Comments on: India Says No to Genetically Modified Eggplants

By: Scott Mcfaddin

Scott Mcfaddin — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 19:59:41 +0000

By: Iain Park

Iain Park — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 02:04:28 +0000

Kat, poster 1 , what does over running native population have to do with anything? Corporate farming has CHANGED the beefsteak tomatoe from a deliscious soggy sorta thing (when i was a kid) to a woody, saw it apart, tasteless thing we have today. So what’s your point? It’s already been done with everything we eat, modified through selective breeding for shelf life rather than taste and/or nutrician.

Infoblues, poster 2, look at my reply to poster 1. Surely you don’t think that your food is the same as what it was 100 years ago. If you do, you need to go get an education.

I do agree, all GM foods should be labeled as such or containing such and let the market decide.

By: charlie bush

charlie bush — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 17:09:04 +0000

Good one, meatball.

By: Evz

Evz — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 21:03:19 +0000

Good for India! Glad to see someone gets a say in the issue BESIDES Monsanto: they’ve pretty much been allowed to write national biotech policy in the U.S., with zero accountability for problems caused to farmers, consumers, or the environment. Bt cotton was a disaster, in India; there’s no shortage of Indian brinjal; there’s no reason to think it would be a good idea for *anyone* but Monsanto.

I strongly encourage everyone who eats food on this planet to watch ‘The World According to Monsanto’ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hErvV5YEHkE); or read http://www.ecovore.org/blog/?p=255, or http://www.ecovore.org/blog/?p=647, for why this (evil empire of a) company does NOT need to be in charge of the world’s food supply!

By: meatball

meatball — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 22:19:45 +0000

As a Sicilian conceived via in vitro fertilization, recently denied a student visa in India, I take great offense to the title of this story.

By: Krishnan,M.R

Krishnan,M.R — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 05:54:34 +0000

The very fact that the seeds are contrlled by the Monsonto and the farmer is under their mercy spells doubts

By: Jay Fox

Jay Fox — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:05:33 +0000

The only economic success from this would be to Monsanto. The farmer would have to buy new seeds EVERY YEAR. Monsanto has shown in the past that they are not about providing food crops, but providing SEEDS for PROFIT. That in itself is not such a bad thing. But by selling seeds that produce a crop loaded with poison, they are not doing anyone any favors.

There are currently many arguments for not using this particular technology due to unknown effects. Monsanto does not release their own study results to the public, and that alone should make one wary. If these GM crops were really as safe as they claim, they should put everything on the table for all to see. Their refusal to do so speaks louder than all of their secret studies combined.

All GM foods should be labeled as such, and let the market decide if they are viable alternatives. Those who wish to remain ignorant may buy them, but anyone who does not wish to consume these frankenfoods should be given the opportunity to opt out. In the meantime, those pushing these foods can themselves become part of the studies. Eat all of it you want, then submit yourselves to the scientists for dissection. After all, when the rats die from this stuff, you say, “well, they’re rats, not people.”

Let’s see some real test results done on real people. Document every single bite of everything. Take a pair of twins, feed one this stuff, and the other real food. Follow them for ten or twenty years. Get back to us on how that works out. THEN try to sell us this stuff. In the meantime, I, and many like me, do not wish to become lab rats for Monsanto.

By: Jack

Jack — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:42:50 +0000

One of the fundamental issues with insect resistant genetically modified foods is that they would invariably produce a toxin. Although, the toxin(s) are supposed to “harmless” to humans. The human antigens now have to fight against an array of such “harmless” toxins that they probably are not designed for. While we achieve economic and fiscal successes through these breeding programs, the long term ramifications of these created higher levels of toxicity of to the humans itself need a renewed and perhaps a closer scrutiny.

By: bal

bal — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:24:45 +0000

Eggplant is not a major crop in India. I do not think that we have a shortage of eggplants in India at the moment. So there is no need to introduce Bt brinjal.
Report says advantage of eggplants to poor farmers in India. How many poor farmers in India grow eggplant?
What about other (wheat, rice, food legumes) crops?

By: Teja

Teja — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 02:22:41 +0000

It has more to do with the HUGE amount of bad press that Monsanto got (which I think is justified) when India was going through its first “Green revolution” than its fear of adopting a new technology.

There are arguments that go both ways, but I tend to agree with this, even if slightly exaggerated – http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Monsanto_in_India

By: infoblues

infoblues — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 02:19:16 +0000

Thats great news. Further testing is essential not only regarding the safety of the eggplant, but also larger issues in terms of its impact on diversity, gene pool, and role of seed companies in the future prosperity and independence of farmers. We need to understand what the impact of undoing / changing what nature does in the longer term have, and that deserves appropriate long term studies.

By: Kat

Kat — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:51:39 +0000

Woo! Go India! I too wouldn’t mind GM food, if it were better tested. And I don’t just mean health concerns, I also mean environmentally testing it to make sure it won’t overrun native populations or cause unforeseen problems. Or at least, try to see more of those currently, unforeseen effects of GM foods.