Interim Summary of Ongoing Survey on BT cotton Toxicity ...

October 28, 2008

Interim Summary of Ongoing Survey on BT cotton Toxicity in Humans (in urban and rural areas), Farm Animals and Farm Soils by Kisan Bachao Andolan (or Save Farmer Movement) done in Hisar District of Haryana State of Republic of India.

 

The survey was started in December 2007 and continued till date.

 

[This report was Completed on May 25, 2008 at 3:39 P.M. and was sent to interested individuals and organisations worldwide.]

 

I know that ill conceived, short cut and short duration toxicity studies in cows and buffaloes were performed for 35 days only by National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal, India. In that trial too, one out of ten cows (10% and that is not a small number considering the small size of sample) refused to eat feed mixed with BT cottonseeds. (In our survey too, we have found that many animals refuse to eat BT cottonseeds and its oilcake, in some cases such animals are nearly 100%). The cow who refuse to eat the BT cotton feed was tricked into eating that fatal feed by some tasty or tricky feed supplement. That experiment should have included all kinds of breeds and various combinations and proportions of feed to simulate the feeding conditions all over India for years together. These trials will not give a true picture of toxicity. Unless you study and know the actual variations in practices of farmers regarding feeding of cottonseed oilcake, cottonseed, cotton leaf, cotton bolls etc. How can you design and decide few experiments and rely on them to guide whole of diversity of the humanity?

 

I totally discard these experiments. NDRI says there is no detectable BT toxin in milk of cows / buffaloes that were fed BT cotton for about five weeks. That is fine but this does not give you the right to exclude milk coming from these buffaloes / cows from any kind of scrutiny. AIDS was not detectable at some time until proper diagnostic tests were invented. However, this did not gave anybody the right to reject the ill effects attributed to AIDS.

 

When you talk of the farmers then why are you afraid of conducting feeding trials at farmers' dairies itself for years together? Can you decide the fate of a farmer in few days and he has to realise / bear the ill effects in / for months or years together.

There is complete flaw and corruption in the system. For how long can we fight it? Farmers are illiterate or less educated. We cannot reach each and every farmer with our observations and warnings. 

When the Andhra Pradesh Government warns its farmers that ‘BT cotton can kill farm animals’ and it warns them not to graze animals on BT cotton field based on scientific reports on BT cotton toxicity then why the animals in other states are allowed to die or experience lethality of BT cotton. This is like making money out of BT cotton by stopping or not allowing the flow of scientific information to the farmers. GEAC has the duty to ask all the state governments to warn the farmers not to feed any part of BT cotton to animals as a follow up to the step of Andhra Pradesh government. If Andhra Pradesh government has done anything legally wrong in warning its farmers, then GEAC or BT cotton companies must take the Andhra Pradesh government to court for calling / labeling their so-called safe crop as poisonous. GEAC or any other authority in this regard has to support or oppose the Andhra Pradesh Government. If Andhra Pradesh government is saying that the farmers should not graze their animals on BT cotton crop, then why not it orders the BT cotton companies to put the same warning on the packets of seeds of BT cotton and its publicity material like we write on cigarette packets. In addition to this, why there is no orders of securing each and every BT cotton field with animal-proof barbed wire.

 

As informed to us by farmers in many villages of Hisar district the information is presented below for any body who wish to represent case of toxicity and allergenicity of BT cotton to humans and animals and adverse effect on soil and crop productivity (It is to be noted that most of the problems discussed below were not there before the introduction of BT Cotton in the area or invasion of illegal BT cotton and its products like cottonseed oilcake) :

Many animals including cows, buffaloes, goats and sheep do not prefer to eat on standing BT cotton plants though they happily eat on non-BT cotton crop.

 

For last few years, Many animals are refusing to eat cottonseed oilcake and cottonseeds or hesitantly feed on these feed items. Many times farmers have to bring in new lot of cottonseed oilcake and cottonseeds from market. Many farmers have told us that animals affected by BT cotton toxicity stop feeding and drinking (water) altogether, they have difficulty in breathing, etc.. Animals have to be taken for treatment to a veterinary doctor. Many farmers have tried feeding BT cottonseeds and its oilcake and what they have found really opens our eyes. Affected animal's milk yield drops and the animal has reproductive problems (like difficulty in getting pregnant). This problem of reproduction is not only seen in old animals but in animals which are getting pregnant for the first time as well. For the last few years pregnancy related problems discussed above are widely rising. That is coinciding with the introduction of BT cotton in the area. Normally, a buffalo should get pregnancy with in 2-3 years of age but many buffaloes are not able to conceive even after 4 to 6 years of age.

 

Some buffaloes we know have their offspring dying with in few days / months of birth and some giving rise to calves, which are smaller in size than normal calves. This was not common prior to the introduction to BT cotton in the area. Similarly, all the problems in humans and animals discussed here were not seen or reported prior to introduction to BT cotton in the area.

 

In Hisar district, many buffaloes are dying due to toxicity of BT cottonseed and its oilcake, while many are saved by veterinary doctors with timely medical intervention.

 

Increased cases of skin itching is also reported by villagers in buffaloes as well.

 

‘Most of the ill effects are observed in animals (who are milk yielders) who are fed cottonseeds and its oilcake. Most of the cottonseeds and its oilcake is of BT type due to 70-90 per cent area is under BT cotton in north India and the cottonseeds and its oilcake coming from other states like Andhra Pradesh are also mainly of BT cotton.’

 

'In the last 3 to 5 years or more only one ingredient of diet has changed and that is cottonseed and cottonseed oilcake.' We have very strong case against BT cotton but the government and research organisations are not bothered at all.

 

In humans, widespread skin itching and allergy like symptoms like rashes, eruptions, pimples, etc. are seen particularly in people working in BT cotton fields (in many villages) and BT cotton factories. In many hospitals in Hisar and neighbouring districts, doctors say that since early winter last year cases of skin problems are rising not only from rural areas but from urban areas as well including children (who never go to BT cotton fields).

 

‘One of our friends in neighbouring Panjab state who is MD in medicine has done proper medical test related to BT cotton allergy in humans and he has found close to 38 per cent people having allergy to a major variety of BT cotton of Panjab.’ This study was done with cooperation of an NGO called Kheti Virasat Mission.

 

We already have many people in the rural and urban areas who are complaining that they have difficulty in consuming milk now and one person (young male) who has his own buffalo in village Kalirawan says “I used to take 3.5 litres of milk daily but now I am hardly able to take half a glass of milk”  In the family of this person most of the members including children are saying that they don’t have a liking for the milk now. One young male from the same village says that he used to have itchy and watery eyes and nose. Within 2-3 days of stopping consuming milk, his problem nearly disappeared.

 

Many farmers in Adampur village and Siswal village of Hisar district told us that after the BT cotton crop in last 1-2 seasons the farm soil is becoming less productive for their other crops like wheat. They say that there is significant reduction in the crop yield, which has affected them economically.

 

Furthermore, hybrids after hybrids are coming carrying the BT gene. No agency has carried out toxicity tests on animals considering these hundreds of hybrids of BT cotton, forget about humans where no toxicity study was felt necessary quite unfortunately. Is human life so cheap?

 

Government has invited an epidemic in the form of BT cotton with pleasure, but have people permitted government, the answer is Big No.

 

Unless the GEAC members themselves go to the field, the truth will escape their eyes. Seeing is believing. Nobody is concerned. No government agency has the hypothesis against BT cotton then in what scientific manner one may be testing it. Why no government agency has come out with independent successful proposal to study toxicity study prior to animal deaths in Andhra Pradesh and even after that? This clearly proves that the whole government machinery has single objective of promoting deadly BT cotton at the cost of lives and health of millions of humans and animals.

 

Some of the Press Coverage and Press Releases (in Hindi and English) are available at

www.KisanBachaoAndolan.co.cc   This may be an eye opener about ill and lethal effects of BT cotton in north India. This report was first published at www.KisanBachaoAndolan.co.cc

Sudhir Kumar Kaura
PhD (Genetics)
International Coordinator
Kisan Bachao Andolan (or Save Farmer Movement)
Phones: 09354172987 and 01662 229163 (from with in India), 
00 91 9354172987 and 00 91 1662 229163 (from outside India)

E-mail : kisanbachaoandolan 'AT' rediffmail.com (replace 'AT' by @)
Homepage: www.KisanBachaoAndolan.co.cc

 

Deadly BT Cotton Trap! Is there any way out?

October 28, 2008

KISAN BACHAO ANDOLAN or Save Farmer Movement

 

Dated: 7 May 2008                                                                 PRESS RELEASE

Ref.: 19/PR/756

 

 

Deadly BT Cotton Trap! Is there any way out?

 

 

Deadly BT Cotton is being promoted as the only solution for the cotton farmers by governments in India in most shameless way possible. Let us see what price farmers and public are paying for BT Cotton adoption in India.

 

Thousands of farm animals have died in India due t...


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बीटी काटन के घातक परिणामों से बचने की अपील

October 28, 2008

Dainik Jagran 3 April 2008 Page 16
 
बीटी काटन के घातक परिणामों से बचने की अपील
 
हिसार : हरियाणा कृषि विश्र्वविद्यालय में कार्यरत वरिष्ठ कृषि वैज्ञानिक डा.महावीर सिंह नारवाल ने दुनिया के कृषि वैज्ञान...


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किसानों को बचाने हेतु कृषि वैजानिक की अपील

October 28, 2008
                         किसान बचाओ आंदोलन
प्रेस रेलीज़                                                              क्रमांक 165/453   2 अप्रैल 2008

किसानों को बचाने हेतु कृषि वैजानिक की अपील

कृषि विजान के इतिहास में एक अभूतपूर्व घटना - एक राज्य कृषि वि...


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बीटी काटन के दुष्प्रभाव पर चर्चा की

October 28, 2008

Dainik Jagran 2 April 2008 Page 15
 
बीटी काटन के दुष्प्रभाव पर चर्चा की
 
हिसार : राजकीय प्राथमिक पाठशाला ढाणी बिश्नोईयान व गांव कालीरावण में किसानों की एक सभा किसान बचाओ आंदोलन के तत्वावधान में आयोजित की ग...


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किसानों को बचाने हेतु कृषि वैजानिक की अपील

October 28, 2008

Hindi Version of Above Appeal

 

किसानों को बचाने हेतु कृषि वैजानिक की अपील

कृषि विजान के इतिहास में एक अभूतपूर्व घटना - एक सरकारी वैजानिक ने अपने वैजानिक समाज से 
बी टी कॉटन जैसे खतरनाक पौधों के खिलाफ अपील की है |...


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Appeal of An Indian Agricultural Scientist Against GM Adoption

October 28, 2008

----:Press Release Starts Here:----

 

Press Release: Ref. No. 890/67/62  Dated: 24 March, 2008

 

Agricultural Scientist's Appeal To Save Farmers

 

A Rarest Event in the History of Agricultural Science, when a government scientist appeals his community of scientists against genetically modified (GM) Crops.

 

Hisar, India 23 March 2008, 7 to 10 p.m.

 

A One Day Seminar on 'Modern Agriculture and Problems of Farmers' was organised under the aegis of Save Farmer Movement (Kisan Bachao ...


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Survey Report of Ill Effects of BT Cotton on Humans and Animals in Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa in Haryana State of India Dated 17-20 October 2008

October 28, 2008

We reported earlier as well on ill effects of BT cotton (for earlier reports see www.kisanbachaoandolan.co.cc) but a recent visit to some villages in Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa districts of Haryana state has opened our eyes further:

 

Farmers of the area say that the problems in animals related to dislike of feed items containing cotton seeds like whole seed meals and cotton seed oilcake, prolapse of uterus, premature deliveries, sudden deaths of buffaloes, reduction in milk and fat content...


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Bt Cotton burnt on Holi eve by Activists of Save Farmer Movement, Farmers, Livestock Owners, Officers of State Agriculture Department, Children, Milk Traders, Agricultural Scientists, and General Public.

October 28, 2008
किसान बचाओ आंदोलन
                                                    
Save Farmer Movement

                                                    

Revised press release, revised on 23 March 2002, please ignore the press release number  Ref. 890/67/59 dated 21 March 2008 which was emailed on 22 March, 2008 to select organisations and individuals.

 

Dated 21 March 2008                    Press Release  Ref. 890/67/59

 

Bt Cotton burnt on Holi eve by Activ...


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किसान बचाओ आंदोलन के राष्ट्रीय संयोजक डा. सुधीर कौड़ा ने देश भर के किसानों से अपील की है कि वे जानलेवा बीटी कॉटन से दूर रहें क्योंकि इससे पशुओं तथा आदमी में अनेकों भयानक स्वास्थ्य समस्याएँ फैल रही हैं |

October 28, 2008

                                                            किसान बचाओ आंदोलन 
                                                          Save Farmer Movement
क्रमांक: 890/67/58                                                                      21 मार्च 2008     प्रेस रीलीज़ 

हिसार 21 मार्च (                              ) 
किसान बचाओ आंदोलन के राष्ट्र...


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