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Lead
Story-Trading
in Genetically Engineered Crops
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The All
India Rice Exporters Association has taken a position against GE rice in India,
since this would hurt their export markets.
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FAQs-GE
Crops & Food Security
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Will GE
Crops solve hunger?
It is difficult to see the connection between GE
crops and hunger. People are hungry either because they do not have productive
assets like land to produce food or because they do not have resources to buy
the food that they need. Statistics show that India produces enough food. Our
buffer stocks have stored 60 million tons.
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Empowerment -
Farmer's Rights in the Indian Legislation
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The
pivotal importance of the farmer having the right to sell (not save, not
exchange, but sell) seed has to be seen in the context of seed production in
India.
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LEGAL ASPECTS-Protection
of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act - A Breakthrough
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A farmer
who has bred or developed a new variety can get his variety registered in the
same manner as the breeder of the variety
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complete ......
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POLICY
The Indo-US Pact on Agriculture
: Questions and Concerns
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Through
the Agriculture Knowledge Initiative, the Americans have asked for unhindered
access to the rich biodiversity in India's gene banks. Genetic resources are a
very valuable economic resource in the era of biotechnology. The Americans have
few economically useful genetic resources.
How will
our genetic resources be accessed? Will the terms and conditions of the CBD
(Convention on Biological Diversity) be respected? America is a notable
dissenter to the CBD and has not ratified it.
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complete ........Subscription required
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FOOD SECURITY
World
Food Day
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World Food
Day, celebrated each year on 16 October, focused this year on "Investing in
agriculture for food security" as a way of calling attention to the fact that in
spite of the importance of agriculture as the driving force in the economies of
many developing countries, this sector is frequently "starved" of investment.
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more...
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Focus -
Do We
Need Genetically Engineered Foods?
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Biotechnology may in future create options to help increase food production, but
at the moment there is a great concern among citizens, farmers and scientists
who question the way the research is being handled by a few large, corporations
and unthinking public sector institutions in developing countries. Apart from
the scientific debates on the merits of genetically engineered food, there are
equally, if not more important, debates on the socioeconomic impacts of the way
this science is being used.
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DEBATE
USDA Director
Declares GM Food 'Safe'
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Food
derived from genetically modified (GM) plants is as safe as those produced from
conventional sources, according to the Abu Dhabi-based Regional Director of the
Agricultural Trade Office of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA),David J.
Williams on February 13,2007 during a round table discussion with the press at
the US Embassy in Bayan.
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complete ........Subscription required
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High Risk Labs in USA: How Safe?
Voluntary
reports of laboratory infections received by the CDC are published in the
Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report. Our accident survey revealed that while
most, but not all, serious laboratory infections have publicly documented by the
CDC, personnel exposures are much less well documented. For example, following
several laboratory-based anthrax exposures, the CDC failed to report the
incidents in its weekly publication.
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BIOTECH
Biotechnology
In Germplasm Conservation
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Molecular
biology and, more specifically, marker techniques have a key role in enabling
the assessment of plant diversity at the genomic level.
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Biotechnology
Institutional Framework in India
There are,
at present, seven institutions spreading over four government departments, which
are involved in financing and supporting biotech research in the country
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complete .......Subscription required
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LAW & PEOPLE
Amendments Needed In National
Legislation on Bioresources &
Indigenous Knowledge
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The Wild
Life (Protection) Act, 1972
Chapter
IIIA of the Act, introduced by the 1991 amendment, with a view to protecting
specified plants, clearly indicates that members of Scheduled Tribes can freely
pick, collect or possess, in the district he resides, any specified plant or
part or derivative thereof for his bona fide personal use. Thus, the
introduction of this particular section creates a sanction for the activities of
the Scheduled Tribes dependent upon forests.
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more......Subscription required
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CURRENT ISSUES -
The Lure
of US Patents on Plant Varieties
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In recent
times, there is a spurt in interest in the patent regime. This has created an
opportunity for some Indian scientists from public-funded institutions to obtain
patents on plants. It is worth noting that apart from the other means of IPR
protection of plant varieties, USPTO (US Patent and Trademark Office) is the
only agency that grants patents on plant varieties.
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......
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FARMING-
Exposing
ISAAA Report on Global GE Crop Cultivation
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Gene
Ethics has exposed the exaggerated claims of the report of the International
Service for Acquisition of Agro-biotechnology Applications (ISAAA) on global GE
(Genetically Engineered) crop cultivation.
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......Subscription required
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NEW SCIENCES -
Stem
Cell Research : Hope or Hype?
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Stem cell
research promises a lot of therapeutic benefits, but the research is equally
associated with a lot of controversies. Controversies arise not because of the
possible benefits, but because of the way the stem cells are extracted,
particularly involving embryos.
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complete .....Subscription required
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ENVIRONMENT-
Dark
Clouds over Third World
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By 2080
climate change will bring water scarcity to between 1.1 and 3.2 billion people
as temperatures rise by 2 to 3 degree Celsius, a leaked draft of an
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)report said.
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......Subscription required
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TRADE-
Stringent Food Safety
Standards for South Asian Products
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Developed
countries' stringent environment and safety requirements, in particular the
provisions concerning the use of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP),
have affected marine exports from several South Asian countries.
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complete .....Subscription required |
