Illegal GM cotton spreads across India

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Letters - March 31, 2013

Bigger is better

'Organic cotton production and consumption should become a mass movement'

Before taking up organic cotton were you growing conventional cotton? No. We started organic farming 28 years ago. Organic farming is our way of life. Organic cotton cultivation was started in 1991. In our opinion, there cannot be anything called conventional cotton now. It must be either BT or organic. There is nothing in between. How big is your farm? Interviewee:  Vivek

Organic thread

Letters - February 28, 2013

Hello Lantana

Maya of Indian Science

Blog Intro:  Lies, denial and outright fraud have become the hallmark of Indian agricultural research because there is no accountability Lies, denial and outright fraud have become the hallmark of Indian agricultural research because there is no accountability

ICAR’s shoddy science

Scientists’ panel calls for 10-year moratorium on GM field trials

A Supreme Court-mandated committee of technical experts comprising scientists from top public research laboratories and academic institutions has recommended a ten-year moratorium on field trials of Bt transgenics in all food crops that are directly consumed by people.

Civil society groups appeal against sacrificing biosafety for biotech companies

On the second day of sixth the meeting of parties (MoP) to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, civil society groups, particularly from the host country India, urged global leaders to follow the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), in letter and spirit. They appealed to global nations to ensure that biodiversity and with it the access of the local people to their biological heritage is not sacrificed for risky and irreversible technologies like genetic engineering in agriculture.

Maharashtra bans Bt cotton seeds of Mahyco Monsanto Biotech

After months of dithering, Maharashtra has finally banned Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (MMB) from carrying out any trade in cotton seed in the state. MMB is a joint venture of Mahyco (a Maharashtra-based hybrid seed company), the Maharashtra government and Monsanto Holdings Pvt Ltd, a US-based company. Mahyco is also a key distributor of Bt cotton seeds in the country.