[MPWG] GLOBAL ACTIVISTS MUST ASSIST EAST INDIAN FARMERS TO RESIST GM RICE

[Ipakatawo9 at aol.com]

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GM WATCH daily
http://www.gmwatch.org
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1.BKU torches GM rice test field in Karnal
2.GM variety may spell trouble for Indian rice

QUOTE: "GM Basmati could spell death knell for the industry" - Amira Foods 
India's Managing Director Karan Chanana (item 2)

"Currently, the EU restrictions are applied to the US only. But as other 
countries flirt with GM, we can expect similar restrictions applied to them as 
well" - India's largest Basmati rice exporter Tilda Riceland's Director R S 
Seshadri told PTI. (item 2)

"On Friday, we got a tip-off from Hyderabad that such tests were underway in 
Karnal. So we decided to burn the harvest. We have also sent a team to 
Gorakhpur (UP) where similar trials are going on in a field. We are awaiting the 
report." - Rakesh Tikait, BKU's national spokesperson and son of BKU president 
Mahinder Singh Tikait (item 1)
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1.BKU torches GM rice test field in Karnal
GAUTAM DHEER
Indian Express, October 30 2006 
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/15675.html

CHANDIGARH, OCTOBER 29 : In a serious setback for field tests of genetically 
modified (GM) rice, activists of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) have torched 
the sole field in Haryana where tests for the modified rice variety were being 
carried out. 

The incident took place at Rampura in Karnal district on Saturday where 
modified rice was in the harvest stage. Some 400 BKU activists torched the crop, 
saying it would contaminate soil and affect the existing variety of rice. After 
the incident, BKU threatened to burn all such fields in the country where 
trials are underway. 

The Rampura land, where the tests were on, had been leased by a farmer to 
Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company Ltd (Mahyco), Monsanto’s seed partner in India. 
Mahyco-Monsanto was the first to release Bt cotton in India in 2002. Mahyco 
has been authorised by the Government’s Genetic Engineering Approval Committee 
(GEAC) to undertake field trials for GM rice in the country. 

Rakesh Tikait, BKU's national spokesperson and son of BKU president Mahinder 
Singh Tikait, told The Indian Express that "such trials will be disastrous for 
the farmers as they will not only contaminate the soil, but also adversely 
affect yield from existing rice varieties". 

"On Friday, we got a tip-off from Hyderabad that such tests were underway in 
Karnal. So we decided to burn the harvest. We have also sent a team to 
Gorakhpur (UP) where similar trials are going on in a field. We are awaiting the 
report," Tikait said. 

Sources said that no complaint has been registered by the Karnal police so 
far.

editor at expressindia.com
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2.GM variety may spell trouble for Indian rice
The Hindu, October 30 2006
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/015200610300311.htm

New Delhi, Oct 30. (PTI): Commercial cultivation of genetically modified 
variety of rice in India could lead to restrictions being imposed by the European 
Union on the country's grain export to the region, the industry has warned. 

The country's leading rice exporters, who are planning to meet the 
Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar with their demand on this issue, said that EU has 
introduced new test requirements for rice import from the US after some 
consignments were found to be contaminated with unauthorised GM varieties. 

"Currently, the EU restrictions are applied to the US only. But as other 
countries flirt with GM, we can expect similar restrictions applied to them as 
well," the country's largest Basmati rice exporter Tilda Riceland's Director R S 
Seshadri told PTI. 

The rice industry is against the commercialisation of GM variety, another 
leading Basmati exporter Kohinoor Foods' Managing Director Gurnam Arora said. 

"We are planning to meet Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on this 
issue," Arora aid. 

India's rice export to the EU totalled Rs 507.31 crore in 2005-06, as against 
Rs 508.46 crore in the previous year. The country's total rice exports 
dropped 8 per cent to Rs 6,221.26 crore in 2005-06 from Rs 6,768.91 crore in the 
previous year. 

If India can toy with the idea of GM rice, the country's Rs 507.32 crore 
export market in Europe could be in trouble, KRBL Ltd, which markets India Gate 
rice brand, Chairman and Managing Director Anil Mittal said. 

"The US is now facing problems due to contamination of GM rice with other 
non-GM varieties in its export consignment to Europe," Seshadri said. 

America has a well-established export market of 3,00,000 tonnes in Europe. 
However, after the US government identified an unauthorised GM variety in its 
rice supply, the European Commission responded by introducing new test 
requirements. 

"Although test results showed that the contamination is approximately 1 grain 
in 3,000, the EU's rule of zero tolerance for any unauthorised GM, the 
situation is extremely volatile with the prospect of further restrictions 
beingintroduced," Sheshadri said. 

GM rice variety remains illegal in Europe unless and until the specific 
variety has undergone rigorous approval, he added. 

Any GM varieties that might be cultivated in India in the future would have 
to get prior approval by the EU before export to the region. Otherwise, we can 
expect the same import restrictions to all Indian rice, including Basmati, he 
cautioned while adding, "we cannot allow something like that to happen to 
Basmati." 

Amira Foods India's Managing Director Karan Chanana echoed similar 
sentiments. 

"GM Basmati could spell death knell for the industry," he said. 

As there is a huge debate going on in the world about the acceptability of GM 
produce, Chanana said, "GM rice is not currently the requirement of the 
nation. We are not prepared for its consequences. Hence India should not allow GM 
rice on its soil." 
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