gmo – Ubinig

2. Covid-19: BANGLADESH: Brinjal story: Local varieties exist, not GMOs

15May

By testNo Comments

2. Covid-19: BANGLADESH: Brinjal story: Local varieties exist, not GMOs

UBINIG In the month of Ramadan (fasting by the Muslim communities for a month), the demand for brinjal/eggplant/aubergine is the highest as it is one of the most popular item, the Beguni, for Iftar time (breaking of the fast in the evening). Chola (black gram) Peyaju (fried lentil mixed with onions) and Beguni (fried eggplant mixed with beson, the gram powder). Health professionals do not recommend these fried items for empty stomachs after a whole day of fasting. However, from the rich to the poor, Iftar is incomplete without chola-peyaju-beguni on the plate. This Ramadan, starting on 25th April, is different from all other years. The country is going through an undeclared “Lockdown” amid COVID-19 pandemic. The first COVID-19 infection detection was on 8th March with 3 cases, ...

Comments on IFPRI Study Report published in a national daily

17Mar

By testNo Comments

Btbrinjal & Corporate Politics

Comments on IFPRI Study Report published in a national daily

UBINIG Dhaka Tribune, a Bangladeshi daily, published a report by Reaz Ahmed on IFPRI ‘s Btbrinjal study on March 7th, 2019: “5-yr after releasing its first GM crop Bangladesh says farmers gain by adopting Bt brinjal”. Till now we have not been able to get a copy of the IFPRI report. Nevertheless, until we could put our hand on the full report and make our detail critique, we felt the media report demands some immediate response. Question 1: About the cover picture Dhaka Tribune published a picture with the caption: ‘Farmers busy selling Bt brinjal at a village market’. The picture does not say from which area/village market the shot has been taken. Dhaka Tribune Caption of this imege published with the report: 'Farmers busy selling Bt brinjal at a village m...

India asks about Btbrinjal: what Bangladesh can say?

5Nov

By testNo Comments

Btbrinjal & Corporate Politics

India asks about Btbrinjal: what Bangladesh can say?

Farida Akhter SINCE 2014, Bangladesh has been commercially field testing four Btbrinjal varieties. In October 2013, on its last day of the session, the 9th parliament approved the genetically modified eggplants. The timing was strategic — a very agitated political situation prior to the national election was a convenient moment to introduce an inappropriate and unsafe technology. Btbrinjal has hardly any agronomic value but threatens Bangladesh with potential biosafety risks. Btbrinjal is the first GM vegetable crop that got the government approval despite protests from environmental and farmers’ organisations. Mahyco, the Indian counterpart of Monsanto, who gave the technology to Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, has now applied seeking approval for commercial release o...

2May

By testNo Comments

Events/News

Monsanto Tribunal Legal Opinion

Nayakrishi Andolon & UBINIG 4 May, 2017 at 10.30 pmNational Press Club, Dhaka Bangladesh Organised by Nayakrishi Andolon and UBINIG A Press Briefing meeting is organised to share the Legal Opinion delivered by Judges of Monsanto Tribunal. The Monsanto Tribunal, an international civil society initiative to hold Monsanto accountable for human rights violations, for crimes against humanity, and for ecocide was held in the Hague, Netherlands during 15 - 16 October, 2016. Eminent judges heard over 30 witnesses, lawyers and experts. In April 2017, the Judges publicly 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...

Monsanto Tribunal: Protecting Victims of Ecocide

21Apr

By testNo Comments

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...

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

24Aug

By testNo Comments

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...

Third round of Bt Brinjal: farmers are not interested

31Jan

By testNo Comments

Btbrinjal & Corporate Politics

Third round of Bt Brinjal: farmers are not interested

Farida Akhter Bt Brinjal, the genetically modified brinjal introduced in Bangladesh despite concerns and failures in performances, is imposed again for the third round with newer farmers during 2015 – 2016 winter crop season. No report has been published as research findings of the first two rounds of field cultivation except some propaganda news. The website (both Bengali and English page) of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) has no information. It only says Bt Begun (Bt Brinjal). That’s all. The page is just blank. Even International Service for the Acquisition for Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) did not publish any report after its Brief 47: The Status of Commercialized Bt Brinjal in Bangladesh, in 2014. There is nothing in 2015 which could have reported about...

6Nov

By testNo Comments

Btbrinjal & Corporate Politics

Bt Brinjal Is Under ‘LIFE SUPPORT’

UBINIG EXPERIENCES OF FARMERS IN SECOND ROUND FIELD CULTIVATION INTRODUCTION This is UBINIG’s report on the second round field cultivation of Btbrinjal, an ongoing monitoring of the unethical promotion of GMOs. There are evidences that in the previous field cultivation, the Btbrinjal promoters completely ignored the scientific precautionary ethics and international protocols and principles with regard to the release of GMOs in the environment, particularly in a biodiverse agro-ecological condition posing serious threat of bio-pollution and health hazards. (Please see ‘Farmers are cheated in Btbrinjal ‘field cultivation’ and other stories at www.ubinig.org) For the second round field cultivation, UBINIG research team has collected information from all the 19 districts that ...

Stop Bt. Brinjal and Golden Rice Field Cultivation

2Nov

By testNo Comments

Events/News

Stop Bt. Brinjal and Golden Rice Field Cultivation

GMO Birodi Morcha and Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon (BAPA) Discussion meeting on impact of GMO Crops: Bt Brinjal and Golden rice was held on 2 November, 2015 at the National Press Club, Dhaka. GMO Birodi Morcha and Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon (BAPA) jointly organized the discussion meeting. The environmental activist, development workers and journalist participated in the discussion meeting. Professor Moazzem Hossain, Vice President, BAPA chaired the discussion meeting. Farida Akhter, Member, GMO Biridi Morcha, presented the key note speech. The panel speakers were Delowar Jahan, Staff reporter, The daily Shokaler Khabor; Dr. M. A. Sohban, agricultural scientist and Sakiul Millat Morshed, Executive Director, Shishuk. The other speakers included Samiron Biswas, CCDB, Bangladesh; Ibnu...

Turning Bt. Brinjal failure into a propaganda of success

25May

By testNo Comments

Btbrinjal & Corporate Politics

Turning Bt. Brinjal failure into a propaganda of success

Farida Akhter Since the beginning of the Bangladesh government clearance for field cultivation of GM food crop Bt. Brinjal, it has been a scandal. The genetically engineered crop failed miserably in the chosen farmers fields of Bangladesh, despite the careful selection and training of the farmers. Promoters of GMO adopted more scandalous options. They refused to review the experiment by the normative standard of strict scientific experiment and the international ethical standard of precautionery principle obligatory for potential hazards from GMOs. Instead the promoters took more aggressive attempts to carry out propaganda based on false claims. The article of Mark Lynas, introduced as a researcher at the Cornell Alliance for Science, published on April 24, 2015 in New York Times i...