Beware of wolves in genetically modified clothing

With powerful transnational corporations working undercover in collaboration with some fifth column groups here to import fortified rice, India’s organic rice revolution has proved that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are unnecessary.   

According to the website TrueActivist.com, in India’s poorest regions, farmers are harvesting record rice yields by growing organically, debunking the myth that GMOs are necessary to feed the world’s growing population.   

In a world with an ever-increasing human population, increased food production is of obvious concern. With the world population projected to reach 9.6 billion by 2050, many people, especially those with connections to biotechnology and agrochemical companies say that genetically modified food is necessary to meet increased global demand for food. However, do we really need GMOs to feed the world? The unbiased scientific evidence strongly suggests that the answer is no. Genetically modified foods do not increase yields and often damage nearby crops that are not genetically engineered to resist herbicides, causing them to actually reduce regional yields. In the United States, the Department of Agriculture, which is often dominated by agrochemical interests, issued a report that showed there was no increase in yield potentials for GM crops over the past 15 years. In addition, the majority of GMOs grown are not even used to feed hungry people.   

These lessons are important for Sri Lanka. Besides the move to bring in fortified rice and make our proud farmers the slaves of transnational corporations from whom they will have to buy the seeds there are also powerful TNCs that are doing big business in GM foods here. One such is at Buttala in the Monaragala district. Some 30 years ago when the capitalist market economic system was working powerfully here, a brave prophetic priest, Rev. Fr. Michael Rodrigo was killed by state terrorists when he opposed the plans to privatise the sugarcane plantations of the poor farmers.   

In recent years and in the same area, another TNC is reportedly doing business with a big GM variety of a popular fruit, doling out millions to take over the local market. It is well marketed and looks attractive, tempting most people to go for it but most scientists say they are still not sure what the side effects of this GM fruit could be. In the US, the world’s largest producer of GM crops, 40% of all GM corn is used for ethanol fuel production and the majority of GM soy is used as animal feed. Though one could argue that GM animal feed means increased meat production and cheaper meat, meat production is extremely unsustainable and damages the environment. Also, GM-fed animals produce meat that is unhealthy and of low quality. TrueActivist.com says the latest evidence highlighting the ineffectiveness of GMOs comes from one of India’s poorest regions. In Bihar, farmers are breaking world records for rice production without agrochemicals or GMOs. In 2013, Sumant Kumar and his family produced an astounding 22.4 tons of rice on only one hectare of land, much more than anything achieved by GM seed companies and their expensive herbicides.   

Since rice is the staple food for more than half the world’s population, this amazing feat is big news especially for countries like Sri Lanka. Kumar was not the only farmer to have amazing yields either. Many other families in his community and those in other communities, recorded more than 17-ton yields per hectare.These spectacular yields are all thanks to the adoption of a new organic method of growing rice. It is known as the system of rice intensification (SRI). This involves transplanting young rice plants spaced widely in a square pattern and using continuously moist soil as opposed to the common practice of rice field flooding. Organic fertilizers and rotary weeding are also used. This technique also allows farmers to adapt to the climate, as erratic weather is becoming a regular occurrence. It also prevents farmers from becoming dependent on expensive agrochemical products.   

This new organic rice-growing method could not have come at a better time for India and also for Sri Lanka. Since GMOs were introduced in our countries, poor farmers have become trapped in vicious debt cycles by adopting GM seeds and herbicides. Originally marketed as a method to make farmers wealthier and produce more, they have instead become so indebted to foreign GM seed and agrochemical companies that many farmers have been taking their own lives.