1.TN farmers destroy Bt crop
2.Tamil Nadu farmers protest genetically modified rice
EXTRACT: "The same company that sells BT cotton seeds across India with hoopla and hype, trapping farmers with false promises, will not be allowed in Tamil Nadu. It has driven many farmers to commit suicide in Andhra Pradesh and elsewhere." (item 1)
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1.TN farmers destroy Bt crop
Sanjay Pinto
NDTV, November 11 2006
http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?category=National&slug=TN+farmers+destroy+BT+crop&id=96155
(Coimbatore): Farmers in Tamil Nadu are taking things into their own hands as there has been much controversy over genetically engineered and modified food.
Close to 200 of them went on a rampage, destroying GE rice which was being field tested in the region.
The farmers say they are aware of the plight of farmers who used Bt Cotton seeds and don't want history to repeat itself in the state.
The land in the Alandurai Taluk was leased out to Mahyco-Monsanto, one of the 10 locations across the country, where unknown and untested varieties of Bt rice field trial is being carried out by the company.
"The same company that sells Bt cotton seeds across India with hoopla and hype, trapping farmers with false promises will not be allowed in Tamil Nadu. It has driven many farmers to commit suicide in Andhra Pradesh and elsewhere," said Chellamuthu, chairman, TNFA.
"We have seen farmers' plight after falling in debt traps due to high cost of Bt seed and escalated cost of production. We will not allow that to happen in Tamil Nadu," he added.
Activists of Greenpeace want the district collector, who also heads the district level committee for monitoring field trials of genetically engineered crops, to take cognizance of this trial.
Interestingly, the owner of the farm who leased his plot to the company is completely unaware of the hazardous nature of this trial.
Since toxicology tests of this GE rice are yet to be concluded activists wonder what assurance the authorities can provide to the people about its impact on the environment and human health.
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2.Tamil Nadu farmers protest genetically modified rice
Telugu Portal, 11 November 2006
http://www.teluguportal.net/modules/news/article.php?storyid=21077
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India: A group of farmers and activists have protested the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) rice in a Tamil Nadu village.
Led by the Tamil Nadu Farmers' Association (TNFA) and the Tamil Nadu Velalan Kappu Kuzhu, the protestors invaded a field where trials for GM rice were under way and destroyed the crop Friday.
The 200-strong group carried banners saying, 'bio-hazard', and put them up all around the trial area.
Mahyco-Monsanto, a seed company, had taken on lease a 20-acre piece of land belonging to Rangaraju, a farmer in Ramanathapuram village in Coimbatore district, about 600 km from here.
Greenpeace activists, who were part of the group, said the company was carrying out Bt rice trial 'without telling the farmer that it was genetically modified'.
The farmer has now filed an FIR and had alleged that he was not told his land was being leased for cultivating Bt rice.
The Bt rice being sown in Tamil Nadu is a variety of Bacillus Thuringiensis, according to activists.
TNFA Chairperson K. Chellamuthu told journalists: 'The company will not be allowed to step into this state.'
He also warned of similar protests in other trial sites in the state.
Tamil Nadu Green Movement President Jeevanandham alleged that as many as 37 people have died and 1,500 people have been crippled in India after consuming GM crops.
The protestors demanded that the district collector, in charge of the monitoring committee for GM crops, take action against the company.
Mahyco-Monsanto is headed by scientist Raju Barwale, hailed for his pioneering work in non-GM seed development, which is mired in controversy over field trials of Bt Cotton.
The company's GM rice seeds have been approved by India's Genetic Engineering Approval Committee and 1,500 acres in Tamil Nadu are earmarked for test cultivation.