Myths of the Green Revolution and GMOs
TRANSCEND MEMBERS, 24 Aug 2015
A backgrounder by Dr Vandana Shiva – TRANSCEND Media Service
Prof. Vandana Shiva
Myth of the Green Revolution
15 Aug 2015 – I wrote a book for the United Nations University titled ‘The Violence of the Green Revolution’, which has been republished by many publishers globally, including the Kentucky University Press. Extracts from the book are available on Google.
My study was reinforced by the study done by Dr Jatindar Bajaj, with whom I did MSc Hons in Physics from Punjab University in 1973. His study comparing pre and post Green Revolution performance showed that the rate of growth of aggregate crop production was higher in the years before the Green Revolution was introduced (1967-68) than after it.
The Green Revolution did not save India from famine, as the proponents of Industrial Agriculture and GMO technology would argue, in fact the Green Revolution reduced India’s production. More information about the Green Revolution here: Nothing Green in the Green Revolution (India Today)
Aggregate crop production was higher before the introduction of the Green Revolution in 1967-68
Myth of GMO Golden Rice as a Solution to Malnutrition
I enclose our analysis that establishes that our indigenous biodiversity and knowledge is far superior than Golden Rice to address malnutrition. Syngenta owns Golden Rice. It’s promotion as the fruits of public sector research are a blatant lie and an attempt to mislead people across the world.
The analysis can be found here: http://www.navdanya.org/blog/?p=2017
Further, the Golden Rice paper had to be retracted, any fabricated claims made based on the paper do not stand.
http://retractionwatch.com/2015/07/30/golden-rice-paper-pulled-after-judge-rules-for-journal/
Myth That Obesity Is the Only Disease Related to Food
The epidemic of cancer has affected the farmers of Punjab because of pesticides. It has affected farmers of West UP. In a single village, our recent field survey revealed, there were 100 cancer victims. The farmers are getting into debt and committing suicide buying the pesticides, and the citizens are dying of cancer because of the same poisons.
http://www.amazon.in/Poison-Our-Foods-Pesticides-Diseases/dp/8181581814
This is why we started the Anna Swaraj Abhiyan 2020 from Meerut, the sacred land of our first movement of independence .
http://vandanashiva.com/?p=281
Our book Health per Acre shows we can feed 2 India’s with nourishing , poison free food through Organic.
http://www.navdanya.org/attachments/Health%20Per%20Acre.pdf
Our book Wealth per Acre, for which the Forward was written by the Hon Agriculture Minister, Shri Radha Mohan Singh, shows how the negative externalities of farming with poisons are costing the country $ 1.26 trillion annually.
http://www.amazon.in/Wealth-Per-Acre-transition-rejuvenates/dp/8181582446
Myth of Safety
While the Literature on Biosafety is vast, and I was appointed as a member of the expert group on Biosafety by UNEP to create the framework for the International Law on Biosafety, 2 recent publications show that the assumption of safety and “substantial equivalence” is false.
One study is from the Norwegian Government, Another by an Indian scientist from MIT who invented Email.
New research is showing that there is no evidence of GMO safety .
https://medium.com/insurge-intelligence/no-scientific-evidence-of-gm-food-safety-a1c814d0f70c
Research is also showing the falseness of the assumption of substantial equivalence .
Myth of the GMO Story as One of Science
The GMO story is not one of science, but of an unscientific and illegal takeover of our Seeds and Food.
http://vandanashiva.com/?p=260
This is why Bija Swaraj and Anna Swaraj are imperatives to defend india’s freedom and the freedom of our farmers and citizens .
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TRANSCEND Member Prof. Vandana Shiva is a physicist, ecofeminist, philosopher, activist, and author of more than 20 books and 500 papers. She is the founder of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, and has campaigned for biodiversity, conservation and farmers’ rights, winning the Right Livelihood Award [Alternative Nobel Prize] in 1993. She is executive director of the Navdanya Trust.
Go to Original – vandanashiva.com
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