SCIENCE ACADEMIES' RESPONSE HIGHLY IRRESPONSIBLE & DANGEROUS

Coalition for a GM-free India demands inquiry into plagiarism & conflicting interest

September 26 2010: Reacting to the responses (cited in media reports) from the various Science Academies terming that copying of large portions from a propaganda material was a matter of mere acknowledgement of source material* or that the Academies have invited Dr Ananda Kumar to contribute to the report, the Coalition for a GM-Free India said that this is doubly damning on the Academies.

"We reiterate what we have said and it is not a matter of just citing the source of the material. In what was supposed to be a rigorous scientific review on biosafety of GM crops, if the Science Academies use non-validated material from a lobby document where the nation is supposed to take science-based decisions, it is not to be termed as a misunderstanding. What does a senior Academy representative mean when he says that Prof Ananda Kumar's views were incorporated because they were written with conviction* - they would of course be, coming from a Bt Brinjal developer! If they have invited a Bt Brinjal developer like Dr Ananda Kumar who already took part in the controversial regulatory decision-making processes that led to an initial approval by the regulators of Bt Brinjal in India, then it is a clear case of conflict of interest. Where is independent, non-biased scientific review here? In the Inter-Academy report, the largest bits on Bt Brinjal come from this vested interest  source and where is any new evidence that the Academies have to prove that Bt Brinjal is safe since the last time the nation has had a debate on this? A process that was originally scheduled to have had a report coming up in December, being short-circuited for a shoddy, unsubstantiable report only points to vested interests taking over these Science Academies. We demand that the Government of India institute an inquiry into this episode since it puts the nation's scientific establishment to shame", said the Coalition.

The Coalition pointed out that while the apparent biases of the Academies and regulators are getting exposed time and again clearly showing that there is truly no scientific rigour being exhibited in this country pertaining to such matters, there are other objections to the Inter-Academy report including its central justification of GM crops around food security and Malthusian arguments. "It is very apparent that this report is faulty and lacks rigour in most areas. It is extremely unfortunate that it has also resorted to unethical and unacceptable practices in coming up with a hurried, shoddy report. We will be coming out with a full critique of this Inter-Academy report very soon which will further expose the lack of scientificity in these Academies and the vested interests driving them. The truth will be in front of the public soon", said the Coalition.

The Coalition also pointed out that the review of Prof David Andow of University of Minnesota, released yesterday ("Bt Brinjal: The scope and adequacy of the GEAC environmental risk assessment" - attached) further exposes the lack of scientific rigour with the Academies' review process or the regulators before them. "There can be no conclusion drawn that Bt Brinjal is safe as claimed by the Inter-Academy report's recommendation, as our expos é about the Academies' report shows or this new report by Prof Andow reveals", said the Coalition.

Notes to the Editor:
* http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/plagiarism-slur-on-bt-brinjal-report-54836
** http://www.deccanherald.com/content/99791/group-claims-brinjal-report-plagiarised.html

For more information, contact:
1. Sridhar Radhakrishnan, Thanal: 099-953-58205
2. Kavitha Kuruganti, Kheti Virasat Mission: 093-930-01550
3. Dr G V Ramanjaneyulu, Centre for Sustainable Agriculture: 090-006-99702