| The Indian farmers identified the name of the nine grains with the names of cosmic bodies. A nine-grain combination contributed to a the wholesome health of the community. The culture is cosmic since the outlook was cosmic in nature. On the other hand, the names given by the European community named the food grains like Pigeon Peas, Horse Gram, Chick Peas and Black Gram. These names are discriminatory in that the very naming of these grains, denotes that these food grains are intended for animal consumption only. Since these grains are designated for the consumption of animals and hence human beings are likely to develop a tendency not to eat an animal's food. it develops there is an inner aversion on the part of human beings. for human consumption.
The cosmic dilemma
The Vedic Indians with their theocentric and biocentric approaches, faced their own dilemma with regard to causing harm to food plants. In this culture ,harvest of food grains is ritualistic. " The special group of Vedic mantras dealing with the plants are known as oshadi or vanpati suktra or hymn pertaining to plants. These are chanted by the Vedic Seers (Priests / Rishies) for the health and well being of plants. The enlightened seers looked towards the plants with great love, awe and respect. The plants are regarded as having divine, curative and healing powers. They were treated as intelligent living beings. The seers seek humble permission of a plant before harvesting or cutting even a leaf from it for employment in herbal combinations...
...According to the Vedic method of farming all agricultural operations, like sowing, tilling and ploughing etc are ordained to be either commenced or accompanied by Jajnya or Chanting of Mantras. The harvesting of field is accompanied by Yajna in which the first farm produce is offered into fire...
...The Rishies express their feelings of ahimsa (Non Violence) towards plants and pray "Oh ye plants, shoot forth in hundred fold leaves as I cut your leaf for curing human diseases. If you prosper, we men will grow in thousand fold". (Rajimwale, 1994).
The outlook of Vedic Indians was essentially cosmic and spiritual. They reverenced Mother Nature and hence But they faced the dilemma of values with respect to the harvest of human-welfare-related plant species. If they adhere to Vedic approach of theocentrism and biocentrism they will not be able to cause harm to the plants when they harvest them, either for food or for medicine. biotic world and human welfare Even though their. Vedic approach was is definitely both theocentric and biocentric. there is also an hidden agenda of anthropocentrism. Such a dilemma is indicated in that the degree of blessings varied between plants and human beings. them; the Seers (priests) sought seek only a hundred fold blessings for the plants whereas the Vedic priests sought seek a thousand fold blessing for human beings. This is the way the Vedic Indians achieved natural harmony in their culture. Therefore, it is impossible to side line human concern in biosphere development. The approach for human survival must be three-fold Trinitarian in nature.
Three vital ecological processes
In the ecosystem there are three vital processes: (i) Primary production - organic production of food. (ii) Food chain - in which the links are seldom more than four and (iii) Decomposition (the microbial process of breaking defecated food into raw materials). The process of decomposition while converting the organic material back to raw materials provides food for many organisms i.e.—having their cake while eating it. These three processes are vital to human life and hence are to be considered as common global heritage. However, ecosystem is a system whose working mechanism is unknown to human being. If we ask the question Who created/made this ecosystem? Then there are three possible answers.
God created it
Natural selection evolved it
I have not made it. (This is a very sure answer).
Similarly, there are three possible ways to rehabilitate a degraded and chaotic ecosystem
Approach its maker (God or Natural Selection)
(a) Refer the Instruction Manual left behind by God. (Not available)The Bible can't be taken as a manual for ecological tinkering since it answers only why? God created the biosphere and not how? he created. (b) Recall the process of natural selection or decode the genomic manual of Natural Selection for its working (At the present stage of human knowledge, it is humanly impossible to re-enact the process). "Thirty to 70 per cent of mammalian genes exist in multiple copies, some repeated hundreds of thousands of times. What are they for (if anything)? What role do they play in the regulation of development? Molecular biologists are groping to understand this higher control upon primary products of the triplet code" (Gould, 1993). Therefore, it is impossible to retrace the evolutionary path, if any, to the very hypothetical evolutionary beginnings.
Call a ecomechanic to repair the system (so far there is not one such qualified person)
Do it by yourself. For example we may take a man made system such as the Boeing 777 which has three million parts per plane. (Rolston, 1999) Any unskilled person who dismantles these parts and tries to assembles the plane will not be able to make a plane that can fly. So is the case with an ecosystem whose total number of components we do not know as well as their various delicate and intricate ecological connections. Unfortunately, the ONLY way by which we can have a sort of understanding on the nature of working of the various interconnections between the components is to break a part of a given ecological system and then see which ecological function(s) failed to express. When biotechnology and genetic engineering techniques are used to outweigh the ecologically poor system then it is possible to expect three areas of risks (i) risks to the environment (ii) risk to human health and individual farmers and (iii) threats to the viability and sustainability of the food system (BMA, 1999).
Remark: When we deal with a system that we have not created and do not know the working mechanism, it is preferable to go slow with respect to tinkering with the ecosystem.
Tampering with the unknown
There are many questions which science cannot provide an answer. These questions are, "What is life? Death? Animal? Human? And Dust? (Azariah, 1995 b). Biologist view life as an unknown and unanswerable entity. Cowden (1990) records "Life on earth is a fact, yet we do not know where and how it began...." The question "what is life?" is one that many biologists have considered almost unanswerable..." (Hickman et al., 1984). Mayr (1982) very emphatically remarks "attempts have been made again and again to define life'. These endeavors are rather futile since it is now quite clear that there is no special substance, object or force that can be identified with life. The process of living, however, can be defined. There is no doubt that living organisms possess certain attributes that are not or nor in the same manner found in inanimate objects" Interestingly, the biophysicists claim "our essential failure is not so much in being unable to answer as in not seeing that there is anything to answer." (Bernal, 1967). Life is a biologically and/or philosophically an undefined biospiritual / mystical entity. Biogenetic experiments indicate that all cells are potentially immortal - eternality. Our tampering of the unknown may have a long lasting impact,
What we do not know
First, we don't know what is life. Second, we are dealing with an ecosystem which we have not created and for which there is no working manual left by its maker. Neither do we know about the number of component organisms in the ecosystem is only machine language. The programme resides at a higher level of control and regulation - and we know virtually nothing about it." (Gould, 1993). Third, we do not know the future effects of (genetically-modified organisms, (GMOs)) when released into the environment. According to Dr. Gary Kaplan, Director of the North Shore University Hospital in New York "inserting genes from other species into plants for human or animal consumption is dangerously unpredictable" (Wolfson, 1999) Dr. Strohman, "We are totally in the dark about knowing how to assess genetically engineered food. You don't even know what questions to ask because of the time it takes for some of these impacts of genetic modifications to show up." (Wolfson, 1999). Fourth, we do not know how many organisms go into the making of an ecosystem. Therefore, in areas where we do not know anything or a system that is not our own making or have less information than what is needed, it is best to go by the "middle path". Middle path (way) is an ecological concept which is not a static point located in the middle of the two extremes, but it is a kind of condition which swings between the upper and lower limits (Morioka, 1996).
A very poor system
In an ecosystem , solar radiant energy is converted into organic food. It is known that only half of the total radiant energy available in the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum is absorbed and only about 5 per cent are converted into organic food (gross photosynthesis). For heterotrophic (Hetero = other, trophic = nourishment, i.e. other than photosynthesis) consumption only 20 to 50 per cent of the gross production is available which is usually 0.1 per cent of the total solar radiation energy (Odum, 1971). Further, the harvest weight is highly variable from one crop to another. The ecological efficiency (transfer of energy from one trophic(nourishment) level to another) is usually less than 10 per cent. Since the system is very poor in its efficiency there is room for improvement but at a cost on the environment. High productivity can be achieved through large energy input; namely, irrigation, fertilizers, genetic selection and pest control with the use of pesticides. The end result is cultural eutrophication (Eu = more/wide, trophic =nourishment, i.e. more nutrients are introduced due to human action (cultural) that leads to environmental degradation.
Ecobalance
The concept of Ecobalance is well known but it is difficult to explain. Ecobalance is a condition and not a point (Azariah, 1994). It can be visualized by analyzing the working of a pendulum. A pendulum is said to be in dynamic equilibrium. The oscillation of such a physical system is plotted on a midpoint, the resulting simple harmonic oscillations over a mid level, may be taken to represent the working of an ecosystem where the amplitude, time period and initial phase of the oscillator are limited by the biological and physicochemical factors. The upper limit is the biological limit and the lower limit is the physic-chemical limit such as the Liebig's Law of the minimum. According to this ecological law the yield of crops is largely limited by raw materials that are needed in minute quantities. i.e. the minimum controls the maximum. The phase difference between two simple harmonic motions represents the intensity of competition between two populations like prey and predator.
Ecological values and development
The word "development" can be understood to mean human attempts to make things, including ecosystem, better because NO ecosystem is present in a ready state for immediate human use. It has to be modified, upgraded and human idea and effort have to be contributed. Such an awareness will be an engine to take up an action. Because we perform an action we will perform another. Such a process is commonly called a "slippery slope" argument. Accordingly "since we have done something we will not be able to refrain from doing something else. The expression envisages a muddy slope where footing once lost cannot be regained and suggests that controls which are adequate for initial exploration may fail under increased pressure" (Macer, 1990). On this muddy slope it will not always be possible to draw a line between development and disaster. The same is true between ecological actions and developmental endeavors since both these disciplines are derived from the same Greek root word OIKOS. Ecological rules are relevant to economic activity. There can be no ecology without economics (Azariah, 1994). In this context, the ill defined line is Ecobalance beyond which an application in question will do harm.
Maximum or optimum?
Is there a maximum in ecosystem (Ecobalance)? The question is one of degree. When a growing population faces environmental resistance then it slows down until a near equilibrium level is reached and maintained. As there is a limit on the number of individuals (N) there can be no major increase in number beyond the upper level. However, human beings are not density dependent. The upper limit may be considered as a saturation point. However, the upper limit in the oscillations can be pushed up if there is any external stress. A stress in an ecosystem only enlarges the adaptive capacities of the system. What was once the maximum will yield itself to a new maximum. During the 19th Century there was industrial revolution and the population was within the carrying capacity (upper asymptote or the K factor). Although the concept of carrying capacity is well known nothing is more difficult than to determine the carrying capacity of the biosphere This revolution gave way to Green revolution which was followed by white revolution (dairy and poultry), blue revolution (increased output in capture and culture of fisheries. In each era, the population found itself within the carrying capacity since the maximum was pushed further and further. Currently, the biotechnological revolution is sweeping the globe. Will this trend, of pushing the carrying capacity level upward, end? Can we push the maximum beyond the saturation point? In a real world situation we have no means to estimate or to calculate or demonstrate such a saturation point in an ecosystem. It is a theoretical concept. In ecological terms is there a saturation point? These are eco-philosophical questions.
The global population will reach the 6 billion very soon and India is expected to reach 1.5 billion by the year 2050. With the growing population " we definitely need food, pharmaceutical products like medicine and energy to save us from want and disease.
Development in the areas of aquaculture, poultry and agriculture have given us death signals in ecosystems. To achieve animal protein, aquaculture and poultry have been developed in a factory-production-scale without any regard for the very system that is involved. For example, a wild country fowl may lay an egg per day for about 20-25 days. In nature the hen will take nearly about 6-9 months to reach its next egg laying period if it is to incubate the eggs to hatching and then to adulthood. In this period a hen may generate about 2.5 g of calcium per egg per day for the production of the egg shell. Hence it may manufacture about 50 g of calcium during an egg laying period. On the other hand a "factory (broiler) chick" may lay a minimum of 300 eggs or an egg a day through the year. In which case it has to work on a war-footing schedule to create a total amount of about 0.75 kg of calcium. Among the ethical implications is the question: Is it right to push the system beyond its limits? The ecological law is "Optimum is always less than the maximum".
Similarly we need rice, fish and prawn and drugs and pharmaceutical products. The use of pesticides, fertilizers, antibiotics and steroid hormones (aquaculture) has ethical implications (Azariah, 1997). If the early onset of puberty in girls to an age of 11 is linked with the use of chemical feeds in poultry, then it has many ethical questions (such as what?) such as the lengthening the reproductive period of a child, child marriage and becoming a mother at an "immature" age. The reproductive awareness of a girl child is advanced during a formative stage.
Sustainable Development or Sustainability?
Creation is different from creativity. Production is not the same as productivity. Similarly, sustainability is quite a different issue than sustainable development. Sustainability refers to the high state of internal order of a system that powers the process to produce the product. Sustainable development stops with the product but sustainability touches the grass root of the very system of sustainable development. Production, at enhanced rates, is possible only if the higher internal order inherent in an organism, or the ecosystem or the biosphere is maintained. The internal mechanism is the one that which has the ability to produce i.e. productivity of a system. On the other hand, production is the yield of the process of productivity. Production stops with the product that is produced which we call "the commodity" which is the basis of economic development. In the paradigm of sustainable development we often lay emphasis on the commodity and the quantum of yield for a length of time. But we ignore ways to maintain the product. The yield stops with the harvest but the process continues to yield yet another yield forever and ever! Unfortunately, in the context of the current civilized industrial era, the power, the process and the product are mismatched. Iyer (1999) the former Judge, Supreme Court of India aptly summarized such a mismatch: "violence and vulgarity, which became by-products of the industrial revolution, obliterated the happy fusion of science and human well-being. The arrogance and the money-manic vice of the savage in man repressed the rule of nature to achieve the rule over nature. In the words of Martin Luther King Jr. 'the means by which we live have out-distanced the ends for which we live. Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men" Further, "Speaking of the field of new technologies, Freeman Dyson, an important interlocutor in critical thinking about science and technology , tell us that ' the fundamental problem for human society in the next century is the mismatch between the three new waves of technology (information, biotechnology, & neurotechnology) and the three basic needs of poor people" (Dyson, 1997). Therefore, it is essential to maintain the biological structure in sustainable development if we want to enhance the sustainability of a given productive system, be it natural ecosystem or human beings (Azariah, 1999a).
Environmental Philosophers recognize the internal nature of a system. Ecosystem just like "An organism is thus a spontaneous cybernetic system, self-maintaining, sustaining and reproducing itself on the basis of information about how to make a way through the world. There is an internal representation symbolically mediated in the coded 'program' held forth, motion toward the execution of this goal, and checking against performance in the world, using some sentient, perceptive or other responsive capacities by which to compare match and mismatch. Cybernetic controlling program can reckon with vicissitudes, opportunities and adversities that the world presents (Rolston, 1994). But how long a system can reckon human induced adversities?
Traditional wisdom: Agrofarming system in traditional India
Agrofarming system in traditional India followed a system of "Baranaja" i.e. twelve grain) system of farming. The twelve crops are:
Phapra: Fagopyrum tataricum
Mandua: Eleusine coracana
Marsha: Amaranthus frumentaceous
Bhat: Glycine soja
Lobia: Vigna catiang
Moong: Phaseolus mungo
Gahath: Dolichos biflorus
Rajma: Phaseolus vulgaris
Jakhia: Cleome viscosa
Navrangi: Vigna umbellata
Jowar: Sorghum vulgare
Urad: Phaseolus sp
It is stated that the "sowing of twelve crops is guarantee against hunger and insurance against crop failure. The chaff (dhusi) produced by the field is used as fuel for cooking, and its ashes as a dye for washing clothes. The chaff of the field is used as fodder for the cattle which provide milk and mechanical energy" (Shiva et al., 1995).
Population pressure and food security
The population of the globe during late 1700s was about 980 million. Such a global population is now squeezed in the total land area of India. The population pressure for food production is therefore, is higher than the one present during 1700s. Should we maximize food production or minimize pressure? The former will involve increased use of fertilizers 16.4 million tones of NPK (Nutrients) (1997-98) as against 14.3 during 1996-97 and 13.8 During 1995-96 and increased amount of pesticides to counter the build up of pests during incessant rains (Venkataramani, 1999). Indian population will cross one billion in the near future and reach 1.5 billion by 2050 A.D. Food scarcity may be due to many reasons such as social and political factors like wars, political instability and turbulence and uneven structure of international trade rather then lack of food (Wolfson, 1997).
The prediction of Malthus about population pressure and food security has been averted through biotechnology. However, there is a divided opinion on food scarcity due to population pressure as well as on the side effects of "the so called Green Revolution in agriculture in the 1960s and seventies" (Toker, 1998). The First Green Revolution has "...made farmers throughout the world increasingly dependent on costly chemical inputs... spurred widespread displacement of people...undermined the soil, groundwater... led to another cycle of impoverishment and hunger.. The second Green Revolution" promised by Monsanto and other biotechnology companies threatens even greater disruptions in traditional land tenure and social relations." (Toker, 1998). While stressing the need for sustainable development Prof. U.R. Rao said that Green Revolution "went on producing without thinking about the future. The off shoot of the programme like water logging, indiscriminate use of fertilizers and lack of drainage, rendered millions of hectares of land unproductive. In India, more than 100 million hectares of land became saline. We still glorify the Green Revolution" (The Hindu, 1998). It is to be understood that " we are not necessarily rejecting technology per se, but seeking to replace a life-denying technology of manipulation, control and profit with a genuinely ecological technology, designed to respect the patterns of nature, improve personal and community health, sustain land based communities and operate at a genuinely human face (Toker 1998). Gene pollution and genetic pollution, in general, will do greater harm than physical and chemical pollution. For instance transgenic pollen can result in irreversible damage to biosystems as in the case of monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus reared on milkweed leaves dusted with pollen from Bt. corn. These larvae ate less and grew more slowly and suffered higher mortality (Losely, et al, 1999). We are yet to formulate any specific ground rules for the prevention of genetic pollution due to Second Green Revolution.
On the other hand, multinational companies like Monsanto warn of the, " 'growing pressures on the Earth's natural resources to feed more people'...low technology agriculture 'will not produce sufficient crop yield increases and improvements to feed the world' burgeoning population'." Kimbrell (1998) counters this warning: "biotechnology transnationals which are themselves a major culprit in increasing world hunger... the myth is not about hunger but rather its primary cause... In Asia hunger and food per capita both increased by 9%...; population growth has not been, at least so far, the primary cause of the increase in hunger since 1970... increasing agricultural output has little effect on the hungry because it fails to address the key issues of access to land and purchasing power which are the root of hunger'." "Yet despite covering million of acres, the study generally does not find yields improved, while pesticide use was barely changed. "I would not have a lot of trouble attributing any sort of yield bump to biotechnology" said Bill Mcbride, an economist at the US DA who contributed to the study. There is a lot of variation, depending on all sorts of factors including the weather" (Arthur, 1999).
More recently, Datta (1999) has predicted a center stage importance to transgenic crops in India. But there is adverse public opinion in media. Daily Mail reports (8th July 1999) "Famine solution claims by (genetically-modified, "GM") firms exposed": ...there is precious little evidence to support that GM crops are essential because mean greater quantities of food and dramatic reduction in pesticides" "...carefully controlled trails of GM crops are showing conclusively that GM crops are not just no better, in agronomic terms but actually significantly worse.." "the data absolutely clear and compelling—the RR (Roundups Ready) yield drag is real and for some farmers a surprisingly serious "hidden tax on the overall profitability of their operations. According to a GM critic Mark Griffiths "Where there are controlled trials, particularly in relation to soya, oilseed rape and sugar beet, they show that GM crops produce a consistently poorer yield compared to unmodified varieties" (Eran, 1999 Personal communication).
Corn, being the third important food crop, has been subjected to gene alterations. The loss in production, due to the attack of the European corn borer, is about40 million tons of corn per year amounting to about 1.2 billion dollars. The hybrid corn commonly known as Bt-corn, has a in-built toxin producing bacterial gene (Bacillus thuringiensis) against the corn borer. Currently, there are about 18 Bt-engineered crops. The hybrid pollen contains the Bt toxin and is dispersed over at least 60 meters by wind (Losey et al, 1999) as a result non-target organisms are killed. They also found that larvae of the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus, when reared on milkweed leaves dusted with pollen from Bt-corn ate less, grew more slowly and suffered higher mortality. Similarly, Dr. Pusztai observed that when gene modified potatoes were fed to rats, there were statistically significant changes in the weight and immune response of the rats. Bees visiting onion flowers can travel a distance of 4.000 m. It is reported that GM pollen or seed cannot be entirely eliminated from contamination (Tokar, 1998; Waugh and McCarthy, 1999). There is also concerns about health safety in terms of potential problems in allergenicity. Although there is no fundamental difference in the nucleotide sequence through the living organisms, it is not known whether there could be "gene allergy" in the host organisms, for instance when a fish gene is added to tomatoes to extend their shelf life. What effect will there be when a human eats the gene altered organism with gene-allergy? Will he be sick genetically? When public perception of risk, in releasing re-tooled seeds in high-tech crops far outweighs the benefits then it is time to reconsider our effort to augment food security through bio-engineered crops.
There are opposing opinions on the use of GM crops to enhance agricultural crop production. Hence, when there is no consensus on this vital issue it is preferable to use human common sense. Globally there should be common minimum sense towards genuinely ecological technology. And locally there should be minimum common sense. Divided we now stand and in the near future united we will fall.
Public opinion through public media
The public opinion in UK is not favorable to the use of GM crops. Paul Waugh, the political correspondent of Independent (London, June 16th 1999), has reported on the topic of "Official data reveals GM crop risks" Some of the comments are mentioned below:
Genetically modified crops today when its own (Government) research concludes that there is a "real risk" of contamination of other plants. There is evidence of "transgenic pollution" from GM crops to neighboring fields. The guidelines should include the safe planting distance from GM crops. Any farm-scale trials of GM Crops to reset the guide line in the light of recent research findings issued by the Supply Chain Initiative on Modified Agricultural Crops (Scimac). Soil Association seeks new guidelines on planting distance between GM crop farm scale planting and organic farming so as to stop genetic pollution. Drastic measures need to be taken because the rape-seed-pollen is carried by bees and bees can travel more than three miles. Wind can transport it by much further. It has been reported that one per cent of organic plants in any field could become GM hybrids because of pollen spread. The demand for creating a "buffer zone" of six miles around every GM trial is considered as impractical. In conclusion, according to a senior government adviser "if this research shows that there is a risk, then ministers will have to respond positively to it". (Email Stu@ihug.co.nz, 1999). "Nothing in life is free of risk. When something is judged to be 'safe' it merely falls within acceptable limits of risk. The best strategy for dealing with environmental risks, where we are confronted by profound uncertainties, is to act cautiously, and to embark on a systematic programme of research to improve our understanding; an approach known as the precautionary principle. This principle should be applied for the foreseeable future to GM crop release and the introduction of GM products into the food chain, until the health and environmental impact of GMOs are fully assessed and in the public domain" (BMA, 1999).
Environmental cost of green and gene revolutions
Sowing of transgenic crops will; (i) replace the practice of polyculture production of crops with monoculture and drive the system to genetic uniformity;. (ii) favors commercial interests;. (iii) assists the company that produces the GM seed in making the farmers either withdraw or keep using the GM variety of seeds; (iv) restrict access to crop by the farmer;(v) product royalties on farm seed; (vi) penalize by criminal charges farmers who save seed or trade the patented produce; and (vii) create a dependency on the company for seed . (Shiva et al.,1997). There is a fear that the use of herbicide may increase, killing other useful species besides the creation of super-weeds by cross breeding between the transgenic herbicide resistant crops and its wild relatives, as has been observed in the case of herbicide-resistant transgenic oilseed rape. (BMA, 1999). Suurkula (1999) in a personal communication (email: psrast@swipnet.se) has raised a very pertinent point on the possibility that genetically engineered crops of any kind may cause potentially serious and irreversible damage to soil fertility.
Inequity and disparity are the basic denominator in Nature and exploitation, instead of utilization, is the core nature of human beings Homo sapiens. The biosphere, the sphere that which can support and sustain life, is a watery planet in which the Northern Hemisphere has more land and the Southern Hemisphere has less land. Such a disparity no one can change. But there are other areas of disparity that we can change. The natural resources are not uniformly distributed throughout the ecosphere. In the North -South divide the former has more of technology and the latter has more of biodiversity. The South hold an estimated 90% of the world's biodiversity. (Shiva, 1999a). Taking water as an example, the Middle East has less water and more fossil fuel and the Southeast has more water and less fossil fuel. There are other areas of such disparity and inequality. In another way the way these natural resources are exploited the developed nations consume more and the developing nations consume less.
Availability of Plant food species
There are about 300,000 plant species in our biosphere, out of which about 30 species are edible (Rolston, 1988) and only 20 species are commonly used. There are only 6 cereals in common use as food. Further, only 10 species provide 80 per cent of world's calories. We have a very little choice set regarding our food species. Therefore, boosting agricultural output to match the growing populations is one option and our basic expectation.
Options for yield enhancement
There are many options for increasing the yield of food plants. Biotechnology has been one such option. Bio-fertilizers using the nitrogen fixing ability of Mycorrhiza, the yield of various crops has been increased by 30 to 50 per cent (Hindu, 1999 g) In using biofertilizers the input of chemical fertilizers is minimized. The success of green revolution in India is due to the extensive use of chemical fertilizers (vide supra).
What is Biopiracy?
Biopiracy is the theft of indigenous knowledge, the theft of the creative capacities of nature and the false claim by patent holders. Industrial pressure on natural genetic resources for profit is so great that the Rural Advancement Foundation International has cited 147 examples of possible biopiracy involving misappropriation of 124 farmers' varieties from 43 countries. Most corporations claim that they created the life form they have pirated. Biopiracy only creates the colonization of creation—of life. According to Basmati Action Group "biopiracy is a form of class conflict with corporations trying to eliminate communal property, destroy farmers' control and supplant nature's creative capacities in order to increase their own private profits" (Sharma, 1998).
"Biopiracy (also called bioprospecting/intellectual kleptocracy) is when foreign companies obtain patent rights and exclusive monopoly over genes found in plants and animals in the third world. Transnational corporations are racing one another to manufacture pharmaceutical and agricultural products, derived from the genetic materials of the medicinal plants and food crops of these local regions" (Wolfson, 1997). It leads to absentee GeneLords. Furthermore, also includes the practice of unlawful and coercive exploitation of natural resources of the biosphere for an UNJUST and ill-gotten gain. The flow of money from the biodiversity rich South to biodiversity poor North due to predatory research on South's genetic resources without any innovation and without paying any royalties to the indigenous community is biopiracy. The term "bioserfdom" is used to denote the "growing situation in which farmers are losing the right to control their own crops. Instead they are becoming "renters" of proprietary genetic engineered seeds and proprietary technologies controlled by multinational firms" (Wolfson, 1997). It is considered as the "third wave of colonialism".
Current plunders
It is known that plant species, which have been used traditionally as food items also, have therapeutic properties. Plant species like Neem, turmeric and Basmati rice have gone through legal battle. Recently, common food items like Brinjal, Solanum melangena, Bitter gourd (common name = Karela) Momodica charantia and Jamun, Syzimium cumini have entered into controversy over patent rights. Three scientists from New Jersey (two Indian origin and a foreigner) obtained patent for herbal anti-diabetic agents based on bringal, bittergourd, jamun and also a herb which is called Gur Mar was challenged by the CSIR India (the Hindu, 1999f) and CSIR New Delhi, is of the opinion "that it is unwise to oppose each and every patent unless it had an adverse impact on the commercial interest of the country...". It is advocated by the Industry Ministry which is in charge of matters relating to intellectual property rights, Indian Government, that when a person is applying for patent relating to biological species a reference to the country of origin is mandatory (The Hindu, 1999h). However, the Department of Science and Technology is considering challenging the granting of patents on plants that have been traditional used as medicine through the food (The Hindu, 1999 I)
A sample of India's biodiversity and vulnerability
It has been widely reported that foreign firms pilfer the genetic resources of Indian biota due to its vulnerability. A patent for the famous Indian aromatic Basmati rice was issued to Ricetec, USA. Which produced a number of aromatic rice varieties and exported them under the names of Kasmati and Texmati. Two agencies in Australia patented two chickpeas obtained from an international gene bank in Hyderabad in India, just for propagating them. Legal proceedings against the patenting of Neem and turmeric is also known. Depletion of biodiversity will lead to dwindling livelihood of the farmers. What is needed is the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of patenting and utilizing the genetic resources of the South.
India is rich in Orchid flora representing about approximately 1,300 species of 160 genera. These species are extremely beautiful and distinctive plants and highly priced in the international florists trade due to their intricately designed spectacular flowers (Bhattacharijee, 1997). India is second in the production of fruits, next to China. The gene pools of Mango (more than 650 accessions) are available in the country. There are about 30 commercial varieties and the isozyme of these fruits show that the North Indian varieties differ genetically from the South. There are a good number of hybrid varieties. Similarly there are about 585 indigenous and 32 exotic collection of Banana (Ghosh, 1997). Traditional knowledge indicates that different banana variety has different physiological effects. The enormous genetic variability of Emblica officinalis (about 151 varieties. Pareek, 1997) which has 422-600 mg of vitamin C per 100g of pulp is a rich source which can be utilized for human welfare (Srivastava et al., 1997). The above fruits and other plantation crops including spices and medicinal plants need protection from the current regime of "bioimperialism" and biopiracy. In this area the intellectual property preservation and legislation must be enforced.
Case Study No. 1:
The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) at Hyderbad in India is one of the premiere institutions in biotechnology of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in India. An "efficient, rapid and highly sensitive" test for estimating a wide range of proteins in biological fluids developed by Mr. Gupta and his associates of CCMB was marketed by Pierce Chemical Company, (The Hindu, 1999d). The interaction between the two parties continued for about three and a half years after which Mr. Hermanson wrote: "We have obtained good results from your protein assay... However, after discussing the opportunity with several key people here at Pierce, we have decided not to pursue a license agreement for this technology"... Technology transfer in a situation like this allows the original scientists to act in the courts to maintain proper ownership if necessary. However, it is easy to remember other situations in India and elsewhere where the legal system was unable to compensate victims for economic loss or restore health.
The important question is this:
If a scientist working in a world - renowned laboratory can be treated in this manner, what would happen to a poor farmer whose indigenous process and techniques are copied without sharing the benefits and monetary profits with him or his community?
Case Study No.2.
A woman of high social rank met with a car accident. She was admitted to a good hospital In India there is wide variety of hospital service. One can choose the type of hospital depending upon his/her financial resources. As she was having a head injury she was perturbed about her future and family. In order to get admission without prior payment of money she identified some of her highly placed social contacts. She was lying on the emergency table. A nurse said "We are giving you an injection! OK" This is supposed to be "Informed Consent". A needle was inserted in the forearm but was not removed for about five minutes. With much pain she lifted her head to see what was going on! She found a bag of blood was being taken away from her body without her knowledge and permission! Is it ethical to remove genetic material without knowledge of the patient and under duress? Is there a connection to biopiracy?
The important question is this:
If this can happen to a socially well placed person, what can happen to the common man on the street with no education?
Seed - a common property
Indigenous farmers have made systematic observations of their crops and selected seeds for sowing. Their common sense observations indicated that plants have to be adapted to their local environmental regimes besides adapting to serve their economic, cultural and socio-political needs. Thus seeds were common property for the society to meet its social needs. It has been pointed out that "rice was first domesticated in Asia some 8,000 years ago, for example, farmers and local communities have developed well over 100,000 different varieties. Some grow in areas which have five meters of rainfall a year, others in the desert; some do well in places with average temperatures well over 30o C while others flourish in fresh or cool climates" (Shiva, 1999c, Email).
In India, nearly half of its total land area of 3.29 million square kilometers is cultivable and only 16 per cent is irrigated. Hence, agriculture is the mainstay of economy wherein about 70 per cent of its people are employed (Economic times, 1993). According to an UNDP report there are about 50,000 rice seed varieties in India, out of which a total of about 30,000 different varieties of rice were cultivated by Indian farmers (Shiva et al, 1995). A notification issued on 28.8.88 indicated that there were a total of 284 varieties/hybrids of rice that are being cultivated in India (Dogra, 1993). High Yielding Varieties (HYVs) which can tolerate a much higher dose of fertilizers than traditional varieties, have a significant coverage of cultivated land area with reference to the five major cereals (1989-90), the cultivated land are in percentage being, paddy 62%, wheat 86%, Jawar 46%, Bajra 51 % and Maize 39%. Currently, there is a record level of production of 203.5 million tons of food grains of which wheat contributed 73.5 million tons and rice 84.48 million tons as against the earlier production of 192.43 million tons during 1998-99 (The Hindu, 1999 a). Such a record production of food grains is mainly due to biotechnological innovations involving the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
In agricultural sector water availability is the main factor. Drought is a recurring factor. It is also known that the per capita availability of water is the lowest, the amount being 2167 cubic meters for the 1997 (The Hindu, 1999b). The low income group utilized 92 per cent of annual withdrawal of freshwater for agriculture and the balance was used for industry (4%) and domestic purpose (4). On the contrary High Income group countries utilize about 40 per cent for agriculture, 45 per cent for industry and 15 per cent for domestic purpose. The disparity in end use is evident and water plays a major role in Indian agriculture. Hence, the Indian farming community identified "Gandhashali", "Raktashali", and "Rajashali" varieties of rice and other crops like wheat, Jowar, Ragi, kambu (Indian Millet) and Baragu as dry crops. It is needless to point out that agriculture is linked with local culture as the farmers planted "that season's crop". Traditional knowledge of the environmental factors is the mosaic of Indian food scenario.
The ancient Indian Community identified and recognized that a combination of nine grains (Navadhanyam: Nava = nine & Dhanyam = grain) is good for health of the people and a combination of twelve crops is good for the health of the cultivated land. The early reference to Seed is in the Bible. The Book of Genesis identifies two major food categories (I) Plants yielding SEED and (ii) fruit trees with SEED in its fruits i.e. fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their SEED (Ch.1: 11-12) (Azariah, 1995 a). The context - association of SEED with FOOD categories is interesting in that the first two chapters of the Book of Genesis deals with the time frame wherein human misdoing (Sin) against God was not in vogue. Jesus Christ compared the Kingdom of God to a mustard SEED (Luke 13:19, Bible). In the death of a seed there is life. Seed has a mystic meaning for life and in life. Ecologically speaking, in decomposition there is life. If there is, in the biosphere, no decomposition then life will come to an end at some future point and there will be no life. The early Indian farmer identified the plant Amaranth, Amaranthus frumentaceous as the God's grain (Amara = Eternal or deathless). The indigenous knowledge system identified this plant as having a high degree of resistance to drought with half the water budget of other plants. Indigenous knowledge, environmental factors and socio-religious culture are all inter woven with the preservation of biodiversity.
Names of seed companies in India
Vegetable seeds developed at IARI (PUSA)
The Head,
Division of seed Science and Technology,
Indian Agricultural Research Institute (PUSA)
New Delhi 110 012
PVT Companies
POCHA Seeds Pvt. Ltd.
P.O. Box 55 Near Sholapur Bazar,
Poona 411 040, India.
Maharashtra Hybrid seeds Co. Ltd. (Mahyco)
Plot No. B-4
Industrial Estate,
Jalna - 431 203 Phones 02482 30840, 33 881/ 882 : Telex 07401 201
Agro Chemical companies,
Agrica Agrovet, P.O. Box No.4 Mehmoorganj,
G.P.O, Varanasi 221 010
India.
Indo-American Hybrid Seeds,
P.Box 7099, 17th Cross, 2nd 'A' Main
Banashakari II Stage,
Bangalore 560 070
India. Tel. 91 812 6650111 Fax 91 80 6650479
Vittal Mallya Scientific Research Foundation,
Post Office Box 406 K.R. Road, Bangalore 560 004
Fax 91 80 661 2806
Email vmsrf@giasbg01.vsnl.net.in
Dr. Manju Sharma, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology and President of 86th. Indian Science Congress (5th Jan. 1999) reiterated the following (TNIE, 1999):
The National Bureau of Plant Genetics Resources (NBPGP) is the single entry point for seeds into the country "Brushing aside fears of threat to the country's biodiversity due to the entry of Multinational Seed Corporations like the Monsanto with their genetically modified products including the Bollgard, Dr. Manju Sharma categorically asserted that the Government's new seed policy will not permit entry of any seeds that may have an adverse impact on the country's environment"
"In April 1998 MAHYCO decided to join with Monsanto giving them 26 percent equity" Manju Sharma commented: "This does not mean that Monsanto is going to control the company".
On the permission given for the Bollgard cotton multi-location field trials in five states including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh after several field visits by experts, she said the permission was granted to MAHYCO, a 100 per cent Indian firm. Manju Sharma commented, "Terminator is just a conceptual patent which will take four to six years to be available in its seed form." We are concerned that:
with permission for field trials already been given to Indian companies with links with multinational seed corporations;
It is possible to try terminator seed technology in field trials in countries where permission has already obtained by an indigenous company, other than the country of origin of seeds, through the indigenous company.
According to Manju Sharma "Any recommendation in the MNC's (Multi National Corporation) favor will be given only after an undertaking is obtained that no work will done on Terminator seed". Are there safeguards to check the breach of agreement between a Multinational Seed Corporation and Government on the written agreement that no research work/experimental field work using genetically modified seeds will be done on Terminator Seed?
An example of Multinational corporate strategy for field trials that need safeguards
When an Indian company collaborates with a MNC (Multinational Corporation) that results in a written agreement stating that "No work will be done on Terminator seed." but gives permission to an Indian Company for field trials, the indigenous company will make field trials and therefore, all conditions have been fulfilled! This process is self defeating the very system to safeguard the integrity of the ecosystem. Therefore, there are a number of potentially harmful situations that need to be rectified.
Nothing to worry about
Although assurance has been given "that there was nothing to absolutely worry about in the present situation" (TNIE, 1999) there are threats of misery, terror and violence in the ecosystem such as the agricultural system where genetic contamination is possible leading to the loss of natural genetic integrity of organisms. Recently Indian farmers have committed suicide due to crop failure. The misery and terror of possible system failure is much more serious in GM crops. Because patents confer on companies exclusive monopoly to make, use or sell biological resources on which the local and indigenous communities depend on for medicines, nutrition or material. (Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights, "TRIPS" is a disaster waiting in the wings for the developing world, both in terms of ability of farmers to obtain new varieties to adapt to local conditions and demands but also for agro biodiversity and food security. (Shiva, 1999a). Therefore, Dr. Shiva has voiced the view that because the (World Trade Organization, "WTO"), which directly impact people's food rights through the TRIPS it is essential that there can be a total exclusion of all Intellectual Property Rights on life forms under TRIPS as well as seeking a substantive review of Article 27.3 (B) of TRIPS in particular."
Crop protection and insurance
The Government of India implemented a new National Agriculture Crop Insurance Scheme on June 22nd, 1999. This scheme is a modified version of the earlier Comprehensive Insurance Scheme. The Scheme will cover all crops The scheme will also cover within a period of three years horticultural and commercial crops. Small and marginal farmers would be entitled to a subsidy of 50 per cent of the premium charged. Further, localized calamities will also include hailstorms, landslides, cyclones and floods. (The Hindu, 1999e)
What can be monopolized/patented?
Can we patent life? It is a debatable question. We have been patenting products of nature. Can a patent be a process; i.e., the sustainability of a system? More importantly can there be patent on water? When all the world's water is polluted, can one multinational company patent water, the physiological basis of life? Water: is it a common property or a common global heritage?
Within the context of hosiery manufacture, Tirupur, a very small town in Coimbatore District in Tamil Nadu, earns 30 billion rupees per year but destroys the livelihood of farmers and sees the total environmental degradation of the environment (Thomson and Azariah, 1998). The ground water up to 600 feet is saline and the farmers have abandoned their farmland. Because of this, a plea was made to separate Water Rights from Land Rights (Azariah and Thomson, 1998). Universal ethics of water has been stressed. A suggestion was made by Azariah and Thomson (1998) to form a global authority; but, if formed, will it work to conserve the concept that water is a global heritage? If such an authority is formed. there can be some chances for judicial management of water during the Third Millennium. India has a water shortage (Azariah and Thomson, 1998). For India, there is an universal need to maintain the sustainability of water.
The pattern observed in the textiles' role in environmental degradation at Tirupur is similar to the one observed in the case of field trials of gene altered seeds. Some countries do not produce enough textiles and import the goods to avoid local pollution, leaving the pollution to the country of production. For the sake of meeting the demands of the global textiles market, certain countries' production of textiles at the cost of their own environment is biopiracy.
Shiva (1999b) has rightly pointed out "In India, Monsanto has bought MAHYCO, Maharashtra Hybrid Company, EID Parry and Rallis. Officials within Monsanto have said, "we propose to penetrate the Indian Agriculture sector in a big way. MAHYCO is a good vehicle..." (emphasis is mine). There is every chance that the Indian companies, in the hands of multinational corporations, will be a channel (a good vehicle) for the entry of transgenic seeds. There will be no way for an immediate check. Detection of any transgenic tragedy, many years after their (the seeds) its introduction, will lead to many an environmental problem.
In biotechnology, patenting is possible for new products as well as for a new process. But in ecological system, if someone patents seeds, which are the basic first link in the food chain, then what remains of the very food chain which is a process! Can we patent an ecological process, such as a food chain? Interestingly, According to officials from Monsanto, 'What you are seeing is not just a consolidation of seed companies, it is really a consolidation of the entire food chain...' " (Shiva, 1999b). What are the social consequences of monopolizing an ecological process?
Can we patent sustainability? Under the European Patent Law, an "essentially biological process" does not fulfill patentability requirement. "Any essentially biological process for the production of animals or plants is not patentable—although a microbiological process or the product of such a process is patentable. This is a difficult distinction for most to understand. There is some guidance on the meaning of "essentially biological process" from the European Patent Office namely that it is "the routine manipulation of a known and naturally occurring biological event", such as, for example, traditional methods of selective breeding. Thus, for an invention to fall outside this exception (and hence to be patentable), there needs to be "significant technical intervention" going beyond routine manipulation" (NCB, 1995). In this context, it is proposed that in an ecological process like the food chain and its sustainability there should be no patenting by a multinational company however novel may be the significant technical intervention that goes beyond routine manipulation.
For the proposed joint venture of Monsanto with Eureka Forbes/Tata (controlling 70% of the UV technologies) is it important that Monsanto can achieve management control over local operations but not have legal consequences due to local issues. It is biopiracy of a clever sort.
Human diversity in India
India has a civilization history of over 4000 years. Although the ancient caste system of India recognized four groups, (I) the Brahmins (priests), (ii) Kshatriyas (Warriors) (iii) Vysas (business and trade) and Shudras (hard labor) the Indian population group is very diverse with its castes, communities, religious groups and consanguineous marriages. Bioprospecting is possible to identify new genes with resistance and to cure for diseases like sickle cell anemia, diabetics and coronary heart disease. Currently, there are 465 communities including 75 endangered tribal groups and small tribal groups having a population of less than one thousand people. Recognizing the ideal Indian setting for Genome research, the Indian Government has approved a 5-year (US) $20 million project to study genetic variations of some of the diverse population groups (Nature, 1996). Although such project may help to identify some of the human rare and novel genes for resistance to various environmental harsh harmony and disease if the benefits do not reach the indigenous peoples groups then some Multinational corporation will only benefit.
The Marine Biome. Killing the goose that lays the golden eggs
The year 1998 was declared as the Year of the Oceans (United Nations, 1998) as the oceans exhibited visible signs of stress. In my opinion, our marine biome has been pushed beyond its ecological limits of tolerance. (A biome is a large and easily recognizable community unit where regional climate interacts with regional fauna and flora).
Let me give an example. No one denies that production of electric power is essential for the sustainability of the current consumer culture. We need power. But we also need to be concerned about the health of the marine ecosystem. How is it possible to strike a balance between power (electric) and health of the marine environment? The question of elevated thermal discharges in the marine environment was addressed by the joint group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Pollution (GESAMP, 1984). The Food and Agricultural Organization, "FAO") has proposed a new plan to reduce the size of the fishing fleets worldwide (United Nations, 1999).
The question of chlorination of seawater, when used as an industrial coolant in nuclear power plants, was discussed by Azariah (1999 b). The volume of sea water in all oceans is 1370.323 x 106 Km3 (Sverdrup et al. 1961). If the world power requirement was only 1000 MWe, requiring 60 m3 S-1 of coolant sea water for a once-through flow system, then it would take about 724.2 years for the entire volume of sea water of the globe to be chlorinated by a single power plant. For a total of currently existing 433 units (George, 1997) requiring about 60 m3 S-1 of coolant sea water then it will require just 2.096 years for total chlorination. With the addition of another (proposed) 133 units then it will take just 1.563 years for total chlorination. Furthermore, there are about SEVEN countries where there are more than 20 nuclear power plant units, with a total capacity of 269,055 MWe. If these countries alone produce nuclear power, it would require just 2.691 years to chlorinate all the sea water of this planet Earth, which is our only one home. The amount of chlorine that enters into the marine biome in a year is about 62 million Kg. Practically we do not know the metabolic movement of chlorine in the marine ecosystem. Should we stress the system in order to maximize power generation? It has been reported that "Monsanto has caused environmental pollution on a massive scale - not least through the production of enough PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenols) to kill all mammal life in the world oceans... yet Monsanto is the producer of Roundup, one of the biggest-selling pesticides in the world (Editors, 1998).
Sensible human beings will stop and think. A recent UN report adds a word of caution in the context of operating coastal resorts. "Environmental impact is a critical factor. Resorts operating without regard for natural settings will kill the goose that lays the golden eggs and in the process create a host of environmental and human costs for countries to contend with" (United Nations, Development Update No. 28,1999). So is the case with chlorine and chlorinated products. Social and cultural consequences of environmental failure will be far reaching.
We destroy—why care?
With some 60 per cent of the world's commercial fish stocks considered to be depleted by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the Commission on Sustainable Development welcomed a new FAO plan for reducing the size of fishing fleets worldwide... A Green Peace representative at the session said that the decision to ask the International Maritime Organization and the FAO to crack down on "Pirate fishing" was an "historic breakthrough". (United Nations, 1999). The disparity between species of fishes in Indian Coastal Waters and the number of crafts in operation is the result of growing population pressure. There are about 1,570 species of fin-fish and about 1,000 species of shellfish. But currently there are 1.91 lakh (a lakh is 100,000) of non-mechanized craft and (including 32,000 motorized craft), 47,000 small mechanized craft and 180 large fishing vessels to fish in Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (Devarj, 1999).
A dying coastal ecosystem
The pollution pressure on the East Coast of India is reflected in the productivity of the coastal waters. The work of Nair and Pillai (1972) indicated a productivity level of 7.3 g C/m3/day and a daily production of 3.5 g C/m3/day was reported by Nair and Mahadevan, 1987). Within this range of 7.3 and 3.5 5 g C/m3 / day the production could be as low as 1.2 to 1.5 5 g C/m3/day due to turbidity. During 1994 the production was as low as 0.6 g C/m3/day. Turbidity along the coastal zone is due to discharge of flyash from coal fired thermal power stations which leads to a sedimentation rate of 1 cm per year. (Selvaraj, 1985). A few months back, a fisher woman was collecting unusually large number of the intertidal bivalve mollusk Donax cuneatus. To an enquiry, she replied "My husband is a fisherman. He could not catch fish from the sea for the past three days. So, this is our food for the day". It can be documented that the catch per unit effort is less.
Loss of fauna and flora—Bioactive compounds
It has been estimated that the marine ecosystem harbors about 500,000 species of which only 1% of the organisms have been screened for the presence of bioactive compounds. Only a hand full of these novel biochemical has been isolated and purified. A decline in the productivity of the oceans and the cumulative loading of chlorine in the marine ecosystem will chock the system to death. Extensive research has been carried out in this area (Azariah, 1989, 1990, Azariah and Nair, 1995). Many research findings in the above research area do have many industrial and scientific applications and hence can be patented.. Since plant material alone has been extensively searched for novel biochemicals with pharmacological value, there is a great need to explore this area before they become extinct. In this context the Gulf of Mannar has been declared as a Biosphere Reserve. However, this area has also been considered for many developmental programs that will affect the biodiversity of the area. A literature survey carried out on the published information on one of its islands, Kurusadi Island, reveals the richness in biodiversity. The details are given below:
Table: Number of Orders, Genera and Species recorded under different Phyla Data collected from published literature search from 1900 to 1958 |
