The Global Politics of FoodEngineering Crops in a Needy World
SLIDESHOWS
The Farmer Who Sold His Kidney
Venkat Reddy was so desperate he saw only two terrible choices: to die or merely sell a piece of his body.
Food in India
At a sprawling food market in the South Indian city of Bangalore, vendors display a colorful array of fruits and vegetables.
  Listen to excerpts of a speech by Manju Sharma, Director of the Indian government's Department of Biotechnology.
Farmers March
September 26, 2000, Bangalore. The polarized, politicized debate over genetically modifed (GM) crops in India is on full display. For many of those most active in the fight, the dispute is tied to deep divisions over India's place in the global economy.
  Listen to a sound montage.
Agribusiness Meeting
September 26, 2000, Bangalore. While in one part of the city farmers march to protest government farm policy and the proposed introduction of genetically-modified (GM) seeds, the Asia-Pacific Seed Association gathers at a hotel for its annual meeting. Agribusiness representatives from all over Asia browse exhibit booths and renew acquaintances.
Monsanto Research Center, Bangalore
"No doubt Monsanto is an American company," says T.M. Manjunath, Director of the Monsanto Research Center in Bangalore, "but people who are working in India for Monsanto, we are all Indians here." If Manjanath sounds defensive, it may be because his company has become the biggest lightning rod for anti-GM activism in India.
  Listen to excerpts from T.M. Manjunath interview.
Suman Sahai
Suman Sahai is a rare find. Most people active in India's debate over genetically engineered crops take one extreme position or the other: GM seeds will either save Indian farmers from poverty or trap them in dependency on multinational corporations.
  Listen to an interview excerpt.
Vandana Shiva
One of India's most outspoken opponents of genetically-modified crops, Vandana Shiva heads the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Natural Resource Policy in New Delhi.
  Listen to an interview excerpt.
C.S. Prakash
C.S. Prakash has spent the last ten years gene-splicing a more nutritious sweet potato. In the last couple of years he's also emerged as one of the most active spokesmen on behalf of GM crops. A native of Bangalore, India, Prakash is now a plant geneticist and head of the Center for Plant Biotechnology at Tuskegee University in Alabama.
  Listen to an interview excerpt.
Farm Village
Chikka Sabenahally is a village of 30 families - about 200 people - a one-hour bus ride from the South Indian city of Bangalore. Far more than the nation's teeming cities, this village reflects life for most of India's one billion people. Seventy percent are subsistence farmers who own or rent just a few acres. For many, hunger is just one failed crop away.
  Listen as farmers are asked about GM crops.
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