The Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) bill has been introduced in Parliament again.[1] This dangerous bill will create a body that will single-handedly allow the entry of genetically modified (GM) crops into our country.
We’ve stopped this bill for three years, and now the government has introduced it on the sly. Our demand is the same. Minister of Science and Technology, Jaipal Reddy, who introduced this bill, needs to drop this bill right now.
You should ask Jaipal Reddy to drop the BRAI bill because it poses a threat to our food safety.
Farmers, scientists and over four lakh people have been opposing the BRAI bill. Opposition was seen inside Parliament as well. Minister Jaipal Reddy is receiving fax messages already and soon he’ll start getting your emails with the same demand. All this will encourage him to act.
The BRAI bill is riddled with faults.[2] There is no provision for proper a safety assessment of GM crops. It overrides the Right to Information Act and does not allow people to question its decision. It looks like BRAI is being created to shove GM food onto our plates.
This fight to keep our food safe has been won by us before. We’ve been successful in keeping away GM food from our country for ten years! Our massive opposition resulted in a moratorium on Bt brinjal.[3]We even stalled BRAI for three years. So let’s do this once again.
Ask Minister Jaipal Reddy to drop the BRAI bill now!
Thanks!
Neha Saigal
Greenpeace India
Consumer Resources 