Please find below a representative sampling of submissions from November, 2000 - February, 2001. Some submissions have been edited for length. Only those submissions which were not accompanied by a name, location, and valid e-mail address have been omitted.

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Yes, Indian agriculture should definitely improve. One of the clear cut ways is Biotechnology. But no single player should monopolise the market. The real social cause to develop the farming community should be motive behind developing transgenic crops. If bringing in transgenic crops is only for profit motive and to attain super power status in the Indian agriculture industry then Itruly oppose biotechnology coming through multinational companies. Let the Indian National agricultural universities and the Government bring the technology. Nothing bothers eventhough it is going to be too too late. Let India have a slow and steady growth in Agricultural biotechnology. This is my view. Kindly send me the feed back.

India should immediately change its negative opinions about Biotechnology and come forward to grow food crops of Biotechnology origin ( Including GM Foods ). Biotechnology is the only weapon and only hope against poverty in India.

I strongly beleive that India should play a leading role in biotechnology. Any change is very painful,but if we do not change we shall never grow. Even if there are some disadvantages in the new tachnology we can never know if we do not experiment.I beleive humanbeings in general and Indians particularly are very averse to change. We would rather be comfortable and do what we already know rather than take risks on developing new technologies. I beleive that the only reason that USA is so prosperous and powerful today is because Americans are very innovative and keep on seeking new frontiers.

The previously so called "Franken foods" has tremendously increased the productivity levels of various food crops all over the world, without any appreciable risk to the consumers. When the whole world is being benefited, why deprive the Poor Indian Farmer? Genetic variation is a natural phenomenon and has been taking place for thousands of years, while man has manipulated the same for the mankind. Genetic modification is an inherant feature in evolution and can help tens of millions of people both go to sleep with food in their stomachs and wake up in cleaner environment. So the bottomline is very clear- embrace the technology which is useful to the mankind.

In a country where 1800 farmers have committed sucides because they could not control bolworm on cotton, it is crime we are not allowing farmers to use genetic seeds to control bolworms. We should immediately allow farmers to use this seeds and be safe from pesticides.

Yes, India must allow the use of Biotechnology to its farmers. Govt should not bring restrictions on its use. Let farmers decide whether to accept it or not.

India must adopt the transgenic crops to meet the needs of highly exploded population as the situation in India is quite similar to China. Of course, research work regarding its impact on various aspects such as human and animal health, environment, and hereditary effects must be done.

In India government can not force formers to cultivate any specific transgenic plants. Even people who are educated is not willing to buy any transgenic products. So first government should make people aware of transgenic products importance, without this it is waste to ask formere to follow transgenic seeds or plants.

Yes, of course India should take on step towards bringing Biotechnology to the farmers. The population of India is growing at a pase and it would be difficult to sustain with the present hybrid crops. The GM seeds are more in yield and resistant to many insect pest and diseases. Thus Biotechnology is the only solution left to cope up with heavy demand of food grains.

Yes, India should follow the same in order to get high yields; moreover the seeds which can be made resistance. Also, large amounts of money is wasted after insecticides can be saved.

Greetings, I personally feel that whatever biotechnological oriented application related trangenic crop are produced it should reach the resource poor farmers for the benefit of not only the farmers but throughout the nation. To the best of my knolwedge I strongly suggest that India should follow China in bringing the transgenic to the farmers and to the field for the welfare for the whole nation. Thank you.

I am scientist and teacher for the past 34 years. I have extensive practical experience in teaching and research work in USA labs from 1980 onwards. I myself am involved in producing transgenic plants of commercial importance. I have the moral and ethical responsibility as a scientist and as a responsible pragmatic and enlightened citizen. I know what I am doing and what I am talking about.
For millions of years biological systems have gone through genetic experimentation and transferred genes among themselves and produced new variations. Such genetic transfers is not an everyday affair, but it has happened very infrequently - perhaps once in a half a million years for one species or so. Mutation is another contributing factor. Ask the greens, how we would have arrived on this planet without such transgenic process. Perhaps God, even God has to do this transfer of DNA to create a new species or he might have used this technology, as some Christian "creationists" (a new breed of incompoops) to create human species.
The fear of transfer genes to other systems, naturally is totally unfounded. For example, different plants have grown near to each other for many centuries. Have these people ever found any new species in their backyard? They never find for they don't look beyond, because they are blinkered and blinded or green eyed with jaundice. Nature has already provided that kind of genetic barrier to prevent promiscuous transfers. Teach these god-damn areses the reproductive genetics!
I and you, including Vandana shiva and Nanjundaswamy and other idiots in Europe, are eating fresh vegetables, fruits and what not. Every fruit , every cell of the fruit and vegetables, meat and what not,contains the whole genomes, and we are consuming grams and grams of foriegn DNA day in and day out. If we have undergone tranformation or developed into new species, it should only be possible with that idiot SPEILBERG and his films. This fellow has created great fears among the world's population, by showing Dinosaurs as a manifestation of DNA based on the transformation of animals. If third world countries like INDIA, China and other nations do not embrase and utilise and biotech practice (especially in agriculture), nothing will stop worldwide starvation and devastation. Even USA and advanced coutries cannot prevent it and possibly they will also be greatly affected. If all others die what do they do without third world countries - for they are depending upon them for business, and money. Ultimately their economy is tied up with third world countries' developmenmt.
These idiots will not be there to see such catclysmic events. India has to develop and adopt biotech with care and caution. It is time that our Indian scientists to come out tell politicians and the world what is a fact and what is the fiction. After I go back to INDIA I am going on a mission to spread the good of Biotech and the bad about it as well , and choose what is good . We have to make consistant efforts in this regard. I have already made the begining of this effort at where I teach and wherever I get a chance to speak in the public platform.
I am going to do it. We require people . more people to do it. Once it is repeated at all levels and continous repetition, a kind of communist like propaganda, it makes the people wake up from their slumber and realise and accept it as a neccessity.
I can go on making comments forever, but for now it is enough. Please tell VANDANA SHIVA and NANJUNDASWAMY go to hell, if not go to HIMALAYA and graze the grass. Fools should know what they eat is what they get out of it.

I think that India should embrace the biotech industry, but only purchase products that have been proven to be safe. This course of action India may be able to save its people from the starvation that will set in if no action is taken. India has a choice to make, and I hope they make the right one.

India should give more impetus to biotechnology just it had done to the software industry.It is one of the option available to feed the millions of hungry people in our country. India should follow chinia's example in this regard.

Respected Sir,
Definitely India has to make quick decision as China has taken allready. As India is member of WTO, it has to make certain quick decisions to compete with other coutries. Anyway, later we will accept such policies. Why can't now?

Monsanto and other GM firms continue to bombard the public with scientific studies that show that GM foods are not harmful. However, the scale of this change is so large that any error can result in catastrophe on earth. GM foods may be needed, but they are no substitute for birth control, and social equality programs. They are only a temporary solution with a huge risk involved if things go wrong.

If we want to overcome problem of Hunger & Malnutrition, we should immediately bring Biotechnology to our farmers. In other words, either we grow more by bringing Biotechnology or we put check on the ever growing population.

The need varies between countries. India is posed in a situtation wherein we badly need to adapt some or the other form of technology to enhance our current food production. At he same from the Amarya Sen welfare Economics point of view THERE IS NO FOOD SHORTAGE AT ALL IN THE WORLD, THERE IS ONLY A SHORTAGE OF GOOD DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD. Keeping in view both the scientific and the economic consequences of Biotechnology and its adaptation in full swing, India does not have a lot of choice but just take up biotechnology in the best of its interest and economy. If people in India do not realise, then we have to tell them that US and EU have decided to go pumping money into GMO with the sole hope that India, China followed by Australia will use it and by seeing that EU will join at a later stage.
There is no choice but to take up, so the discussion has to be titled differently i guess.

I think India should not follow China to bring the biotechnology to farms. It is not only harmful to the environment but also for the future balance of the ecosystem. We gotta remember that even technological development is strogn, we can not be able to be stronger than natural power. We can not control nature what will make happen for us in the future. I mean disasters such as flood, tornado, drought etc will happen without control of human and they can destroy every living things on the earth. We should communicate environment very properly and keep the balance. If we loose the balance it is hard to get back and we will destroy ourselves eventually. The GMO-s are useful for only short term goals reduction of pesticides, but in the long run we are detroying our own lives. Everything is created by reason and there is very complez cohesion and connection between everything, by interrupting this sophisticated process we are making very dangerous mistake that can harm all living things in this universe.