The global revolt against corporate globalization has begun: Delivered-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Mon, 30 Nov 1998 13:09:22 -0500 (EST) To: NGO Community <> From: "Prof. Nanjundaswamy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Organization: Karnataka State Farmers Association Subject: [mai] Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Precedence: bulk Ý *** please disseminate widely - apologies for duplication ** Dear friends, Today one of the field trials of Monsanto in Karnataka has passed away. The other two will soon follow. One of them is owned by the man who set up a ëgovernment friendlyí farmers organisation, so we will take some more time to convince him to participate in the action. The third field, according to the information given by the government, is in a valley that has disappeared under a dam reservoir (so much for the reliability of the Karnataka Agriculture Minister); we are still investigating. In this message you will find: * The press release given to the media at the action today, which includes extensive information about Monsanto and the illegal conditions under which the trial was conducted * A brief note sent after the action, describing how it took place If you want to receive more information please subscribe to the listserv [EMAIL PROTECTED] (which we hope is already in operation by now). In solidarity, Karnataka State Farmers Association ******************** Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangha (KRRS) Karnataka State Farmers Association FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monsanto's Cremation Starts in Karnataka Sindhanoor, India, 28 November 1998. - Today the farmers of Karnataka will reduce to ashes one of the illegal field trials that the criminal organisation Monsanto is carrying out in the country. This action will mark the beginning of a campaign of civil disobedience called Operation 'Cremation Monsanto', which will soon be continued in Karnataka and other Indian states. The field that will be burned today belongs to Basanna, who came to know what kind of plants were growing in his field only last Wednesday, when Byre Gowda (Minister of Agriculture of Karnataka) mentioned his name as he disclosed the three sites where Monsanto's trials are being conducted in Karnataka. According to Basanna's testimony, officials of Mahyco Monsanto went to his farm in July and proposed him to grow, free of cost, a new variety of cotton seeds, which they claimed would give very good results. He could not suspect that their intention was to carry out an experiment on genetic engineering without his knowledge and consent, risking the future viability not only of his farm, but of his complete community. The officials of Mahyco Monsanto, who have signed a written declaration admitting their illegal behaviour, went regularly to apply manure and pesticides to the Bt cotton, including heavy doses of insecticides. However, the plants are infested with bollworm (the pest that Bt cotton is supposed to control) and other pests like white flyÝ and red-rot. Despite the heavy use of chemical fertiliser, traces of which still can be observed in the field, the Bt plants grew miserably, less than half the size of the traditional cotton plants in the adjacent fields. No single biosafety measure (e.g. buffer zone around the genetically engineered cotton to reduce biopollution, construction of a fence around the field, etc) was undertaken by the Mahyco Monsanto. They did not even demarcate the field as biohazard area. The seriousness of this negligence can be assessed from the following report, published by the British newspaper Mail On Sunday on the 25th October: 'One of the worst fears of campaigners against genetically modified crops has almost come true. An experimental crop of oilseed rape that was altered to be resistant to herbicides has had to be destroyed after it pollinated nearby plants. The fear was that, left unchecked, a new breed of superweeds which normal chemicals could not destroy might have resulted with devastating effects for Britain's agriculture. Now, in what could be the first case of its kind in the UK, the Government is considering prosecuting the America chemical giant behind the experiment for allegedly contaminating the environment. If convicted, Monsanto, the world's leading producer of genetically modified foods and British based sub-contractor Perryfields Holdings Ltd face heavy fines. Monsanto's directors, headed by chairman and chief executive, Bob Shapiro, could even be jailed if found to have been negligent. Minutes of a recent meeting of the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment reveal that Monsanto and Perryfields failed to prevent genetically modified winter oilseed rape cross-pollinating with another field of their normal oilseed rape. A pollen barrier, or buffer zone, of only two metres instead of the required six surrounded the test site. The minutes say that "a breach of consent occurred" and show that Monsanto officials had not visited the trail site even though it was the company's duty to do so.Ý Tony Strickland, trials manager for Perryfields Holdings, of Inkberrow, Hereford and Worcester, said, " We expect to be prosecuted. A path was put around the test area and those on site overlooked the fact that the pollen barrier was then too small. This increased the risk of cross-pollination" A Monsanto spokesman said,"We do not want to comment about a case that is pending with the Ministry, but to the best of our knowledge no breach of consent has led to environmental damage."' Basanna has only now come to know that this remarkably inferior cotton variety has polluted next years' cotton harvest in the whole region, rendering it as useless as his field. He has also come to know that he has unknowingly engaged in illegal behaviour by commercialising a cotton variety whose commercial exploitation has not been approved yet. He hence shares the anger of the farmers from the whole region, and has given his approval to the cremation of the cotton. The behaviour of Mahyco Monsanto should not come as a surprise, given the well deserved reputationÝ that the USA-based criminal organisation Monsanto enjoys all over the world. A prime example of the criminal character of this organisation was exposed by a recently disclosed official report of the Canadian government published in April 21, 1998 (available at: www.nfu.ca/nfu/Gapsreport.html). This report, prepared by the administration of Health of the Canadian government, describes the illegal tactics used by Monsanto to obtain permission to commercialise Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH), the first genetically modified product that was ever commercialised in the world. The report says: "Evidence from the animal safety reviews were [sic] not taken into consideration. These studies indicated numerous adverse effects in cows, including birth defects, reproductive disorders, higher incidence of mastitis [infection leading to inflammation of the udder], which may have had an impact on human health."ÝÝ It explicitly states (pg. 14) that "There are reports on file that Monsanto pursued aggressive marketing tactics, compensated farmers whose veterinary bills escalated due to increased side effects associated with the use of rBST [rBGH], and covered up negative trial results.Ý All the four U.S. manufacturers [Monsanto, Eli Lilly, Cyanamid and Elanco, with only Monsanto actually marketing a product] refused to disclose the lists of their research grants to U.S. universities." Without such lists, one could not inquire what effects had been revealed by animal experiments, since nobody knows where the experiments took place and Monsanto refuses to disclose the original reports. The Canadian government scientists conclude that "The usually required long-term toxicology studies to ascertain human safety were not conducted. Hence, such possibilities and potential as sterility, infertility, birth defects, cancer, and immunological derangements were not addressed." The scientists who wrote the report testified before an inquiry board in October that they have been pressured by higher-ups to alter the content of their report. Two of the report's authors, and four other Canadian government scientists, testified that they have been threatened with transfers to other jobs where "they would never be heard of again" if they did not speed up approval of Monsanto's rBGH product in Canada, despite the absence of long-term data showing the product is safe for humans. <<The remainder of this long message omitted>>
