Scientists Engineer Genetically Modified Bananas

Scientists Engineer Genetically Modified Bananas Despite Hundreds of Studies on Their Adverse Impacts


Under the guise of making Indians "super healthy" and
preventing iron deficiencies, Indian researchers are preparing to
produce genetically-modified (GM) bananas despite hundreds of published
scientific papers on the adverse impacts of transgenic foods.

Australian scientists have shared the technology with
Indian scientists and farmers they say to help address widespread
anemia in the country. The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) signed
an agreement with India's department of biotechnology to invest in a
four-year project to develop the iron-rich bananas.

Australia will now hand over the genes to the experts from
five Indian institutes for injecting them into the local bananas.

Professor James Dale says the research is an extension of a far north Queensland program backed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates.Dale and his team had earlier experimented with
genetically-modified bananas in Uganda. The banana fortification
project in Uganda, he said, was in development stage and would take
around six years to come to market. They have also developed the
genetically modified bananas in Australia.

The Coalition for a GM-Free India,
and informal network of scores of organizations and individuals from
across India, campaigning and advocating to keep India GM-Free, has
voiced strong concerns for GM technology and has released a compilation
of scientific papers titled "ADVERSE IMPACTS OF TRANSGENIC CROPS/FOODS: A Compilation of Scientific References and Abstracts" which showcases the mounting evidence on the adverse impacts of transgenic crops and foods on various fronts.

“While the government does not hesitate to announce even on the floor
of the Parliament that there are no adverse impacts from transgenic
crops/foods, with this compilation that we are releasing today, we
hope that fooling of the public by the proponents would stop. This is
by no means an exhaustive compilation but only illustrative”, said the
Coalition in a statement accompanying the release of this
compilation.

“The implications of this living, irreversible technology have to be
understood on different fronts (as much as possible, because there is
still a severe dearth of research, that too on long term implications
and from independent sources) by policy makers and citizens before
GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) are released into the
environment, particularly on a large scale”.

“The debate on GM crops is always peppered with statements that
opposition to GM crops stems out of “misguided emotion” or “ignorance”
and that there is no “scientific evidence” for the negative effects of
the technology. But the reality is that there is significant amount of
scientific evidence that shows the problems with GM crops.

Several studies also point out to the need for further, detailed
investigations. It is ironical that the scientists promoting GMOs in
India do not want to look at such research and deliberately try to
avoid discussions on scientific footing. They should understand that
they would drive the nation into a deep and irreversible crisis
related to food and farming if they continue this blinkered approach.
At this juncture we would also like to reiterate that 150 scientists
of repute had recently sent a letter to the Minister for Environment
& Forests that GM crops have no connection to food security.

“However, we would like to reiterate, as we have always done, that GM
crops are not about technical issues alone. It is a much broader and
deeper issue which the industry and GM proponents want to circumscribe
in the name of science. In that context we want to showcase that
there is enough evidence against this technology even on that front”,
said a statement of the Coalition.

We would like to point out, “these studies exist despite vehement
opposition to independent research (not allowing access to GM seed, not
allowing publication of adverse results, attacking unfavourable
papers) on GM crops due to intellectual property right barriers,
opposition from the companies that own the technology and merciless
attacks on, vilification of and threats to independent scientists who
have found negative impacts of this technology. This effectively means
that if free and independent research were allowed on GM crops many
more such studies will come to light, said Sridhar Radhakrishnan,
Convener of the Coalition for a GM-Free India.


Source:-
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