GMOs & Genetic Engineerings

Deceptive IRRI strategy to get Golden Rice approved

25Apr

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Deceptive IRRI strategy to get Golden Rice approved

Farida Akhter || Thursday 25 April 2019 ON MARCH 7, 2019 the director general of the International Rice Research Institute, Dr Matthew Morell visited Bangladesh Rice Research Institute. He discussed with the director general Dr Md Shahjahan Kabir on ways and means to strengthen collaboration on some frontier technologies and projects such as Golden Rice, C4 Rice, Zinc Enriched Rice, and Transforming Rice Breeding etc. In the next few days, Dr Morell visited other institutions such as Krishibid Gobeshona Foundation at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council and ACI Agribusiness. He also met the prime minister Sheikh Hasina at the prime minister’s office. His visit received wide media coverage mostly in the English dailies of the country. Indeed it was a high level visit by t...

When Bt brinjal is a failure, why Golden rice?

12Feb

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GMOs & Genetic Engineerings

When Bt brinjal is a failure, why Golden rice?

Farida Akhter || Tuesday 12 February 2019 INTRODUCTION of genetically modified crop is a highly risky venture, particularly in a country like Bangladesh that is rich in biodiversity and bio-geographically known as the origin of diversity spot. Despite the known risks, Bangladesh has been targeted for experiment and field trials of GM transgenic crops such as Bt brinjal. This has been done despite the resistance from the farmers, scientists and environmental activists. Apart from the risk of biological pollution and health hazards, the debate over the scientific claims and agronomic value of Bt brinjal has not been settled. Promoter’s claim about the effectivity of this highly risk-prone technology is not based on evidence. The latest claim that farmers are adopting Bt brinjal in la...

Monsanto Tribunal: Protecting Victims of Ecocide

21Apr

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GMOs & Genetic Engineerings

Monsanto Tribunal: Protecting Victims of Ecocide

UBINIG The Monsanto Tribunal is an international civil society initiative to hold Monsanto accountable for human rights violations, for crimes against humanity, and for ecocide. Eminent judges heard testimonies from victims, and delivered a legal opinion following procedures of the International Court of Justice. A distinct and parallel event, the People's Assembly, was a gathering of social movements from all over the world that exchanged ideas and planned for the future we want. The Tribunal and People's Assembly took place between 14 and 16 October 2016 in The Hague, Netherlands. On Tuesday April 18th 2017, the judges publicly presented their conclusions in The Hague. Monsanto’s activities undermine basic human rights, victims of multinational corporations need better protect...

21Jan

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GMOs & Genetic Engineerings

Can GM potato save poor farmers?

Farida Akhter After repeated failure of Bt Brinjal another food crop, very common vegetable Potato is genetically modified and waiting for approval for field cultivation. This is Blight Resistant Potato (RB Potato). This is a matter of concern as Bangladesh is being used for easy introduction of GM crops for its weak regulatory authority. Failure of field cultivation of Bt brinjal, the so-called first GM crop in Bangladesh, did not stop Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) from abusing the authority and resources of a public institution. Without clarifying the criticisms against Bt brinjal field trial and questions of bio-safety, BARI is applying for approval of the blight resistant (RB) potato, another GM food crop for commercial release. The National Techni...

Farmers’ Resistance against GMOs: We are rich in diversity, we do not need GMOs

24Aug

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GMOs & Genetic Engineerings

Farmers’ Resistance against GMOs: We are rich in diversity, we do not need GMOs

Farida Akhter Rally Speech: 12 May, 2008, at Planet Diversity Congress, BonnMain Theme: “For biological diversity – regional, fair and GMO-free! I bring greetings from the farmers of Bangladesh and representative of Nayakrishi farmer Rekha Begum and my colleague Shima Das Shimu who are also here today to join the farmers and activists from around the world to celebrate our strength of diversity and to resist against all kinds of destructive policies and practices that destroy biodiversity. We are here today at a time when “food crisis” has become a global newsheadline. Over a billion people around the world are becoming victim of such crisis. The poor people are not able to buy food therefore going to bed hungry each night. However, this did not come as a surprise to us who h...

GOLDEN RICE : Threat to pregnant women and foetus

5Nov

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GMOs & Genetic Engineerings

GOLDEN RICE : Threat to pregnant women and foetus

Farida Akhter WE DO not eat rice for Vitamin A since there are plenty of vegetables and Vitamin A-rich food sources that can meet our need. So, if someone looks for Vitamin A in rice, instead of green and yellow Vitamin A-rich vegetables, we will, of course, question the person’s common sense or competence in open source knowledge. But if someone tells us that they have designed rice in such a way that we can now get Vitamin A from the rice, such persons are called ‘scientists’. This is amazing, indeed! Obviously, rice does not naturally contain Vitamin A; so it must be engineered to distort its natural character to become something that it was not and never intended by nature. Why scientists have to use their talent in such an unnecessary and insensible work! So, when we he...

No GMO’s & Corporate Control on Food and Nutrition: Women on International Women’d Day 2015

8Mar

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GMOs & Genetic Engineerings

No GMO’s & Corporate Control on Food and Nutrition: Women on International Women’d Day 2015

Narigrantha Prabartan Women’s struggles against discrimination, inequality and violence is global and strong. However, women’s dis-empowerment is not an isolated consequence independent from colonial legacies and neo-liberal global arrangement of economic, political and cultural relations. From what is happening through corporate control over seeds, agriculture and food system, none better than women know well that women’s struggle is instantly and directly related to the question of biological survival and regeneration of the conditions of life. Women have historically been keeping seed , engaged in food production, ensuring nutrition for the family and the community; the history blatantly reveals this fact in the daily struggle of the rural women. On the occasion of the Intern...

GM crops and loss of biodiversity : A Silent Death trap

20May

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GMOs & Genetic Engineerings

GM crops and loss of biodiversity : A Silent Death trap

Farida Akhter The International Day for Biological Diversity on May 22 is observed to increase understanding and awareness on biological diversity that include ecosystemic variability and indigenous knowledge and/or cultural practices. In December 2000, the UN General Assembly adopted this day to commemorate the adoption of the text of the Convention on 22 May 1992 by the Nairobi Final Act of the Conference for the Adoption of the Agreed Text of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). In Bangladesh, the Ministry of Environment and Forest hardly observes the day, though Bangladesh has signed the CBD. Despite many valid critique of the text, people’s environmental and ecological movements consider the day as a historic moment. It has opened up a new epoch to rethink industr...

23Mar

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GMOs & Genetic Engineerings

Farmers’ resistance against GMOs

UBINIG This is a report on “GMOs - A THREAT TO FOOD SOVEREIGNTY” which is a part of regional case studies conducted in Asia, Africa and Latin America. UBINIG was part of it for Bangladesh Case Study. It Studied the process of introduction of GM Rice, Maize, Bt Cotton in Bangladesh and the responses from farmers during June 2006 – January 2007. The case studies were supported by EED Joint Advocacy project, Germany. Introduction Farmers’ varieties have been the foundation of agriculture for centuries. Conventional plant breeding has had considerable success during nineteenth and twentieth century in improving the yield and quality traits of a wide range of plant species to the development of High yielding varieties (HYV). Hybrid breeding technology has been introduced in case of...

2Mar

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GMOs & Genetic Engineerings

Biotechnology

UBINIG Biotechnology includes a wide range of technologies such as tissue culture, protoplast fusion, cell mutagenesis, genetic engineering, etc. Together these comprise a powerful technical force to produce or modify biological products according to specific objectives. The development of in vitro technique and genetic engineering for crop improvement has progressed in the last 30 years. The development of gene vector systems and various genetic transformation techniques have catalyzed progress in plant genetic engineering in the recent past. Transgenic plants refer to those plants in which functional foreign genes have been inserted in their genomes. In Bangladesh, some Government institutions have been involved on biotechnological researchers in Bangladesh. These include Unive...