INDIA, Ocotber 29, 2011 (by Rajeshree Sisodia): This is a story of one of the world’s largest agricultural biotechnology companies – the United States-based Monsanto – and its run in with farmers in south India, following murky allegations of its attempts to “steal” nine indigenous brinjal (also known as eggplant or aubergine) varieties and genetically modify them.
The allegation being leveled against Monsanto is that between 2005 and 2006, the company, through its Indian subsidiary Mahyco and several agricultural universities in India, inserted a bacterial gene into the indigenous brinjal genome to create a genetically modified version named BT brinjal. These seeds were then sown in limited field trials in India. But when it embarked on its program to genetically modify the brinjal, it did so without first asking India’s National Biodiversity Authority for consent.
In response, the national biodiversity authority has announced its plans to prosecute Monsanto for carrying out this research without seeking its permission and the consent of hundreds of thousands of farmers who have cultivated these varieties for generations. Officials at the authority say that, by failing to consult with farmers and the national biodiversity authority, the multinational firm has run foul of India’s Biological Diversity Act 2002.
Whether Monsanto and Mahyco are brought before India’s courts is yet to be seen. But the echoes of what happens in India will reverberate globally, for underlying this is the larger issue of who controls the global supply, production and price of food.
More of this lengthy article available at source.