permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <london@metalab.unc.edu>]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 7 Sep 1999 05:42:22 -0700 (PDT)
From: Kate Smith <katesmith_007@yahoo.com>
To: sanet-mg@shasta.ces.ncsu.edu
Subject: India and Monsters

A glimpse into what is happening in India with respect to
Monsanto...

>Press release from "Monsanto Quit India" Campaign - 1 Sept 1999
-
>
>MNC's invasion  of Indian  Agriculture - The Real Swadeshi -
 Videshi issue in Bellary

>Monsanto, the world's largest biotech company has invaded
India.
>
>It now owns and controls Cargill seeds, MAHYCO, Rallis, EID
Parry.  The main Cargill seed plant, now owned by Monsanto is in Bellary.
This plant was pulled down by angry farmers in 1992 because of the high
rates of seed failure.

>
>Monsanto has taken over the biotech lab of our premier research
institute,
>the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. Monsanto is also
robbing all
>our Universities of our scientists. This is intellectual hijack
and
>intellectual theft.
>
>Monsanto has also engaged in Biopiracy by patenting our cotton,
mustard,
>neem and soyabean. Through patents on seeds it is trying to
establish a
>totalitarian control over agriculture.
>
>Monsanto's undertook illegal and hazardous trials of
genetically engineered
>Bt. cotton. It has continued its trials in spite of the Supreme
Court case.
>Scientific evidence proves that toxic Bt plants kill beneficial
species
>such as butterflies, bees and beetles. Bt crops also accelerate
evolution
>of resistance in pests and the evolution of 'super pests'. This
will lead
>to more debts and more suicides and will wipe out both our
biodiversity and
>our farmers.
>
>Thousands of farmers have already committed suicide because of
huge debts
>linked to costly seeds and costly pesticides, herbicides and
increasing
>seed failures. Pests are becoming resistant to pesticides
leading to higher
>debts and higher crop failure. Monsanto is also trying to
import gene guns
>and virulent genetically engineered plasmids for making and
selling
>Terminator seeds, and other ecologically hazardous products.
This is a gene
>war on our farms, against all species.
>
>Monsanto is also trying to control drinking water and convert
the growing
>water
>scarcity into limitless profits.
>
>Seed famine and water famines are the most severe threats the
majority of
>Indians are facing today.
>
>However, no political party and no politician are addressing
these survival
>issues faced by Indian people.
>
>Because Monsanto poses a severe threat to Indian agriculture
and Indian
>farmers, Indian citizens have been telling Monsanto to quit
India, since
>Quit India day, Aug 9th 1998.
>
>We repeat this call during the Indian general election 1999
from Bellary,
>which
>is a citadel of corporate invasion into Indian agriculture.
Bellary
>symbolizes the combined imperialist power of Cargill, the
world's largest
>grain trader and Monsanto, the world's largest seed monopoly.
>
>This is the real Vidheshi invasion and threat to India.
>
>Ignoring the real economic threat to the survival of the Indian
people, the
>Congress and BJP have reduced the Bellary Election to a
"foreigner -
>native" issue focussing only on individual personalities in the
election
>contest between the Congress President, Italian born Sonia
Gandhi and BJP
>representative, Sushma Swaraj.
>
>The Bija Satyagraha Movement started by 2500 groups around the
country,
>represented in Bellary by Navdanya and the Karnataka Krishak
Samaj wants to
>draw attention on the real Videshi invasion by Monsanto &
Cargill. The Bija
>Satyagraha Movement is building the Swadeshi alternative of
keeping the
>seed in
>our hands and keeping it free of patents, genetic engineering &
MNC's control.
>
>We also want to draw attention to fact that both the BJP and
Congress have
>colluded with foreign MNC's.  They have allowed Monsanto and
Cargill to
>enter Indian agriculture and rob us of our fundamental security
- our food
>security.
>
>Both BJP and Congress joined hands to change Indian patent laws
and allow
>Bio-pirates like Monsanto to have monopoly markets through
patents for
>products derived from our neem, cotton and mustard etc.
>
>Gandhi defined Swadeshi as economic democracy.  Our politicians
are
>corrupting the content of this powerful word.
>
>The citizens of India will save "Swadeshi' from being
trivialized into a
>call for xenophobia and narrow nationalism. Navdanya and
Karnataka Krishak
>Samaj will address a press conference and march to the Cargill
and Monsanto
>Seed factory on 2nd September 1999.
>
>Our Swadeshi call from Bellary is:
>
>1. "Monsanto Quit India"
>2. "Monsanto Stop the Hijack of Indian Seed and Water"
>3. "No Patents on Life"  -  "No Patents on Seeds"
>
>Our Swadeshi test for every candidate and Political Party is
>
>1. The next Government must scrap the new Patent Act 1999 and
Stop the
>implementation of TRIPS. It must also takes step to revise and
reform TRIPs
>by supporting the African Proposal to WTO.
>2. The next elected government must stop the genetically
engineering trials
>that threaten our farmers, our biodiversity and our food
security.
>3. The government must stop the import of the Gene Guns and
genetically
>engineered plasmids by Monsanto.
>
>Bija Satyagraha For Further Information please contact:
>Navdanya Karnataka Krishak Samaj A * 60, Hauz Khas, New Delhi *
110 016
>Bellary Tel: 011-6968 077, 6853 772, Fax: 011- 6856 795 Email:
>vshiva@giasdl01.vsnl.net.in

----------------
Northeast Resistance Against Genetic Engineering
http://www.bckweb.com/nerage