WAKE UP! ...SIGN THIS PETITION AGAINST GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOOD

You know by now, the dangers of GM Food to your family and mine.

Simply refuse GM food.
...HOW?

Sign this petition
http://greenpeace.in/safefood/chavan-email/

Here are some latest happenings from the capital city, and some more real facts:
http://www.greenpeace.org/india/press/releases/citizens-uphold-their-right-to

Our words have power, lets use it wisely and timely. We want a cleaner, greener planet, and healthy people around.

Don't allow greedy, insensitive foreign MNC's to abuse this planet and stuff our bodies with time bombs (GM Food)!

What is killing India?

What is killing India?

Peep into this post and give yourself a weekend reality check....

·         Pesticides and fertilizers- India is the world’s largest user of fertilizers and pesticides. Look at Bangalore: sparrows have dwindled, no doubt. But now, even the crows say No to the city.

India has been the country with the most advanced forms of irrigation and most holistic way of agriculture. Ancient Indian agriculture systems like the Vedic Farming alone, yields far more superior crops, fruits and vegetables, than any damned fertilizer or pesticides any scientist can create…and without the damage that is caused by fertilizers and pesticides.

What happened after Independence?? “Independence"?...where’s the Independence?

·         Genetic Engineering- Just the south of India alone grows 150 varieties of rice! The smart way of agriculture is to grow different crops at different times on same soil…one type of crop enriches the soil for the next different type of crop to grow, thus allowing the soil to recuperate.

…But GM crops turn the agricultural soil sterile, and do not allow other crops to grow. This destroys the precious earth and leaves the farmers and the government defenseless at mercy of patenting laws. Patenting laws prevent farmers from saving crops.

·         Plastic:  Who invented the damned plastic?  The world lived just as comfortably before plastic was invented.

·         Bureaucrats: In terms of education quotient, politicians share the lesser blame compared to the so-called educated bureaucrats who are sucking up India and using politicians as pawn. If you feel responsible towards your country, what can you do? Write your Civil Services exam, become a responsible IAS officer. And while you are doing that, come to an Art Of Living workshop, tap enormous personal energy levels and broaden your capacity to take responsibility for yourself and for this planet.

·         Education: We have enough unemployable, and poorly conditioned lawyers, engineers and doctors in this country: we don’t want anymore! We need our ancient system of education back which the British systematically wiped out, so that they could fuel religious feuds, misconstrue the caste system, train Indians as lab rats who learn the following plagiarisms:

o   Galileo discovered that the Earth goes round the Sun’s orbit. (WRONG)

o   Sir Isaac Newton discovered gravity. (WRONG)

o   Pythagoras discovered (a+b)² = a² + b² + 2ab. (WRONG)

o   Oppenheimer discovered the atomic bomb. (WRONG)

o   Drs. Steptoe and Edwards invented artificial insemination. (WRONG)

o   Archimedes of Syracuse discovered the value of “Pi”. (WRONG)

o   …I could go on and on.

All of the above and more were inventions or discoveries already made by ancient Indian scientists who were also spiritually enlightened meditators...such is the magnanimity of the world's grandest and most prosperous ("prosperous" in all senses) civilizations.

The bottom line is, our real Indian education system of Gurukul was systematically stolen by the English centuries ago, and plagiarized to form the Catholic system of modern education, and enforced upon us and the rest of the world during their colonization conquests.

·         English medicine (alopathy): Given the plethora of negative side-effects on the body and continual abuse of environmental resources, pharma companies have no real claims to philanthropy, except that English medicines come handy only in emergency situations when it is ok to pop a pill. Some facts here for Indian consumers.

You thought painkillers were a fantastic invention? Wrong! Painkillers dilute the nervous system’s ability to experience real pain in the pain areas of body. It simply postpones the cause of the disease.

You thought anti-depressants are the best boon to mankind?

Wrong! Anti-depressants (...and psychiatrists) only postpone chronic depression to a later time, and this only snowballs into worse depression and suicidal/homophobic tendencies. What’s the solution? No brownie points for guessing: It is MEDITATION.

If you are stressed or depressed, Sudarshan Kriya Yoga alone can solve the problem. If you are not stressed or depressed, Sudarshan Kriya Yoga alone can give you that extra energy burst (with heightened awareness) to do more in less time, at work or at home.

You thought alopathy cures the disease?

No! Alopathy in most cases treats just the SYMPTOMS, not the root cause. :-(

What’s  the cure?

Meditation and ayurveda.

Ayurveda attacks the CAUSE behind a disease, not the symptoms. And with zero side-effects…zero environment footprints.

And Panchkarma treatment ensures that diseases cannot touch your subtle body (that’s where diseases start incubating)

I couldn’t have found a better explanation of disease and health:

"Dis-ease occurs when any level of our existence is not at ease. Health is a disease-free body, a quiver-free breath, a stress-free mind, illusion-free intellect and obsession-free memory, an ego that includes all and a soul that is free from sorrow." – Sri Sri

·         Computer Games: This doesn’t need elaboration. We all know what it has done to whole generations of kids and teenagers across the globe! some facts

·         Junk Food: Carbonated drinks drain the body’s precious calcium and weaken digestion. Junk fast food: we all know what it does. I am amused that all we took from the west was coke and burgers, whereas in fact, we have much more to learn:

ü  Team work from the Japanese

ü  Precision from the Germans

ü  Presentation and marketing from the Americans

ü  Frankness and warmth from the Africans

ü  Etiquette and manners from the British

ü  Human and spiritual values from the Indians.

...choose a healthy lifestyle. Life is about living, and living is an art. ;-)

It is but obvious!

Want to know 7 of the World's most irresponsible companies??
Bolo bolo...
Bolo bolo...

HERE's the INFAMOUS RED CARPET AWARDS:

http://eco-chick.com/2009/05/3845/profits-before-people/

Thx eco-chick! :-)

Wake Up! SPEAK OUT

Poison on the Platter from Jeffrey Smith on Vimeo.

(This video also features valuable comments of His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who besides being a guide to billions worldwide on holistic and people-centric sustainable science, is also educated on ancient vedic science and modern science. He is a visionary with unquestionable integrity, and an all-encompassing, loving, caring concern for this entire planet and all its life forms.)

I am not against GE per se. GE can be applied to human gene therapy, they can be creating medicines in a laboratory under very carefully watched conditions. BUT WE SHOULD NOT feed the products of an infant science to millions of people.

- Jeffrey M Smith

Founder, Institute for Responsible Technology

If you look at GM food from the perspective of a simple human being, not a biotechnologist, or a scientist or an activist,...and you ask yourself:


From all the evidence discovered about the REAL threat of GM food to you, to me, to all people on this planet...would you still support GM food that has NOT been sufficiently tested by neutral bodies???

You and I know that trials of GM foods on lab animals across the world have repeatedly shown that they cause bleeding stomachs, and adversely affect brain, lungs, liver, kidney, pancreas and intestine. They have been even linked to higher offspring mortality and causing infertility.

As the most evolved, visible beings on this planet with sufficient intelligence, we are directly responsible for OUR ACTIONS AS WELL AS INACTIONS.

I am responsible for global warming and I am responsible for the insecure IT professionals who are too busy saving brownie points for their next appraisal instead of creating brownie points for the planet they owe more to.

I am responsible for the corruption among the politicians and the distorted bureaucrats that's siphoning out our country morality underneath seats of power, and stashing black money into Swiss bank accounts.

I am responsible for the junk food generation of misled teenagers (more facts) and and few over-enthusiastic ambitious biotechnologists who are spirituality deprived and do not respect the planet and its delicate natural laws.

I am responsible for educating you about it.

But I am not responsible if you choose not to look at it neutrally or neglect doing your own research:

• beyond your education conditioning if you are a biotechnologist

• beyond your vote bank politics if you are a politician, beyond your comfort zone of "short term gain long term pain" attitude

• beyond your insensitivity to your environment

“India is fast becoming the world’s biggest dustbin for this risky and unwanted technology. We are being told that these crops are essential for feeding the growing population, but there is not even one GM crop that produces higher yields. In fact, many of the GM crops produce less than the existing crops. And yet, as many as 56 foods crops are being genetically modified in India.”

-Devinder Sharma,

Food Policy key Analyst 

“What we need is a moratorium on release of any GM crop and sale of any GM seed for at least next 5 to 7 years, till their safety is not assured through stringent and impartial tests, because what’s at stake here is not just our health but our very survival”

Dr Pushpa M. Bhargava

Founder Director, Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology and Supreme Court’s nominee in the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC).

You know the facts now.
Make a responsible, good choice that is sustainable for you and the planet we share.

I DIDNT ELECT THIS MINISTER...DID YOU??????

Indian citizens have voted out GM food, and that’s a large sizeable chunk of educated citizens here, Mr Prithviraj Chavan.


What will it take our foolhardy administrators to realize that they must not misuse their seats of power, and that the votes that gave them the ability to take GOOD and LONG-SIGHTED HOLISTIC decisions, must not be taken lightly.


Especially in the scenario where the farmer populace of the country is concerned…because agriculture is one of the strongest pillars of India when it comes to prosperity factors. And introducing GM food will invite the not-so-desirable side-effects of GM food…


Legally it will make our country vulnerable to the monopolies of GM manufacturers (Monsanto being the kingpin) and we all know how such irresponsible, greedy and manipulative organizations have don to other countries. It is WISE to learn from others’ mistakes, wont you agree?

From business perspective, Bt Brinjal will open flood gates to other GM foods, and the trade-off between a “SHORT-TERM” increase in productivity will leave a plague in all other aspects of agriculture, business, ethics, etc.


Environmentally, it will bring EXTINCTION to the hundred plus crops that are a blessing to India. And yes, GM crops turn the soil sterile to other crops, seriously compromising the integrity of our eco-system.


Health-wise, GM food causes the maximum damage. We have already discovered few NEGATIVE side-effects to health caused by GM food. These, GM organizations are unsuccessfully trying to hide under their carpets. However, Mr Chavan, the larger percentage of damage to your family and to mine, will be visible only when we like educated fools start eating GM food… BECAUSE SUFFICIENT RESEARCH has NOT BEEN CONDUCTED on GM food. And the little research done so far…well, we all know who conducted it.


Why Monsanto sucks? http://www.monsantosucks.com/


Today Mr Prithviraj Chavan is underhandedly trying to introduce a bill that brings GM food into our country. As if, we do not have enough other important issues to take care of.


If The Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill 2009 (BRAI) is passed in the current parliamentary session, what will happen?

This is what this preposterous bill proposes:

The bill proposes to gag the media (Section 63) since it infringes upon the fundamental right of freedom of speech.

The penalty for creating awareness (misleading the public) about the ill effects of Genetically Modified issues may lead to an imprisonment of minimum six months and up to one year with a maximum fine of Rs.2 lakhs. Our right to freedom of speech will be curbed if this Bill is passed. The clauses of this bill are draconian and more stringent than even the repealed acts like POTA, TADA.

The worst is this: There was no provision for action against the company for concealment of facts (ill-effects) as it happened in case of tobacco in the US where the court fined $250 billion after several years.


GM crops must be strongly discouraged UNTIL SUFFICIENT TESTS are conducted by INDEPENDENT BODIES
(The integrity of Monsanto tests is questionable right from grass-root level: http://www.monsantosucks.com/Newsnviews/revolvedoor.htm)

What say, Mr Chavan?

Otherwise, how would you like your children and grandchildren to remember you? I mean, God forbid it.


His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar—the global face of spiritual and unconditional humanitarian leadership, has been educated in modern as well as Vedic sciences, and with the unquestionable integrity that He is known world over for, this is what He has to say,

“We don’t need a bill that encourages free entry of GM food into India, without ensuring health safety of the people, besides penalizing the voice of protest.”

What can people like you and I do to protect our country and loved ones from such foolhardy politicians?


Start a signature campaign:

• among your close friends and family
• among your colleagues
• among your neighbors and social circles

Team up with NGO's who have taken up active responsibility.

EDUCATE PEOPLE AROUND YOU, that's the LEAST you can do.

STOP GENETIC CONTAMINATION

Bt Brinjal could be back because science and technology minister Prithviraj Chavan is trying to change the rules of the game.

Mr. Chavan pushed for Bt Brinjal in a letter he copied word for word from a study funded by biotech seed companies, including Monsanto.

So now he is presenting an undemocratic GM bill to ease the legalization of Bt Brinjal, rice, and more—without any public input.

Mr. Chavan is supposed to serve the people of India. Instead, he's serving the interests of biotech seed corporations.

Greenpeace is taking a petition asking the Prime Minister to stop Minister Chavan from poisoning our food.

I have already signed this petition. You can also sign it and ensure that the PM takes necessary action.

www.greenpeace.in/safefood/chavan-petition/

Our efforts can save our food from genetic contamination.

Stop Minister Chavan from poisoning our food

RESPONSIBLE CITIZEN OF THE WORLD?

PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION

http://greenpeace.in/safefood/chavan-petition/

150 Varieties of rice!

For the record, I didnt know that ...just the south of India grows more than 150 varieties of rice!

If GM crops were to enter India, it dangerously limit the delicate and myriad biodiversity of our eco-system...many crops could get EXTINCT!

The Indian culture has always been to grow multiple types of crops. And we have flourished at that, with rich varieties.

If one crop fails the other will flourish...farmers and their families, and the whole of country wont starve...but if GM crops are grown, failure of one type of crop will mean virtual suicide.

And India DOES NOT want another episode of Vidharba district's mass suicide calamity repeated ever in future, in this great country!

Neither do you, nor do I. So, every educated citizen ought to get the facts right, and condone "progress for progress's sake".

This country is sustained by its farmers and rural villages, let us not forget that...and give the farmers their right...to cultivate crops in the best and the natural way...

And we have seen always, organic crops, and crops grown by vedic methods of agriculture, grow FASTER than any damn fertilized crop, and are the HEALTHIEST too! I have seen first-hand experience of this.

For the rest of us, I encourage you to do your own research.

And protect the richness of this country, after all, it is this country that has created the foundation for so many more diverse cultures across this world.

...and by all means, restore its unbounded spiritual, scientific, cultural, natural and human wealth, India is a country of love, and progress. But do not mistake this love as naive, and do not generalize the greed of a few short-sighted politicians as progress.

Here are glimpses of wake-up calls:

http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2009/04/20/1500-indian-farmers-commit-suicide-are-gm-crops-to-blame/

http://www.i-sis.org.uk/gmProtestsIndia.php

Love!

BT BRINJAL IS HARMFUL...WHY???

Sometimes, I reiterate over the reason why I keep a blog, and post my thoughts and share it...one of the definite reasons is, social responsibility, and an inner urge to share the best things (with universal appeal) I have experienced in life with people I know and with people I dont know yet...

Along the way, I am confident I shall catalyze some positive change for many many good people in this planet, and for the not-so-good people too...

One such issue is certainly the unfair controversy over BT BRINJAL...whereas the facts are clear:

BT BRINJAL IS HARMFUL!

One doesn't need a ph.D in Biochemistry or Genetic Engineering to decipher this simple fact. In fact most ph.D. holders who support Genetically-Engineered (GE) food, have done enough harm already...by upholding "progress for progress's sake" and downplaying the long-term ethical murder that BT BRINJAL (and others, in the pipeline) bring upon farmers, the environment (air, water, land), and millions of consumers who may (God forbid!) consume potential carcinogen in form of BT BRINJAL!

I call GM food a hazardous stunt show, by politicians and Monsanto-species.

Let's uncomplicate.

Certainly, BT COTTON proved half the point with miserable failure, and complications.

No doubt farmers had a great crop for a season, and then the eco-system crashed...

• soil was depleted of its capacity to grow other forms of crops!
• further tests showed BT COTTON caused liver malfunction, skin allergies, and even carcinogen properties
• In fact, GM food can also cause unknown mutations to the consumer or to the future generations, at any point of life...It like having dormant HIV which can appear at any time...
• And the biggest flaw is that INSUFFICIENT tests were performed on BT COTTON before approving it.

Question: Who conducted the tests?

Yes, you are right...the same guys who approved it, the very corporates who created it.

We don't want human rights crushed in this bureaucrat game and political monopoly...we don't want farmer suicides...we don't want our earth to turn sterile.

And today, BT BRINJAL is contending to enter India, and through whom? The Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh!

The facts are clear, the experts have conducted 5-6 tests only! and they concluded it is safe...I didnt know we have such dishonest and conscience-less scientists too, who compromise on the ethics of their work, at the risk of health of millions of people, flora and fauna.

How can we even blame them?

These are the scientists who were taught the "BENEFITS" of GM food, not the negative ramifications, in their college. These are the very scientists who actually work for the companies that invent, produce and market GM food!

These organizations manipulate the tests, bribe their way past the regulatory hurdles, and promote themselves through the greedy pockets of the same government that WE elect! Very smart selling strategy, but it doesnt stop at that...

...have you heard of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)? This very IPR also protects these organizations, and gives them the farm to sue, and even grab the lands from the farmers who "dare" to save their own crops. Why? because IPR laws protect the interests of the one who holds the patent! In this case, it is MONSANTO and MAHYCO.

I am sure we all have got the picture here.

Remember the last meal you had? Breakfast...lunch...or dinner? you know the vegetables/fruits were bought at the market...you also know in India, there is NO LABELING of vegetables.

By "labeling" I mean, the footprint of the vegetable/fruit that you buy...where was it grown? was it exposed to fertilizers & pesticides? If yes, which fertilizers & pesticides? was it grown under organic conditions? If not, what is the level of toxicity it contains?

NOTHING! We are told nothing, and made to consume food with invisible footprints, the same way that your pet dog or a cow unquestioningly eats the food you give it!

"There is no law fixing liability in the event of contamination of non-Bt brinjal by the GM variety."

As consumers we think we monopolize the trend? WRONG! We may decide what fashion wear or movie should reach our wardrobes and bookshelves, but we are compromised on the most essential products-- our food system.

I ask Jairam Ramesh, did he put a labeling mechanism in place, before deciding to even encourage talks with GM companies? No he didn't. I am asking you, did you cast your vote in the last elections?

No? Then I am sorry you do not have a say in the government's affairs.

My friends, Europe including Germany, Austria, Hungary, Italy, France, Luxembourg, Greece, Denmark, Ireland has banned GM food, half of Brazil has done so too. In fact some of them have banned Monsanto completely, and Nestle (yes sir, they also inject GM ingredients into popular food products like Cerelac, Maggi noodles, Munch and Kitkat chocolates etc)!

I am sure we Indians are not cuckoos, or perhaps some politicians are...and greedy cuckoos at that too.

Have you decided to vote yet, now?

Perhaps we can start with a signature campaign.

You don't want your girl friend/boy friend/wife/husband, or mother or father or siblings (sisters, brothers)...anyone you love or care about developing an irreversible disease because one day when you had a chance, and you knew, still you didn't act...

I love myself, and I love my family...my extended family is you too.

And that is why I just made you aware of what's coming, if you and me don't do something right, right now.

For your knowledge:


http://balkrishnapatankar.wordpress.com/2009/10/18/say-no-to-gm-foods-gm-food-can-cause-the-biggest-health-crisis/


http://www.zeenews.com/news602829.html


http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_to-eat-or-not-to-eat-bt-brinjal_1341691

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/cons-products/food/Bt-Brinjal-should-not-be-allowed-Scientists-to-India/articleshow/5525271.cms