For its Bt Cotton technology between 2002 to 2005 Monsanto charged an exorbitant trait value (Royalty) of Rs.1200/- per packet of 450g. Bt Cotton seeds were being sold at an exorbitant price of Rs.1800/- to Rs.2000/- per packet. Based on the complaints of the Andhra Pradesh Ryotu Sangham, the Government of Andhra Pradesh referred the matter to the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC). The MRTPC indicted Monsanto and passed an interim order stating that Monsanto is indeed following restrictive trade practices and this had resulted in some relief for the farmers. The MNCs however retain the monopoly over seeds and there is no regulation on them.
On Fri, Nov 27, 2009 at 3:33 PM, Vickram Crishna <[email protected]>wrote: > 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 > >
_______________________________________________ network mailing list [email protected] http://lists.fosscom.in/listinfo.cgi/network-fosscom.in
