Six foreign NGOs based in wealthy countries, many of which themselves permit such innovations, have thus far succeeded in blocking Genetically Modified Foods (GMF) from getting introduced in India, according to documents reviewed by The Sunday Guardian show. The entities are Greenpeace, Climate Works, Ford Foundation, Huvos, Cordaid and IDRC.
While some of the concerns expressed by the small but effective anti-GMF lobby in India (such as dependence on overseas sources for seeds) are real, others (such as that such foods are injurious to life) are not. The documents show that the expertly cultivated access enjoyed by foreign NGOs to media outlets has led to a drumbeat of reports that such foods are inherently disastrous to health, of course in an unspecified “long term”.
The documents say that “a well-funded and expertly orchestrated campaign designed to deny India self-sufficiency in farm products is being carried out” over the past decade. Interestingly, while several foreign backers of such agitations are religious fundamentalists opposed (in underdeveloped countries, though seldom their own) to “tinkering with God’s design”, in India, it is the opposite end of the political spectrum that provides oxygen to such movements. In their case, the motivation is antipathy to “development through corporates”, even if in the process, no or very little development at all takes place, as was seen in Bengal for decades.
Related on the SLP
“We are lucky these NGOs were not around in the 1960s, or India would never have had a Green Revolution”, an official remarked, adding that “this is a country that is easy to mislead and to panic, especially to those having deep pockets”.
Read the full, original article: ‘Foreign Entities not letting India become food self sufficient’
