{"id":630,"date":"2019-06-13T06:40:00","date_gmt":"2019-06-13T06:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rootsforequity.org\/?p=630"},"modified":"2020-01-22T04:59:27","modified_gmt":"2020-01-22T04:59:27","slug":"why-we-must-oppose-genetically-modified-seeds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rootsforequity.org\/?p=630","title":{"rendered":"WHY WE MUST OPPOSE GENETICALLY MODIFIED SEEDS?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A Brief prepared by Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek and Roots for\nEquity<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seed was born free. It has multiple functions: it is the reservoir of genetic resources, it is the basic unit for our food, it holds life in its core, essential for maintain human and all life on this planet.  Commodification of seed is commodification of life!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following are some points elaborated to\nhighlight why Sojhla for Social Change, Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT),\nRoots for Equity and other people\u2019s and civil society organizations have been\nopposing in general the Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights\nAct (TRIPs) and specifically the Pakistan Seed (Amended) Act 2015, and the\nPlant Breeders Rights Act 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.Farmers Collective Rights over Seed and Patenting of Life Forms<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seed, a genetic resource is a gift of nature\nand belongs to no one person or corporation but is owned collectively. But\nthere is no doubt, that it was farmers who over many millennia experimented, re-generated,\nsorted, propagated and saved seeds. It was the collective knowledge of farmers\nand rural communities that allowed hundred of varieties of grains, vegetables,\nfruits, and flowers to be domesticated for human civilization. Farmers saved seed\nfrom one generation to the next, a process that went on for millions of years.\nThere were thousands of varieties that were developed by farmers, but even\nthough we farmers came out with new varieties we respected and followed the\nrules of nature, and shared the genetic resources openly with all. We, who have\nour history based in the Indus Valley Civilization, were the first to\ndomesticate seed and through our knowledge and experience pass the best of\ngenetic resources to our generations. Therefore, we farmers believe that first\nseed is free; it is a carrier of life and being a living thing it cannot be\nshackled, it cannot be owned by individuals or companies. If at all, it is the collective property of farmers; <\/strong>we have\nbeen its custodians, its guardians. We have respected our position of\ncustodians and hence shared it fully and openly with all those who wish to use it\nas food, as a source of health, as a source medicine and of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It needs to be pointed out that with the\nadvent of Green Revolution in the 1960s, seed has been forced out of our care\nand custody and turned into a commodity. With corporate control over seeds, with\npromotion of hybrid varieties and now genetically modified seeds we have lost much\nof the indigenous varieties in just 50 years; genetic diversity which was saved\nthrough hundreds of millennia were lost in less than half a century!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.Risks to Biodiversity:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we allow genetically modified seeds to\ntake over our food and agriculture this will\nfurther the process of destroying biodiversity. Hybrid varieties and\ngenetically modified seeds are based on monoculture and uniformity; they belie\nthe intricate interwoven complexity of all forms of biodiversity with each\nother. Seed has been turned into a machine whose worth is weighed by productivity.<\/strong> But seed\u2019s function is\nnot only productivity: its function is in promoting various forms of life, of\nwhich human intelligence has as yet not grasped enough to turn it into a only\nan addition, subtraction formula. Plant life is very complex, it\u2019s a food chain\nas well as shelter for millions of other life forms from birds to reptiles, to\ninsects and millions and millions of microorganisms.  Uniformity in plant life negates diversity of\nlife, and is fast leading to various forms of ecological disasters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It needs to be added, that high yielding\nvarieties are at least not an irreversible biological change in the plant, and over\ntime genetic material can be retrieved from these seeds. But GM seeds are\nformed through a biological process that is irreversible. The GM seed can carry\nout reproduction with natural seeds; this means vast, irreversible\ncontamination of our genetic resources. Once GM seeds have spread in nature, it\u2019s\nlike having a child with genetic abnormalities \u2013 one cannot take away the\ndefect and it will keep on producing itself, contaminating and polluting\nnatural varieties in the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Corporate Control over Food and Agriculture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agro-chemical corporations and seed\ncorporations have worked hard to create a legal policy framework based on which\nseed can be called their property. This is because seed has an amazing characteristic \u2013 even only a single seed can generate\nhundreds of replicas and hence it is impossible to create control over seed \u2013\nthis is only possible through a legal system that allows these\nmega-corporations to control and own life. With control over seed by\nprofit-driven corporations, a nation loses the ability to control its food\nproduction. The corporations can choose the price at which a seed would be\nsold. They can easily refrain from marketing seeds in any particular country;\nin these times of conflict and war \u2013 seed control is only one more added\ndependency. Today farmers cannot decide what they would like to grow; they have\nto depend on what seed the corporations provide in the market and have little\nchoice but to grow that. Please note that today, nearly all vegetables in\nPakistan are grown from corporate controlled seeds and each one of them is\nheavily doused with toxic pesticides. This is the food that all citizens are\nforced to consume \u2013rich or poor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is important to note that a majority of seed\nis now in the hands of only four big\ncorporations: Bayer, BASF, ChemChina and Corteva; <\/strong>in a handful of years,\nthese four corporations have monopolized the seed sector. These four seed\ncorporations control 60% percent of seed sales, globally. Just ten years ago, in\n2009 there were at least 100 seed companies. Only in the last 2-3 years, there\nhave been huge mergers such as Bayer purchasing Monsanto to be the largest seed\ncompany today. In 2017, DuPont had merged with Dow to form the US Corporation\nDowDupont; this year the company has separated its agricultural wing and named\nit Corteva agriscience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4.Cost of Production<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the farmers, hybrid and GM\nseeds mean extremely high cost of production. Seed companies have created a\n\u2018package deal\u2019. This means that if you buy a particular brand of seed, you also\nhave to buy prescribed pesticides, weedicides and herbicides. So the farmer is\nforced to purchase a whole range of branded products. And there is no guarantee\neven after that the farmer will still be able to reap a profitable harvest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It must be well understood, that\nthese GM and hybrid seeds cannot grow without the added chemical fertilizers.\nThe fertilizers are like magnet to pests, and hence our food is drenched with\nvast doses of highly toxic chemicals as pesticides, weedicides, and\/or\nherbicides. Today, there is no small farmer who is not indebted! It is now like\na dog chasing his tail: farmers keep on investing in hybrid and GM seeds hoping\nto have a high yield so that they can pay off their debts and every season get\nfurther indebted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no lack of evidence that\nGM seeds have failed not only in Pakistan but across the globe. Some years ago\na USDA GAINS report had claimed that almost 95% of cotton in Pakistan is grown\nfrom GM seeds. These seeds had been introduced in Pakistan in the early 2000s \u2013\nin the past years it is well known that cotton harvest is going down and we are\nnow importing more and more cotton from international markets. Not only\ngenetically modified BT Cotton seed failed to control pest attacks, it has also\nled to attacks from other pests often termed as \u2018super bugs\u2019, which now need\nhigher application of pesticides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Water and Land<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A critical point to be addressed\ninclude the use of external inputs with genetically modified and hybrid seeds.\nThese seeds are highly dependent on external inputs and high levels of water.\nPlease note Pakistan is a semi-arid zone, and is dependent on rains and its\nglaciers. Irrigation water is in short supply, a fact which is well known;\nhence the concentrated push for construction of dams. It is often said that in\nthe coming decades water will be the base for major wars. Irrigation water has\nbeen a source of conflict not only across border, but also within the country\namong our provinces, responsible for much bitterness and acrimony. And we are\nwasting this precious scarce resource on promotion of seeds that have created\nmultiple levels of dependency for our farmers. Today, the government of Pakistan\u2019s\npolicy including the government of Punjab is to push for agricultural trade\nliberalization with emphasis on increasing exports. So in essence when we use\nthese profit-driven seeds (loosing vast quantities of extremely precious\nforeign exchange) we are not only using vast quantities of our dwindling water\nresources, we are also exporting water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is no secret that Pakistan has adopted\ncorporate farming as an ideal policy shift. But what is the cost being paid for\nthis shift? Water scarce countries, or countries facing vast land degradation\nare rushing to acquire land in Pakistan. Already, a UAE-based corporation Al\nDahra has acquired land in Sindh and is growing fodder, a variety, which is\nhighly water dependent. Similarly, China has also voiced interest in the\nagriculture sector. Much of the attraction is to use GM technology in Pakistan\nand grow food grains for exports. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Pollution, Safe, Nutritious Food and Health<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Control over seeds is not only a matter of\ndependency on seeds provided by the corporations it\u2019s also about the toxicity\nthat has now become part and parcel of our food systems. If somebody sprays\nchemical on our food plate we would not eat it \u2013 but we are blind to the fact\nthat these GM seeds are bred with toxics from the day they are planted in the\nsoil to almost end of harvest. And to make it worse, among the GM seeds, the BT\nseeds have been so malformed that poison has been put in the very seed and hence\nthe poison spreads across the plant. Do Pakistanis not have the right to demand\nfor safe and nutritious food? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This high degree of toxic contamination has\nhad a heavy toll on human life and all living things. Today society is rife\nwith a wide range of debilitating diseases, much of which can be laid to toxic\nfood and environment created by industrial agriculture. Apart from the physical\nand emotional toll disease and sickness takes on an individual and household,\nit also needs to be mentioned that medical treatment is almost impossible for a\nvast segment of the Pakistani society. Cancer treatment runs to more than 17-20\nlakhs, and even then it\u2019s not necessary that human life be saved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is important to recall the spate of\nlegal cases against Monsanto\u2019s herbicide Roundup Ready which contains\nglyphosate, now been termed by WHO\u2019s agency IARC (International Agency for\nResearch on Cancer) as potential to cause cancer in humans. In one case more\nthan $2 billion dollars in punitive damages have been levied on Monsanto for\ncausing cancer in a husband and wife who had been using the chemical on their\nland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malnutrition is now the order of the day.\nAlmost half the children in Pakistan suffer from malnutrition. It is important\nto understand why! The most basic reason is that what is produced today in our\nagricultural fields does assuage hunger but is unable to provide nutrition,\nespecially micronutrients. Our indigenous varieties were not only totally\ndependent on internal inputs (such as animal manure and compost, low water\nquantity) but put down deep roots in search of nutrition for the plant and\nthereby extracted the minerals from the soil naturally. The roots of hybrid and\nGM plants take their food from urea and other chemical fertilizers so amply\napplied on the behest of salesmen of corporations, and hence lack\nmicronutrients. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apart from spreading death and disease\namong humans, the heavy use of chemicals on industrial agriculture has also\nwiped out vast variety of flora and fauna. A very common example is of\nbutterflies and honeybees. These small insects are critical for spread of\npollen, and in addition created rich food \u2013 honey- for humans. Similarly,\nhundred of species of birds have been lost due to the spray of pesticides and\nuse of chemical fertilizers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fine balance of our splendid ecosystems\nand the environment has been destroyed. Today farmers, not only in Pakistan but\nin farmlands globally, face hunger and poverty, debt, disease and death \u2013 with\nseed being major factor has been chained by grotesque profit seeking\ncorporations, who value money more than social well being of life and the\nplanet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Imperialist Impositions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no doubt that the present\nlegal framework surrounding seeds is based on the TRIPs agreement of the World\nTrade Organization (WTO). The WTO has developed a whole range of legal\nstructures to promote neoliberal trade regimes, of which TRIPs is one. The\nTRIPs agreement is based on the fact that first the northern countries\u2019\ncorporations hold monopoly over the seed sector, and second, seed is hard to\ncommodify. The only way to ensure that the seed is shackled and wrested out of\nfarmers\u2019 control is to create laws, which take away the centuries old\ncollective rights of farmers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is clear that government officials are\nnot in favour of the policies and legal framework that WTO is imposing on\nPakistani law with respect to seed laws. The dissent has been clear in the past\n25 years, after the creation of WTO in 1995. \nThe dissent is based on honouring the rights of farmers, the countries\nbest interests with respect to warding off dependency in its food systems both\nto protect the producers and consumers, and finally to save the country from\nthe clutches of further dependency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please note that in the context to the\napproval process of GM Maize, all major stakeholders in the agriculture sector,\nwhich include farmers, food processors and national seed companies, have stood\nagainst commercial introduction of GM maize. GM maize is especially\ncontroversial because of its cross-pollination dangers. There is no doubt that\nGM maize would contaminate indigenous germ-plasm which is an irreversible\nprocess, and would result in wiping out local maize varieties from the country.\nThe Secretary, Ministry of National Food Security and Research has pointed out\nthat GM maize provides no significant yield increase and no reduction in our\ncost of production or the import. Further: \u201c this introduction may result in\nenhancement of import bill and also our exports may suffer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It should be noted that after\ncommercialization of GM maize, there is no legal framework and SOPs on\nco-existence of GM & non-GM corn to protect farming community and\nconsumers. Moreover, there is no mechanism for educating farmers on GMO-crops.\nThe co-existence of GM and non-GM is a big challenge where 95 percent of\nfarmers own less than five acres. In this scenario, there are high chances of\ncross-pollination of GM and non-GM crops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further, news items have also elaborated on\nstrong opposition from defence institutions on GM technology for food crops.\nArmy and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) personal had participated in a\nconsultative meeting. According to a representative of the military\u2019s Strategic\nPlanning Division (SPD), GM crops should be approved on a case-to-case basis,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and GM maize should not be approved\nfor commercial planting in Pakistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please note that various countries have serious concerns with GM crops. For instance, in 2017 the European Union (EU) has communicated serious concerns about GMO rice. Similarly, China has banned import of Rapeseed and Mustard meal from Pakistan in 2013 due to GM contamination in certain consignments. This ban has not been lifted as yet and we have lost this market. Russia and many Central Asian countries do not allow any GM crops. Gulf countries have also prohibited GM crops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The above makes it clear that for\nfarmers, citizens and society, a healthy food production system is critical of\nwhich seed is foundation. Hence, we are committed to stand and save our seeds. Currently,\nthe Seed (Amended) Act 2015, and the Plant Breeders\u2019 Rights Act 2016 are under\nconsideration based on a petition filed by numerous people\u2019s rights\norganizations at the Lahore High Court. We have faith that the judicial system\nwill weigh the case from all aspects and give weight to the rights of the\npeople, the farmers, and to our national self-interest rather than external\ncorporate interests!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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