GM foods more dangerous than 26/11: Mahesh Bhatt

Claiming that the GM varieties are more dangerous than the 9/11 and 26/11 attacks, Bhatt said the ‘bioterrorism’ can poison the entire mankind and hence it must be stopped forthwith.


Express News Service
First Published : 27 Mar 2009 04:12:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 27 Mar 2009 03:25:46 PM IST

BHUBANESWAR: Screening of documentary
‘Poison on the Platter’ today added a new dimension to the fight against genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and foods in the State with Bollywood director Mahesh Bhatt taking the centrestage and terming the emergence of whole situation due to ‘bad governance’.

The documentary, narrated by Bhatt, is part of an ‘alarm mechanism’ so that the society would take note and act, he said adding it would be ‘food for thought’ as it points to a grim future and informs that our daily food can even lead to death.

Claiming that the GM varieties are more dangerous than the 9/11 and 26/11 attacks, Bhatt said the ‘bioterrorism’ can poison the entire mankind and hence it must be stopped forthwith.

Apart from Bhatt, founder director of Centre of Cellular and Molecular Biology and Supreme Court nominee to Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) Dr Pushpa Mittra Bhargava, food security analyst Dr Devinder Sharma, scientist Jaffrey Smith and activists Kavita Kuruganti and Aruna Rodrigues, who were cast in the film, dwelt upon the same issue.

‘‘The GEAC is a rubber stamp and is sold to the industry,’’ said Sharma adding if there was a single clause in the legislation that the chairman of the apex body should be taken to task if GM foods cause health damage, there would be no GM food in India. Even the documentary has shown that how no less a person than Sri Sri Ravishankar exhorts the biotech lobby to refrain from promoting GM food till it is proved ‘scientifically safe’. Yoga Guru Swami Ramdev is against the food from drastically altered genome or making inter-species genetic maneuvering.

‘Genetic Roulette’ author Jaffrey Smith pointed out that the GM alternatives led to scores of deaths and thousands took ill by the time the source of the problem was discovered. Later, while interacting with the audience, Sharma pointed out to much disturbing facts that even food supplied through ICDS and relief materials provided by the US-based agencies during various natural calamities in the country were ‘GM-based’.

‘‘A technologically advanced nation like US is not permitting a 100 per cent cultivation of Bt cotton in one field and farmers have to go for a mix of 80:20 with the latter being the natural ones, but in India the farmers are allowed to go for 100 per cent GM cotton even in smaller fields, thus increasing the risk factors”, Sharma added.