Greenpeace orders probe in cattle death

New Delhi, June 13 (UNI) Greenpeace activists today urged Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to order a probe into ''inexplicable'' death of 1600 cattle in Andhra Pradesh's Warangal district after they grazed in Bt cotton fields.

Greenpeace demanded that the Agriculture Minister withdraw all permissions for commercial release of existing GE crops till the probe is completed.

The activists, dressed as cows and sheep and carrying a banner asking, ''Did GM Crops Kill Us?'' wanted to submit a memorandum to Mr Pawar, who was not available.

Placards depicting upturned cows and sheep with the question, ''Can GM crops kill?'' were laid out outside the Agriculture Ministry office.

Greenpeace genetic engineering campaigner Rajesh Krishnan said, ''The impact of GM technology on human health and biodiversity remains unpredictable, untested and irreversible. Despite this, the government is on the verge of approving large scale field trials of GM brinjal (eggplant) the first GM food crop in India." ''Indians will be the first people in the world to eat GM brinjal. It's vital that the Agriculture Ministry first address the question raised by the cows and sheep today ''Can GM Foods kill?'' he added.

Greenpeace expressed shock at the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee's (GEAC) decision to rely on reports from the state government instead of bringing in experts on bio safety.

The Agriculture Ministry's agreement to this decision (the Ministry is represented on the GEAC) indicates that the Ministry seems keen to promote GM crops, protecting corporate interests rather than the farmers of the country, a Greenpeace statement said here.

A fact finding report by the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Secunderabad indicates that the widespread death of sheep in April 2006 was closely linked to prolonged consumption of Bt cotton stalks and leaves that were left in fields after cotton had been harvested this season.

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