57.
Rush To Control India’s Food Supply
Adisturbing trend in the food sector is accelerating worldwide with the emergence of the new “food barons”. There is no better way to control a country than to control its food supply. Indian government is brazenly siding with these demoniac forces and putting the country’s food supply up for grabs. Following reports may testify to this fact.
Clinton Gives GM Crops A Push
Though Hillary Avoided The Emotive Word GM, She Waxed Eloquent On Agri Tech Rumu Banerjee | Times of India, Jul 20, 2009
Food For Thought: Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at IARI in New Delhi
New Delhi: Days after the government said it was planning to introduce genetically modified food crops in the country in three years, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton gave a clear indication of the US administration's approval of deploying 'cutting-edge technology' to raise crop yields.
During her first visit to India as secretary of state,which included a strategic stop at the country's premier agriculture institute, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Clinton was vocal about the need to address the "root" of the problem of world hunger: Crop productivity. And helping increase crop yield would be cutting-edge technology, she claimed.
"India's leadership in agriculture is absolutely crucial,"Clinton said as she spoke at length on the US administration's focus on global hunger and malnutrition. Pledging to "work and support" Indian initiatives, Clinton added,"We have to work together. It is imperative that we invest in science that increases crop yield."
The remarks comes in the face of continued opposition to genetically modified food crops in India.
Clinton's statement at the Pusa institute, however, was clear about where the US administration stood on the issue. Talking about the Green Revolution that took place in India in the 1960s, she emphasized the need for close cooperation between the two countries again: This time, in agriculture and the use of technology in this field.
"India has 3% of the world's crop land but feeds 17% of the world's population. Its leadership in agriculture is crucial... we are looking at ways to accelerate in a short period of time the growth of productivity," Clinton said.
Asked about the US's commitment to GM crops, as opposed to the cautious stand taken by the EU, Clinton admitted,"We're looking at it in a holistic way, by being very vigilant about how we do it. "Interestingly, while the emphasis on technology in agriculture was more than apparent, Clinton avoided using the emotive word 'GM' throughout.
However, Clinton's visit -- which was to learn more about research done by IARI, helped by US funding, to develop seeds that give better productivity and crops that use less water as well as farm equipment that reduce production costs -- was indicative of the thrust on technology that US plans to give in the collaboration agreement that will be signed on Monday.
Speaking about the "five pillars of collaboration that India and US would be redefining", Clinton said agriculture was one of the "strongest pillars". Giving support to Clinton's statement was agriculture minister Sharad Pawar. "For India,a key priority is to trigger the next generation of reforms in the agrarian economy ... Our joint collaboration in frontier areas of research including biotechnology could make a significant contribution to the world," he said.
Accompanying Clinton was new US ambassador to India Timothy Roemer and special envoy on climate change Todd Stern as well as other senior officials. Also present were Dr Mangala Rai,DG,ICAR; Indian ambassador to US Meera Shankar, A K Upadhyay, special secretary, department of agriculture and education and H S Gupta, director, IARI.
During her first visit to India as secretary of state,which included a strategic stop at the country's premier agriculture institute, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Clinton was vocal about the need to address the "root" of the problem of world hunger: Crop productivity. And helping increase crop yield would be cutting-edge technology, she claimed.
"India's leadership in agriculture is absolutely crucial,"Clinton said as she spoke at length on the US administration's focus on global hunger and malnutrition. Pledging to "work and support" Indian initiatives, Clinton added,"We have to work together. It is imperative that we invest in science that increases crop yield."
The remarks comes in the face of continued opposition to genetically modified food crops in India.
Clinton's statement at the Pusa institute, however, was clear about where the US administration stood on the issue. Talking about the Green Revolution that took place in India in the 1960s, she emphasized the need for close cooperation between the two countries again: This time, in agriculture and the use of technology in this field.
"India has 3% of the world's crop land but feeds 17% of the world's population. Its leadership in agriculture is crucial... we are looking at ways to accelerate in a short period of time the growth of productivity," Clinton said.
Asked about the US's commitment to GM crops, as opposed to the cautious stand taken by the EU, Clinton admitted,"We're looking at it in a holistic way, by being very vigilant about how we do it. "Interestingly, while the emphasis on technology in agriculture was more than apparent, Clinton avoided using the emotive word 'GM' throughout.
However, Clinton's visit -- which was to learn more about research done by IARI, helped by US funding, to develop seeds that give better productivity and crops that use less water as well as farm equipment that reduce production costs -- was indicative of the thrust on technology that US plans to give in the collaboration agreement that will be signed on Monday.
Speaking about the "five pillars of collaboration that India and US would be redefining", Clinton said agriculture was one of the "strongest pillars". Giving support to Clinton's statement was agriculture minister Sharad Pawar. "For India,a key priority is to trigger the next generation of reforms in the agrarian economy ... Our joint collaboration in frontier areas of research including biotechnology could make a significant contribution to the world," he said.
Accompanying Clinton was new US ambassador to India Timothy Roemer and special envoy on climate change Todd Stern as well as other senior officials. Also present were Dr Mangala Rai,DG,ICAR; Indian ambassador to US Meera Shankar, A K Upadhyay, special secretary, department of agriculture and education and H S Gupta, director, IARI.
Agriculture To Be Pillar Of Us-India Cooperation: Clinton
Zeenews, July 19, 2009
New Delhi: Stating that India was well positioned to help it lead the fight against hunger, the US on Sunday said agriculture will be the strongest of the five pillars of cooperation the Obama administration was seeking with New Delhi.
“We will be announcing the five pillars of our cooperation (after talks tomorrow). And one of the strongest and most important will be agriculture,” US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters after a visit to the Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI), where she toured the agriculture research site.
Recalling 50 years of US-Indo partnership in agriculture, Clinton said, “We have to work together because it is imperative that we invest in science that will increase crop yields.”
“We have collaborated over more than 50 years and today we called to collaborate once again,” she said.
Areas of collaboration she highlighted included linking farms and markets so that farmers can sell their products, expanding the export of technology and training to bring more assistance to farmers, and strengthening the response to climate change, which threatens the waterways that sustain agriculture in many parts of the world including South Asia.
“We will be announcing the five pillars of our cooperation (after talks tomorrow). And one of the strongest and most important will be agriculture,” US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters after a visit to the Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI), where she toured the agriculture research site.
Recalling 50 years of US-Indo partnership in agriculture, Clinton said, “We have to work together because it is imperative that we invest in science that will increase crop yields.”
“We have collaborated over more than 50 years and today we called to collaborate once again,” she said.
Areas of collaboration she highlighted included linking farms and markets so that farmers can sell their products, expanding the export of technology and training to bring more assistance to farmers, and strengthening the response to climate change, which threatens the waterways that sustain agriculture in many parts of the world including South Asia.
Government Of The Criminals, By The Criminals, For The Criminals Latest reports state that 162 members of parliament in India (out of 545) have legal charges levied against them and are being investigated. There is a high level of criminalization in politics, which is now getting regularly exposed. A number of members of parliament were implicated in scams last year. This has put the government on a back foot and political parties are losing ground. In nutshell, Indian politics is tough and dirty.
Stating that hunger persists and affects the entire human conditions as well as peace, she said, “It would be a signature issue of the Obama administration to do what we can to fight hunger and extend food security. And India is well positioned to help us lead this fight.”
“The work has already begun clearly here, when I just saw scientists are developing seeds that produce higher yields, crops that require less water, farm equipment that conserve energy. All this is part of meeting the challenge we face with global hunger,” she said.
On possible areas of partnerships, Clinton said the two nations are working together to produce better seeds, hybrids that can grow with less water and new farming techniques.
“We have no limits on what we are going to be exploring together. But our goal is the same -- we want to improve agriculture productivity. We want to get more of agriculture dollar into the hands of the farmer. We want India to do more food processing and value added agriculture.
“The work has already begun clearly here, when I just saw scientists are developing seeds that produce higher yields, crops that require less water, farm equipment that conserve energy. All this is part of meeting the challenge we face with global hunger,” she said.
On possible areas of partnerships, Clinton said the two nations are working together to produce better seeds, hybrids that can grow with less water and new farming techniques.
“We have no limits on what we are going to be exploring together. But our goal is the same -- we want to improve agriculture productivity. We want to get more of agriculture dollar into the hands of the farmer. We want India to do more food processing and value added agriculture.
The so-called political leaders are busy making plans to advance the material prosperity of their nation, but factually these political leaders only want an exalted position for themselves. Due to their greed for material position, they falsely present themselves as leaders before the people and collect their votes, although they are completely under the grip of the laws of material nature. These are some of the faults of modern civilization. Without taking to God consciousness and accepting the authority of the Lord, the living entities become ultimately confused and frustrated in their planmaking attempts. Due to their unauthorized plans for economic development, the price of commodities is rising daily all over the world, so much so that is has become difficult for the poorer classes, and they are suffering the consequences. And due to lack of Krsna consciousness, people are being fooled by so-called leaders and planmakers. Consequently, the sufferings of the people are increasing. According to the laws of nature, which are backed by the Lord, nothing can be permanent within this material world; therefore everyone should be allowed to take shelter of the Absolute in order to be saved.
~ Srila Prabhupada (Srimad Bhagavatam 4.24.66)
“We are going to be working with India very closely. And I am excited about the potential that holds,” she said.
“So as we look at strengthening agriculture and fighting hunger particularly in South Asia, but also in Africa and elsewhere, India’s leadership is absolutely crucial. And the United States is today just as proud to work with and support India’s efforts as we were 50 years ago,” Clinton said.
Stating that the world has the resources to feed everyone, Clinton said, “Nonetheless, hunger persists; that is why the G-8 and other countries committed USD 20 billion to end global hunger.” The US has committed USD 3.5 billion to this effort. Clinton noted that research is a critical component in improving agriculture.
“So as we look at strengthening agriculture and fighting hunger particularly in South Asia, but also in Africa and elsewhere, India’s leadership is absolutely crucial. And the United States is today just as proud to work with and support India’s efforts as we were 50 years ago,” Clinton said.
Stating that the world has the resources to feed everyone, Clinton said, “Nonetheless, hunger persists; that is why the G-8 and other countries committed USD 20 billion to end global hunger.” The US has committed USD 3.5 billion to this effort. Clinton noted that research is a critical component in improving agriculture.
