Thousands of people in India killed by reckless Big Pharma drug trials

(NaturalNews) The second largest country in the world, India, has become a hotbed of pharmaceutical fraud, as unscrupulous drug companies, mostly from the West, continue to use India's generally poorer populations as human guinea pigs in unethical and flat-out inhumane clinical trials. And India's Supreme Court is finally taking action against this massive organized crime ring by ordering India's health ministry to justify its approval of 162 global clinical trials to take place in the country.

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Because it is a rapidly developing nation with lax regulatory protocols, India has been a primary target of the pharmaceutical cartel in its never-ending quest to dominate the medical systems of the world. Major drug companies have been largely successful in swindling the Indian government to approve trials for all sorts of "new chemical entities" (NCEs), many of which have been tested on rural Indians in poorer communities, where there is minimal access to proper medical care.

The situation has apparently gotten so out of control in India that several human rights advocacy groups have taken to the legal system for a remedy, filing a petition back in February pressuring government officials to take action. India's Supreme Court listened and, following a recent hearing, agreed to give the government an ultimatum that forces it to provide evidence backing the science behind its approval of these trials. The health ministry reportedly has just two weeks to comply with this order.

"Clinical trials of NCEs are being conducted without following proper protocol, and companies are taking advantage of poor people," says Amulya Nidhi, coordinator of Health Right Forum, a non-profit campaign seeking to end illegal and unethical drug trials in India.

The organization's website adds that an increasingly large number of clinical trials are taking place in the country with little oversight, which poses extreme risks for public health. This is evidenced by the fact that more than 1,500 Indian people died during clinical trials that took place just between the years of 2010 and 2012. And many more will follow them into their early graves, that is unless the government steps in now and stops multinational drug companies from preying on the less fortunate for massive financial gain.

"Trials of NCEs have fired controversy in India because of the high number of deaths that have occurred in the last few years," writes Dinsa Sachan for Chemistry World. "According to information from the health ministry, 1,542 deaths were reported in clinical trials between 2010 and 2012."

Doctors, leaders speak out against pharmaceutical corruption in India

Speaking on behalf of the common people of his country, C.M. Gulhati, editor of India's Monthly Index of Medical Specialties, told reporters that testing of NCEs in India "does not help the country." On the contrary, it only helps multinational drug companies "cut costs and avoid payment of compensation," a brave public admission.

Chinu Srinivasan, from the non-profit organization Low Cost Standard Therapeutics, agrees. He told reporters that Phase II and Phase III clinical trials for NCEs, which are the only ones currently allowed to take place in India, are incongruent with his country's social and political structure. Like many others, Srinivasan recognizes that India's current regulatory framework is severely lacking, which facilitates widespread abuse of the system by morally bankrupt pharmaceutical companies.

"We are concerned about and committed to the interests of the people," adds Nidhi about the purpose of her organization's campaign, noting that she and many others could not care less if drug companies incur losses as a result of an improved regulatory structure that protects the people of her country from being used and abused by Big Pharma.

Article source: naturalnews.com

Sources for this article include:

http://www.rsc.org

http://www.livemint.com

http://www.unethicalclinicaltrial.org

Indian Farmers Growing Record Yields With No GMO Crops or Pesticides

Image: permaculturenews.org

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by Justin Gardener

Contrary to claims by Monsanto and government conspirators, we can indeed meet the world’s hunger without the use of genetically modified seed and manufactured chemicals. Bumper crops of rice, potatoes, and wheat are being grown in India using methods of Agroecology.

Agroecology is a dynamic agricultural approach that uses scientific information and local knowledge to produce practical methods that are low-cost and ecologically sound. This is quite a contrast to the “one size fits all” approach of GMO crops and chemical inputs being peddled by Monsanto and friends.

A particular kind of agroecology called System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is being applied in India to produce the record-setting yields.

SRI was developed in the 1980’s in Madagascar by Fr. Henri de Laulanié, S.J. He sought to improve their agricultural systems without being dependent on external inputs, as poverty was a widespread problem. Fr. Laulanié established a non-governmental organization that began working with the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development in 1994.

Now, SRI “is being hailed as one of the most significant developments of the past 50 years for the world’s 500 million small-scale farmers and the two billion people who depend on them.”

SRI is basically a change in the management of plants, soil, water and nutrients for irrigated rice. Seedlings are planted at a younger stage and spaced farther apart to encourage greater root and canopy growth and to increase yield per plant. These principles have more recently been applied to other crops like wheat, sugar cane, and millet, where it is known as System of Crop Intensification (SCI).

Water is carefully managed and applied at precise stages. Organic matter such as composted manure is routinely introduced to maintain tilth and microbial development. Even the process of weeding contributes to soil improvements. A simple rotary hoe used at certain times puts decomposed weeds back into the soil, aerates the soil, and stimulates root growth by root pruning.

It is basically using resources more wisely. SRI and SCI offer a long-term, sustainable future of agriculture for no extra cost, instead of patented GMO seeds and proprietary chemicals to enslave farmers in debt.

“Farmers use less seeds, less water and less chemicals but they get more without having to invest more. This is revolutionary,” said Dr Surendra Chaurassa from Bihar’s agriculture ministry. “I did not believe it to start with, but now I think it can potentially change the way everyone farms. I would want every state to promote it. If we get 30-40% increase in yields, that is more than enough to recommend it.”

Movements are growing around the world to embrace sustainable, efficient, and localized systems of agriculture. There is growing resistance to the efforts of Monsanto, western governments, and billionaire bankrollers to shove GMO crops down the world’s throat. The realities of local economies and the increasing knowledge of informed citizens will overcome the GMO juggernaut.

Source: RealFarmacy.com

Vandana Shiva: 1 Billion Go Hungy Due To GMO Farming

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Image: BBC News

The phrase 'tree hugger' was coined back in the seventies when Vandana Shiva, along with a group of women in India, hugged trees to stop them from being chopped down. In the decades since, Vandana Shiva has become known throughout the world for her environmental campaigns. She says a billion people go hungry in the world because of the way greedy international companies go about their business. So is it a naïve world view or could we really end poverty and improve everyone’s life by returning to old fashioned ways of farming?



Credits
Interviewed Guest – Vandana Shiva
Presenter – Sarah Montague

Source: Raw For Beauty

Lone Indian Man Plants 1,360 Acre Jungle Over 30 Years

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A little over 30 years ago, a teenager named Jadav “Molai” Payeng began burying seeds along a barren sandbar near his birthplace in northern India’s Assam region to grow a refuge for wildlife. Not long after, he decided to dedicate his life to this endeavor, so he moved to the site where he could work full-time creating a lush new forest ecosystem. Incredibly, the spot today hosts a sprawling 1,360 acre of jungle that Payeng planted single-handedly.

It all started way back in 1979 when floods washed a large number of snakes ashore on the sandbar. One day, after the waters had receded, Payeng , only 16 then, found the place dotted with the dead reptiles. That was the turning point of his life.

“The snakes died in the heat, without any tree cover. I sat down and wept over their lifeless forms. It was carnage. I alerted the forest department and asked them if they could grow trees there. They said nothing would grow there. Instead, they asked me to try growing bamboo. It was painful, but I did it. There was nobody to help me. Nobody was interested,” says Payeng, now 47.

While it’s taken years for Payeng’s remarkable dedication to planting to receive some well-deserved recognition internationally, it didn’t take long for wildlife in the region to benefit from the manufactured forest. Demonstrating a keen understanding of ecological balance, Payeng even transplanted ants to his burgeoning ecosystem to bolster its natural harmony. Soon the shadeless sandbar was transformed into a self-functioning environment where a menagerie of creatures could dwell. The forest, called the Molai woods, now serves as a safe haven for numerous birds, deers, rhinos, tigers, and elephants — species increasingly at risk from habitat loss elsewhere.

Despite the conspicuousness of Payeng’s project, Forestry officials in the region first learned of this new forest in 2008 — and since then they’ve come to recognize his efforts as truly remarkable, but perhaps not enough.

“We’re amazed at Payeng,” says Assistant Conservator of Forests, Gunin Saikia. “He has been at it for 30 years. Had he been in any other country, he would have been made a hero.”

Source: Raw For Beauty