composition differences were also detected for a number of carotenoids and vitamins.
A switch to eating organic fruit, vegetable and cereals (and food made from them) would lead to a 20–40% (and for some compounds up to a 60%) increase in crop-based antioxidant/(poly)phenolic consumption without any increase in calories. This is important as there is strong scientific evidence of the health benefits of increased consumption of (poly)phenolics and other plant secondary metabolites with antioxidant activity, most notably protection against chronic diseases, including cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases and some cancers.
Fourth, GMOs are also leading to a decline in nutritional availability, because the biotechnology industry is growing commodities, not food. 90% of the GMO corn and soya goes to biofuel and animal food, not human food. This is not a viable food system.
Fifth, herbicide tolerant crops account for most of the GMOs cultivated. The use of Roundup (glyphosate) with Roundup Ready crops removes vital minerals like manganese through “chelation”-binding. Manganese is vital to the gut-brain connection. The depletion of this nutrient could be contributing to the autism epidemic in the USA. According the Centre of Disease Control, at current rates of increase, 1 in 2 children in the USA could be born autistic in 10 to 20 years. (Seneff in Vandana Shiva(ed) Seed Sovereignty, Food Security: Women in the Vanguard, Women Unlimited New Delhi, 2015)
Sixth, just as there is an ecology of biodiversity in our fields, there is an ecology of biodiversity in our nutrition. Nutrients need each other. Fats are needed for absorption and bioavailability of Vit A, and Vit C is needed for absorption of iron. Mechanistic reductionism in nutrition, like mechanistic reductionism in agriculture, undermines the ecological processes through which our farms grow nutrition and our bodies are nourished.
All the evidences points to the need to grow nutrition by intensifying biodiversity and ecological processes in our food and farming systems. This is the path Navdanya has followed over more than 2 decades. We have increased production of nutrition (Health per Acre) as well as farmers’ incomes (Wealth per Acre) through agroecology and biodiversity.
But today, industrial agriculture paradigm is trying to extend its non-sustainable life by promising answers to malnutrition through GMOs such as Golden Rice and GM Bananas.
Golden Rice is a False Miracle
Golden Rice is genetically engineered rice with two genes from a daffodil and one gene from a bacterium which gives it a yellow colouring, which is supposed to increase beta carotene, a precursor to Vit A. It is being offered as a miracle cure for Vit A Deficiency (VAD).
But Golden Rice is a false miracle. It is a disease of nutritionally empty monocultures offered as a cure for nutritional deficiency. According to goldenrice.org, children under the age of 7 require 450 ‘units’ of Retinol (Vitamin A) Equivalents. Children would therefore have to eat 300gms of Golden Rice to get their daily requirement of Vit A. In indigenous food cultures, a child’s diet normally contains less than 150 gms of rice, but also contains a range of other nutritious foods grown by women. In fact, Golden Rice is 350% less efficient in providing Vit A than the biodiversity alternatives that women have to offer. To get your daily requirement of Vit A, all you need to eat is one of the following:
- two tablespoons of Spinach or Cholai leavesor Radish leaves
- four tablespoons of Mustard or Bathua leaves
- one tablespoon of coriander chutney
- one and a half table spoon of mint chutney
- one carrot
- one mango
Not only do these indigenous alternatives based on women’s knowledge provide more Vit A than Golden Rice at a lower cost, they also provide other nutrients. One such example is iron, which helps fight iron deficiency and anaemia. But just like the biotechnology industry is offering Golden Rice for Vit A deficiency, it is promoting GMO bananas for increased Vit A and iron. In reality, GMO bananas provide 7000% less iron than indigenous biodiversity that Indian women are experts in growing and processing.
The Vit A in GMO Vit A bananas has been pirated from indigenous bananas in Micronesia. The beta-carotene traits have been added to the sticky japonica rice Taipei 309, which Indians do not eat. The feeding trials for Golden Rice as well as the GM Bananas were done illegally and unethically.
By foregoing biodiversity alternatives that provide more nutrition, the biotechnology industry is pushing for a monoculture rice diet, which is a recipe for intensifying the diabetes epidemic. With 62 million patients, India already has extremely high rates of diabetes. Golden Rice is an irresponsible proposal that would intensify this by blocking much-needed alternatives — biodiversity and balance in our diets. For example, dietary fats are needed to absorb Vit A. To get these in our diets, we need biodiversity of oilseed crops and livestock. Rice monocultures displace both these forms of fat, leaving us with no way to absorb Vit A, and thus aggravate the nutritional crisis.
Golden Rice will also aggravate the ecological crisis caused by industrial agriculture. Since Golden Rice is part of the industrial agriculture package (also known as the seed-chemical package), it promotes monocultures, which further destroy biodiversity. Golden Rice will increase the use of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, which are rupturing the planetary boundary of the nitrogen cycle.
India is already one of the largest importers of nitrogen fertilizers, and Golden Rice will only serve to increase this. Moreover, it will increase the use of water, intensifying the water crisis. It will contribute to climate change through increased green house gas emissions. And it will leave our farmers liable to higher input costs through dependence on chemicals and fees for proprietary technologies.
As a source of nutrition for the Global South, Golden Rice has no real benefits. But considering the precedents set by soya, corn, canola and cotton, introducing Golden Rice as a way for large companies to gain control over entire food cultures based on rice, makes perfect sense.
Golden Rice is A Trojan Horse for Corporate Control
Proponents of Golden Rice declare that it is a product of public research carried out through public funding. But in reality, the scientists involved are closely linked to the biotechnology corporations pushing royalty collection through patents.
Scientists Ingo Potrykus (Zurich) and Peter Beyer (Freiberg) are closely connected to the Biotechnology corporations for commercialization of Golden Rice through patents. There are more than 70 patents linked to Golden Rice, despite it being promoted as a product made for the public by the public. Corporations controlling these patents include Bayer AG, Monsanto Co, Orynova BV and Zeneca Mogen BV. A letter written by Dr. Potrykus illustrates just how enmeshed the invention of Golden Rice and corporate interests always were. When questioned about his partnerships with corporations in an email exchange with RAFI/ETC Dr. Potrykus wrote,
“Why did we need to involve a commercial partner? Because Golden Rice also needs a commercial basis to reach the urban poor. Why do we need a patent? Because only then we can ensure, that nobody interferes with our task. Zeneca (now Syngenta) had, therefore, legal rights on the Golden Rice. Why are you upset if in return Zeneca is trying to make profit from developing a commercial ‘Golden Rice’, which even also will have benefits for the poor not directly linked to subsistence farmers? Could you not agree that it is neither fair nor wise to blame industry for working for profit? This is for what they are there.”
The project leader on the Golden Rice project at the International Rice Research Institute is Dr Gerard Barry, was also involved with some of Monsanto’s ‘golden egg’ patents and the man responsible for the company’s toxic RoundUp resistant products. There is a clear revolving door between corporations and research institutions in which a handful of actors are driving a for-profit corporate venture. Giants including Monsanto and Syngenta sit in the driver’s seat by controlling patents Intellectual Property Rights, while cleverly spinning these initiatives as philanthropy to open up for more & more patented grains, vegetables, fruits, while ensuring systematic erosion of tradition diverse foods & Traditional knowledge about healthier, more nutritional, culturally acceptable, diverse food crops & foods, projecting them as inferior.
The alternative lies in women’s hands and minds
On International Women’s Day 8th March 2015 and World Health Day 7th April 2015, we the women of India and the world concerned & engaged with Women’s Health & nutrition commit ourselves to reclaiming our seed, food, and knowledge sovereignty so that we can all enjoy healthy, safe, nutritious, tasty and diverse food. And through our food, we will reclaim our health and the health of the planet.
We will not allow a further degradation of our food systems and knowledge systems. We do not have to go down the road of replacing our biodiversity with GMO monocultures and our rich knowledge of food and nutrition with scientific and ethical fraud. We will not sacrifice our seed and food sovereignty for corporate control and profits.
We commit ourselves to
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Promote and evolve the use of our indigenous seeds, crops and foods to address the crisis of malnutrition and health.
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Spread gardens of hope, diversity and nutrition everywhere: in schools, on rooftops, on balconies.
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Spread nutritional literacy about our diverse foods, and biosafety literacy about toxics and GMOs. Celebrate 7th April, World Health Day, which WHO has declared Safe Food Day from Farm to Table as a day for promoting Pesticide Free, GMO Free food.
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Celebrate Mahila Anna Swaraj (food sovereignty in women’s hands) at Navdanya’s biodiversity farm in Doon Valley (27–29 March 2015) by strengthening alternatives that promote sustainability, justice and health.
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Celebrate Mother Earth Day, 22nd April 2015 to liberate the Earth, our farms, our kitchens and our bodies from the burden of disease. Celebrate the connection between the health of the soil and the health of all beings on the planet during 2015 the United Nations’ “Year of Soil”.
As women, in all our vibrant diversity, we will make a paradigm shift from monocultures to diversity, from chemicals to organic, from reductionist and mechanistic science to ecological knowledge, from corporate control and monopolies to seed sovereignty, food sovereignty and knowledge sovereignty in women’s hands and women’s minds. We will grow alternatives to the ecological and health disaster of industrial agriculture and its new false promises of Golden Rice and GMO Bananas.
We will shape the future of food and nutrition through biodiversity in our hands and in our minds. We will take back our seeds, and we will take back our food.
For further information please contact:
| Dr Mira Shiva Initiative for Health and Equity in Society Mob: 91 9810582028 |
Dr Vandana Shiva Diverse Women for Diversity |
WHAT ON EARTH WILL IT TAKE? Check: THRIVE
