[asia-apec 1391] (no title)

[Anuradha Mittal]

Dear friends,

Hope you have received the Alert on The Biotech Industry uses "Organic" 
as Trojan Horse to enter Indian Market. (Attached below)  We have 
managed to get the personal email address of UNDP Resident 
representative in India, Dr. Brenda Gael Mcsweeny. It is 
brenda.mcsweeny at undp.org. Otherwise you can also send your email at   
fo.ind at undp.org.

The address of UNDP Resident Representative in India is 
United Nations Development Programme, 
55 - Lodi Estate, 
Post Box No. 3059, 
New Delhi - 110 003 - India
Tel: 0091 - 11 - 4628 877,  Fax: 91 - 11 - 4627 612
Email: fo.ind at undp.org
URL: http://www.undp.org.in

UNDP Chief in USA

Mark Mallock Brown
Chief of Administration
UNDP
1, UN Plaza, New York, USA
Tel: 001 - 212 - 8262058, 9065001
Email: registries at undp.org

Dear friends,

The biotech as organic stunt is being replayed in India after its defeat 

in the USA. On February 8th 2000, the United Nations Development 
Programme (UNDP) is holding a meeting on "the Role of Business 
Partnership in Promoting Trade and Sustainable Development" to promote 
biotechnology as Organic.Please send letters  the UNDP chief in the US 
and the resident representative of UNDP in India to scrap this meeting 
and hold a meeting on sustainable agriculture and organic farming in 
association with full participation of the Agriculture Ministry and of 
the organic agriculture movements in India. 

I enclose an Alert which you can circulate among your friends. 

The address of UNDP Resident representative in India is 
Dr. Brenda Gael Mcsweeney, United Nations Development Programme, 
55 - Lodi Estate, Post Box No. 3059, New Dlhi - 110003 -India
Tel: 0091-11-4628877, Fax: 91-11-4627612
Email: ind at undp.org
URL: http://www.undp.org.in

UNDP Chief in USA
Mark Mallock Brown
Chief of Administration, UNDP
1, UN Plaza, New York, USA
Tel: 001 - 212 - 8262058, 9065001
Email: registries at undp.org


______________________________________________________________________
		Let Organic     -     Stay Organic	

Alert: The Biotech Industry uses "Organic" as Trojan Horse to enter 
Indian Market

On February 8th 2000, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is 
holding a meeting on "the Role of Business Partnership in Promoting 
Trade and Sustainable Development" to promote biotechnology as Organic. 
This attempt to sell Genetically Engineered (G. E.) as organic had 
earlier been used in USA, but failed due to the protests by thousands of 
organic farmers and consumers.  

The fact that organic is being used as a Trojan Horse to launch G. E. 
products in India is evident from the total absence of the organic 
farming movement in the UNDP programme. In fact even the Agriculture 
Ministry is missing from the programme. Instead, it is officials of the 
Commerce Ministry who will be dealing with organic farming. 
Representatives of Mahyco, the Indian seed company bought up by the US 
Biotech company Monsanto, through whom Monsanto plans to launch its G.E. 
products in India, will be playing a leading role in the public private 
partnership.  While last year Monsanto was visible and aggresive 
marketing G.E. crops in India, it now operates in biotech debates using 
MAHYCO using as a shield. 

Indian  farmers organisation had uprooted Monsanto's G.E. field trials 
in December 1998. The Research Foundation for Science, Technology and 
Ecology, New Delhi, has also filed a case in the Indian Supreme Court to 
stop the field trials since they violate Biosafety regulations at every 
level. 

Since the global biotechnology industry is facing popular resistance in 
India, an attempt is being made to launch biotechnology via the public 
sector and as an organic option.  We are concerned that instead of 
promoting genuine organic agriculture and biosafety, the UNDP is helping 
the biotech industry by confusing G.E. as organic and use the public 
sector to launch G.E. products. This is an attempt to hijack the organic 
label for the biotech industry. While using organic as a Trojan Horse, 
the unleashing of G.E. products in India will undermine organic 
agriculture by creating genetic pollution. This is yet another attempt 
by the biotech industry interests to undo the Biosafety Protocol 
negotiations currently underway in Montreal, and to reduce all biotech 
discussion to trade by taking them to WTO.  This attempt to take Biotech 
to WTO was made at Seattle but failed because of protests by citizens, 
Third World countries and European Environment Ministers. 

We want organic to stay organic and be kept totally separate from G.E. 
We want the public sector to play a public role in working with farmers 
to evolve farmers' varieties of the desired crops that India grows and 
needs so that our biodiversity, sustainable agriculture and diverse food 
systems can be kept alive. 

Join the fight against hunger. For more information contact foodfirst at foodfirst.org.

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