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Kerala reiterates its NO to GM crops and foods

Government of Kerala will not allow GM crops & foods: Kerala CM” Trivandrum, April 11, 2008 : Speaking at the inauguration of a two-day national seminar on “GM Crops & Biodiversity Conservation” organised by the Kerala State Biodiversity Board, the Chief Minister of Kerala, Sri V S Achuthanandan assured the people of Kerala that no policy which will have adverse impact on farmers and/or environment will be brought in by the government, including GM (Genetically Modified) crops.

After two days of deliberations on all aspects related to GM crops, the seminar concluded resolving that “release of GM crops into the environment and GM foods into the market should be banned to protect thehealth, agriculture and biodiversity of the nation”. At the concluding ceremony today, this declaration wasendorsed by the Minister for Agriculture Sri Mullakkara Ratnakaran who pointed out that the governmentcannot consciously restrict choices of farmers by introducing GM crops or allowing their field trials.

The workshop was attended by more than 150 delegates consisting of representatives of different StateBiodiversity Boards, farmers and farmer organizations, agricultural scientists, educationists, students,consumer organizations, industry and civil society organizations. The meeting discussed at length issues likeGM crops & Biodiversity, GM crops & Food sovereignty, Health Hazards of GM crops and biosafety regulation,Genetic Contamination from GE crops and IPR issues. Existing official data on economics of GM crops werealso discussed. Participants in the workshop also pointed out that it is not possible for Kerala alone to be GM-Free if neighboring states allow GM crops and that a precautionary approach to GM crops is needed at the nationallevel.

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Farmers and civil society groups taking part in the seminar pointed out that they had several large scaleecological farming experiences being successfully established in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtraand Kerala and given that such alternatives exist, there is no necessity for bringing in GM crops. The meeting passed a “Kerala declaration on GM crops and Biodiversity” unanimously in the presence of theState Agriculture Minister.

KERALA DECLARATION ON GM CROPS & BIODIVERSITY

A tw o d ay na tiona l sem inar co nvene d b y the Kerala Sta te Biod iversity Boa rd on 10 an d 11 April2008 at Triva nd rum o n GM c rops & Biodive rsity Co nservation , attended by more than 150 delegatesc onsisting o f rep resent a tives of d ifferent Sta te Biod iversity Boa rds, farme rs and fa rmer orga niza tions,agricultural scientists, educationists, students, consumer organizations, industry and civil societyorganizations,

After c ritic ally examining the fo llowing impa c ts of G enetica lly Mo dified c rop s (including Bt Cotto n inIndia and other GM c rop s elsew here in the w orld):

• ge netic c onta minat ion of existing seed diversity and erosion of b iodiversity, • end a nge ring of the diversity of crop s for som e o f whic h Ind ia is the C entre of O rigin, • threa tening the integrity of na tural e c osystem s • irreversible and de leterious huma n hea lth effec ts from GM crop s/ food s and ad verse effec ts

on o ther living o rganisms

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• system atic mo nop olization o f seed and other resources by a hand ful of large c orporateb od ies, to the extent t ha t eve n future pub lic resea rch is jeop a rdized a nd fa rmers’ apriori rights completely violated

• and thus, making farming unviable ec onom ica lly and ec ologica lly for farmers

And, rea lising the c ritic al impo rtanc e tha t b iodiversity plays

• in susta ining livelihoo d s along with fa rmers’ trad itiona l know ledg e, • in maintaining a nd enhanc ing food , nutrition a nd livelihood sec urity of the c ountry and rural

communities,

• in crea ting resilient system s in the era of c lima te c ha nge , esp ec ially at a time w hen thec ountry is experienc ing the e c ologica l disaster atte nda nt to green revolution,

• in making fa rming ec onom ica lly and ec ologica lly viab le for farmers

And , reco gnising tha t g ene tic eng ineering in ag ric ulture is imprec ise, irreversible, unc ont rollab leand unpredicta ble a nd realizing the importanc e of p rec autionary principle as a g uiding p rinc iple inthis ma tte r,

Dec lares that relea se o f GM c rop s into the e nvironment and GM foodsinto the ma rke t should b e b anned to p rotec t the hea lth, ag riculture a ndbiod iversity of the na tion.