Link to Slideshow: http://bit.ly/1TIk9bQ

GMO Biopiracy of Banana – Connecting the dots…

Nature has given us a cornucopia of biodiversity rich in nutrients. The destruction of our biodiversity has resulted in Malnutrition and nutrient deficiency. As industrial agriculture based on monocultures spread, biodiversity from our farms and food disappeared. It is the destruction of biodiverse rich cultivation and diets that has led to a malnutrition crisis. The Green Revolution in India spread monocultures of chemical rice and wheat, driving out biodiversity from our farms and diets. And what survived as spontaneous crops — like amaranth greens (chaulai) and chenopodium (bathua) that are rich in iron — were sprayed with poisons and herbicides. Instead of cherishing them as iron- and vitamin-rich gifts, these vegetables were treated as “weeds”.
The latest insanity is the controversial projects funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: the development and testing of a biofortified GMO banana developed to boost its iron, Vitamin E and proVitamin A content. The declared purpose is to roll out nutritional benefits across the tropics, but initially to India, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda. (http://sustainablepulse.com/2013/05/02/campaign-launched-to-stop-bill-gates-funded-gmo-bananas/#.VWG8dot5efQ)

“First the GMO industry said they would reduce chemical use through Bt-Ht GMOs that were supposed to control pests and weeds. Chemical use increased, and GMO Bt cotton is plagued by pests, herbicide tolerant crops are being overtaken by super weeds.
The industry is now trying to save itself with the promise of GMO “super bananas” to deal with Vit A deficiency. As Mantasa’s research* has shown, the super banana is based on Biopriracy of Vit A rich indigenous bananas.
We don’t need more false claims of GMOs based on piracy of indigenous biodiversity and knowledge.
The GMO banana project based on biopiracy must stop”.

Vandana Shiva

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LINKS

In Focus — Events and Actions — Articles

In Focus

57,000 signatures Petition

When a banana is much more than a banana

By Ahna Kruzic, Angie Carter and Rivka Fidel – Food First, 7 March 2016
“ISU students recently delivered 57,309 petition signatures to ISU in conjunction with a parallel delivery to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle by AGRA Watch and the Community Alliance for Global Justice.”

AFSA Open Letter Opposing Human Feeding Trials Involving GM Banana

10 December 2014

No Gmo Banana Republic – Stop Banana Biopiracy!

An Open Letter to QUT’s Dr James Dale, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Convention on Biological Diversity
Mantasa, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia, October 2014

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RFSTE_Banana Booklet

Events and Actions

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No GMO Banana Campaign at Iowa State University

March 2015

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Fraley Lecture Opposition – Iowa, USA

15 October 2014

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No Gmo Banana at Bhoomi 2014

1st October 2014

Letter to Prime Minister of India – Petition

May 2013

Navdanya “GMO Banana” Campaign

1 May 2013

ARTICLES/NEWS

ABC Austraila Interwiew on GMO Banana

Yes, We Need No GMO Bananas

By Eric Holt Gimenez – Huffington Post, 17 March 2016

Gates Foundation: stop ‘biopirated’ GMO banana feeding trials

By Vanessa Amaral-Rogers – The Ecologist, 17 February 2016

ISU still plans GMO banana trial, despite controversy

The Des Moines Register, 17 February 2016

Over 57,000 Express Concern with Human Feeding Trials of GMO Bananas

Food First, 11 February 2016

Say No To GMO Bananas in Hawaii & Biopiracy News

MauiHawaiiTheWorld, 25 October 2015

Appeal to stop GMO Banana tests in Hawaii

Babes against Biotech, 24 October 2015

Letter: Jeopardizing ISU student’s health and Uganda’s future?

Ames Tribune, 20 September 2015

Controversy over banana scientist

By Daniel Bateman – The Cairns Post, 28 May 2015

Women and Biodiversity Feed the World, Not Corporations and GMOs

By Dr Vandana Shiva – Common Dreams, 20 May 2015

Amazing Moringa: Medicinal, Edible & Easy to Grow

By Ansel Oommen – Permaculture Magazine, 23 January 2015

US Human Trials of GM Banana for Africa Widely Condemned

Alliance for Food Sovereingty in Africa (AFSA) – 10 December 2014

Why is Bill Gates backing GMO red banana ‘biopiracy’?

by Adam Breasley & Oliver Tickell – The Ecologist, 24 November 2014

GMO-Bananas are Going Into Human Trials – Why This Won’t End Well

by Max Goldberg – Living Maxwell, 22 June 2014

ISU researcher to test altered bananas

The Des Moines Register, 2 August 2014

Campaign Launched to Stop Bill Gates’ Funded GMO Bananas

Sustainable Pulse, 2 May 2013

Feeding the hungry or the greedy?

by Ilya Gridneff – The Global Mail

SOCIAL MEDIA