*shift to technology-based farming is a mixed blessing* may prove wrong in case to case.
however here is an instance of BT cotton. http://www.indiatogether.org/2007/nov/agr-spinge.htm *"To farm Bt cotton, they pay 400 per cent more for the seed and 'reap' benefits that are scandalously marginal. They continue to go red year after year. And Vidarbha continues to happen. Besides economic collapse, they are also 'reaping' other benefits such as mounting soil toxicity, cattle death and dangers for their health. "* http://www.indiatogether.org/2007/jul/agr-btvidarb.htm " *After Bollguard-I (first generation Bt), Monsanto has introduced in the market Bollguard-II in more or less the same genotypes (varieties). The price of a 450-gm packet of seed is Rs.1350, several times the cost of non-Bt seeds. A package of Bollguard-I comes at Rs.750. A packet of same quantity of non-Bt will come at Rs.400-450, while the desi cottonseed, grown in very few areas, costs Rs.50 a kg.* " " "*Bt cotton has not brought about any increase in productivity. Also, it has not reduced the use of chemicals." Last year, with 60 per cent area under Bt, the production of cotton in the state could only match the average annual production – about 190 lakh quintals. * *State government reports and statistics too suggest that Bt cotton has not brought about any rise in productivity or decline in pesticide use. In 2005, Maharashtra's Agriculture Commissioner wrote in his note to the central government and later the National Commission of Farmers about the poor performance of Bt in the state. Also, Maharashtra government has in four years paid to farmers about Rs.400 crore in compensation due to the failure of Bt cotton in Vidarbha and other parts.* " another aspect is the 'debate of science'... "*it is true that big corporations won on terming who ever speaking for GM seeds are scientifically rooted and others are not*" http://www.indiatogether.org/2009/nov/agr-gmsci.htm "*The mere use of technology does not make an approach scientific, but this is a common fallacy even among scientists. Good science is characterised by transparency and falsifiability. These do not figure in GM. Instead, faith, the antithesis of science, features in a big way. There are few peer-reviewed journal articles on GM crops. When companies make claims about various positive contributions from their engineered crops, their statements cannot be verified or tested independently. Policymakers and even other scientists who work in the same area have to accept the results on faith.* " here farmers are certainly not blessed. then consumers? We may get BT popato, BT brinjal, BT mustard etc in near future. if no *community* exists for peer review and the whole system is supposed to run on *'faith'* , it is a call of suicide (rather genocide). then Who else is blessed? isn't Monsanto ant cargil? 'mixed blessing' term may prove false as far as the interests of civil society is concerned. Regards, Ravi 2009/11/27 Vickram Crishna <[email protected]> > On Fri, Nov 27, 2009 at 12:18 PM, Ravi Shanker <[email protected]>wrote: > >> *apart from the health issues... this is having another aspect. farmers >> interests and rights are violated.* >> ** >> *http://www.indiatogether.org/agriculture/articles/twn-seed.htm* >> ** >> *"I've been using my own seed for years, and now farmers like me are >> being told we can't do that anymore if our neighbours are growing >> (genetically modified) crops that blow in. ... Basically, the right to use >> our own seed has been taken away.*' says Percy Schmeiser, a Canadian >> farmer. At the end of March, a Canadian judge ordered farmer Percy Schmeiser >> to pay Monsanto thousands of dollars because a genetically modified (GM) >> canola variety patented by Monsanto was found growing on his field. This >> decision was reached even though Schmeiser consistently stated that he did >> not grow these seeds voluntarily, but that his crops were cross-pollinated >> by modified plants from another farm. Although several similar lawsuits have >> been filed against farmers in North America, this is the first case that >> ended up in a trial." >> ... >> >> >> >> 2009/11/27 jtd <[email protected]> >> >> On Thursday 26 November 2009, Arun SAG wrote: >>> > Hi, >>> > >>> > Vandana shiva talks about how patenting of seeds by billg backed >>> monstanto >>> > harms farmers freedom and their interests . I think there is no harm in >>> > sharing it here http://boycottnovell.com/videos/monsanto-patents.ogg >>> > >>> > Story at http://boycottnovell.com/2009/11/25/monsanto-video/ >>> > >>> > Cheers, >>> >>> Never mind the farmers are you sure that baingan bharta you just ate does >>> not >>> contain insect genes?. And the idli did not contain some fungus genes >>> spliced >>> in gratis. >>> Even if the farmer did indeed benefit in some way, you and I face unseen >>> risks >>> in consuming genetic material which nature has for good measure kept >>> separate >>> for eons. >>> >>> > I don't think it is anyone's contention that consuming natural life-forms > is necessarily beneficial or even safe for humans. Poison ivy, for instance, > is nearly always a bit of a nuisance. > > While cross-species evolution is not common, it is not unknown either, > hence it is not possible to say 'such and such cannot happen'. However, that > is a peculiar argument to justify deliberate mixtures, for the simple > reason that we are unaware of what effect on the resulting life-form such > splicing will take. We may think that this or that gene does exactly this or > that, but it may do it only because of its peculiar positioning in the > entire gene sequence, as much as its mere presence. Or there may be other > factors, not properly researched yet, at play. > > Even natural splicing may end up with unpredictable results, but possibly > these often get mitigated in the lengthy trial-and-error approach, since the > end-objective is the key and not the technique. > > For farmers, especially Indian farmers, with our historical mismanagement > of land resources, the shift to technology-based farming, with its host of > chemical fertilisers and pesticides, is certainly a mixed blessing. The > effect on soil and water is only now beginning to get computed. > > -- > Vickram > http://communicall.wordpress.com > > _______________________________________________ > network mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.fosscom.in/listinfo.cgi/network-fosscom.in > >
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