Comment about the Anti-GMO

Dear Anonymous,

Green Greetings.

Thank you very much for your comment. At least I must dare to salute your caurage to comment like 'anti-GMO hysteria', though it sounds rude and nonesense at the same time. Anyway.The main ambition behind the creation of GMO is not to feed you or the hunger people around the world. Its main goal is to create wealth plyaing with the genes. The manipulation of gene is not done for the betterment of nature, human beings or the crop itself as its said. It's done to get more money out of it.Our natural rice varieties are so good that we don't need any cold or drought tolerant rice varieties. Do you know about Chhomrong local or Ghaiya2 rice variety in Nepal. They are completely drought tolerant. Do you know about Jumli Marshi, its the rice that is cultivated in the highest altitude of the earth, in Nepal. Without any genetic modification.

Just think, GE advocates are saying that they are creating Golden Rice for Vitamin A. But do you know, Vitamin A deficiency is there, where people can afford for Golden rice. No. Its there, where people can't afford for the local rice alone. Even for the non patented local rice, more strictly. And what's about other vitamins and minerals we need. Do you think human beings need only vitamin A, nothing else. No. We need lots of vitamins and minerals. If poor people could afford for the golden rice, even then, they have to go to the medical stores for buying capsules for calcium, iron, phosphorus, iodine, vitamins B1,B2,B6, B12 etc, C, D, E and so on. Then how many genetic engineering those greedy (who exploit nature for money) scientists will do? Its not a joke.

Secondly, the process of genetic engineering in not a sure and secure technique. I don't know which field you belong to. But as a student of biotechnology in my college days I knew this. And I am still updated about the detail process of genetic transformation and the techniques developed so far today. None of the techniques are safe and secure. Whether they are micro-injection, gene gun, vector mediated or any other methods you apply for. You can't predict the insertion of the gene exactly. It works as per the function of enzymes and the paliandromes formed there of.

In the third point, whats about the local varieties and biodiversity. The advocates of GM are taking money from multinationals and advocating for them. Do you belive patenting a plant, a crop or an animal? Popeple and farmers in the earth have developed, preserved and conserved these crops, animals, and the nature for the centuries. And how one can dare to claim for a patent by manipulating a gene in it? How can he patent a plant, a crop or any organism? Whats about the horizontal gene transfer ? Whats about the health impact as a result of GE. Thousand of workers in the GE corn fields in philipines, USA and Canada are dying due to pollen allergies of Bt Corn. What's about the flocks of sheeps dying by grazing in the Bt cotton fild in India ?What's about the Bees clolony collapse syndrome in Honey bees? What's about the Monarch moth? Whats about the resistance in the insects? What about the super bugs and super weeds? Are these all some minimal subjects? No. Not at all.

And do you belive genes or organisms are patentable? Are those the invention of any 'fool' scientist who does not feel any shy or shame to claim the patent. People may find genes. They may determine the sequence of the genes. But they can't create it. Can they? No. Its the nature that creates gene. They are from the nature, and they are in the nature. In GE what a GE worker does is to copy a gene from one organism and to insert it into naother. No body can create gene. No body can create an organism. They can only manipulate them. So how can they patent them. These are the properties of the nature alone. Not of a single human being.

So the economic and the political interest behind the GE is very dangerous. Generally people with a little knowledge about biotechnology think that they are the experts in Biotechnology and they advocate without thinking what they are advocating for. Creation of the GE is useless. Anti natural. Anti human being. Its done for the exploitation of th people at all.

So we say,

La viva Biodiversity,

La viva Food Sovereighnty,

No to GE!

No To GMOs!

Hoping for your regular comments.

Nahendra Khadka,

Chairperson,

Youth Peasants' Federation, Nepal