| | 14/March/24
| | India: Karnataka farmers protest proposed field trials of GM maize and cotton The Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha – one of the largest peasant unions in South India – has voiced opposition to the decision of the State Biotechnology Coordination Committee to grant a no-objection certificate (NOC) for conducting field trials of GM cotton and maize varieties from 2024 to 2026. This certificate sets the stage for the country’s regulatory body, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee, to approve field trials for Rallis India Ltd, a subsidiary of Tata Chemicals. Rallis is involved in the production and marketing of agricultural inputs, including pesticides, fungicides, insecticides, seeds, and plant growth nutrients. The commercialisation of GM cotton in 2002 is often cited as a reminder of how small-scale farmers lost autonomy over their crops and seeds, leading to increased corporate control over agriculture. The KRRS has reiterated this concern, highlighting the disappearance of native cotton varieties from traditional cotton-growing areas of Karnataka following the introduction of Bt cotton. They noted that this monopoly has deprived cotton farmers of their freedom to choose their seeds, as they are now reliant on private seed companies every year for sowing seeds. La Via Campesina Bayer in the weeds over Monsanto's Roundup Philadelphia Judge James Crumlish III dug Bayer’s Monsanto into the weeds last month. Along with rejecting Monsanto’s challenge to a $175 million Roundup verdict, he had harsh words regarding the company’s trial tactics, calling its performance indignant and self-promotional. And he dished out more punishment by awarding $2.3 million in delay damages to plaintiff Ernest Caranci. About a month after Monsanto failed to kick Judge Crumlish off the case by arguing that the $175 million verdict in Caranci v. Monsanto was the result of a litany of errors from plaintiffs counsel and the court, he got even. “Aggressively blaming the court and plaintiff’s counsel for the outcome as opposed to the ineffectiveness of defendant’s trial tactics, strategic choice of trial witnesses, cross examinations or proffered defense evidence outcome is hardly a compelling basis for the court to overturn this jury’s decision,” Crumlish ruled. LawyersandSettlements.com Sick because of Roundup? These bills could make suing impossible Bayer is lobbying state legislatures to shield it from future lawsuits and to annul at least some of the 50,000 claims that are currently active. Since January, bills to shield pesticide manufacturers from lawsuits have been filed in three states where Bayer has a major corporate presence: Missouri (where Monsanto is headquartered), Idaho (where it has a phosphate mine), and Iowa (where it has a manufacturing plant). Daniel Hinkle, an attorney with the American Association for Justice, who works with trial lawyer associations throughout the country, predicted that if these bills succeed, Bayer will push similar legislation in a number of other states next year. New Republic Traces of weedkiller found in urine of 7 in 10 pregnant women in Indiana, new study says Pregnant women in Indiana have increasing amounts of potentially harmful weedkillers in their bodies, according to a new study published last month. The study found 7 of 10 pregnant women tested between 2020 and 2022 had traces of an herbicide called dicamba in their urine. That number is up from 2.5 in a similar analysis a decade ago. Not only did more women have dicamba in their systems, concentrations of the weedkiller in their urine had risen by more than four times. The study of more than 150 women revealed every woman also had traces of 2,4-D, another potentially dangerous weedkiller, in their urine. That was the same finding from 10 years ago, but there was no significant increase in the concentration levels for that weedkiller. “If it’s in mom’s urine, then it’s in mom’s blood,” Dr David Haas, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at IU School of Medicine as well as an author on the study, said. “And if it’s in mom’s blood, then it’s at least gotten to the placenta." IndyStar We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible by readers’ donations. Please support our work with a one-off or regular donation. Thank you! __________________________________________________________ Website: http://www.gmwatch.org
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