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recommended the limited release of Bt brinjal."° This October 2010. The GM technology used for the was reported and lauded by ISAAA.'® However, it was mosquitoes is owned and patented by Oxitec, an revealed that almost the entire section on Bt brinjal in | Oxford-based company which is a spin-off from the he report was copied verbatim from a GM crop _ University of Oxford.'“ Oxitec has genetically modified promoter's article.’ hese male mosquitoes so that once the males have New analysis outlining the risks of Bt brinjal has = mated with the wild female population, their progeny been submitted to the Supreme Court as part of the _ die in the larval stage, reducing the dengue-carrying ongoing public interest litigation on GM crops in Aedes aegypti population and thereby the prevalence o ndia.'” his mosquito-borne disease. This company is facing This scientific study highlights the risks of major financial difficulties,'” but the GM mosquito contamination of native crops and biodiversity, and program, if approved, could involve the repeated he risks of potentially increasing the prevalence of _ release of GM mosquitoes into the environment and pests. Bt brinjal could also have major negative socio- provide an ongoing revenue stream for the company. economic impacts on small-scale, resource-poor As the Malaysian land mass is not an isolated area brinjal farmers, as they would be forced into unfair and is connected to other countries (and mosquitoes competition with large-scale commercial brinjal do not recognise national borders), national and producers.’ international laws could be broken by the import and Seed corporations like Monsanto and Bayer are also release of GM mosquitoes, as such a trans-boundary carrying out field trials on herbicide-tolerant cotton movement of GMOs is governed by the Cartagena and maize, despite the Protocol on Biosafety.'” superweeds crisis that has In laboratory tests, it has unravelled in the USA.'” . . been revealed that about 34 This persistence of per cent of the offspring from Farmers Destroy DuPont GM . he male GM mosquitoes and Rice Trial Crop transgenes in the wild females survived, despite India has the world's largest environment means that being programmed to die. This area under rice cultivation and persistence of transgenes in grows around 4,000 different there could be unknown, he environment means that varieties." On 12 May 2010, possibly hazardous here could be unknown, he GMO regulatory body v possibly hazardous, GEAC granted permission for consequences. consequences. confined field trials for event selection on transgenic hybrid release GM male mosquitoes, rice to prepare for commercial which do not spread disease, is ybrid seed production by the US chemical based purely on separating the smaller male Furthermore, the plan to corporation DuPont.'” mosquitoes from the female larvae, which is open to GM rice trials were being carried out by DuPont in both human and mechanical error.'” Doddaballapur, in Karnataka, in collaboration with the Even if this experiment leads to a reduction in Aedes University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore. aegypti mosquitoes, it is feared that consequently there In November 2010, peasant farmers belonging to could be a proliferation of Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, arnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS), a leading which also transmit dengue and Chikungunya (another armers' organisation and a member of La Via __ disease similar to dengue fever). There are significant Campesina, took action and destroyed most of the — ethical concerns about submitting Malaysians and one-acre field-trial crop. The Vice President of KRRS _ their environment to such a risky experiment. said that the farmers will oppose open-air field trials of Oxitec was also behind the controversial GM GM crops as it is a first step to surrendering Indian mosquito trials in the Cayman Islands, which took agriculture to American multinational seed place without public disclosure during 2009 and 2010, corporations. He added that GM rice is a threat not —_ leading to UK and European Parliamentary scrutiny.'” only to farmers but also to the health and environment of all Indian citizens.'* Editor's Note Editor's Note This article is an edited extract from the February 20II report (issue 121), "Who Benefits from GM Crops: An Industry Built on Myths", published by the International Secretariat of Friends of the Earth International. Due to space constraints, we are unable to publish the complete report including endnotes. To see the original document, go to http://tinyurl.com/4ndgz5t. GM Mosquito Experiments in Malaysia Some 6,000 transgenic mosquitoes, developed to help fight dengue fever, were released in Malaysia on 21 December 2010.'" The Malaysian National Biosafety Board (NBB) approved the release of genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes on 5 26 * NEXUS APRIL - MAY 2011 This persistence of transgenes in the environment means that there could be unknown, possibly hazardous, consequences. www.nexusmagazine.com