With the National Science day just a week away, the campus was bustling with activity. There were a number of events lined up in honor of it. Of course, there was enthusiasm, and why not? The Science Department had all reasons to celebrate. There were suggestions for seminars and presentations- “Scientific innovations that changed our lives”- Green Revolution because it gave India food, Genetic Engineering that gave us resistant crops, High Yielding Varieties that improved the agricultural produce, Immunization that saved millions and so and so forth.
A rude epiphany hits me every time I chance upon such talks, especially one given by a Professor, and as a casual observer, one can tell that it easily fits into the mold of an ‘eulogy’. But the truth is that we catch but a facet of these scientific achievements through whatever is being told and often taught. There’s some very reprehensible data out there revealing rather disconcerting unconventional facts and figures and if you were to mull over them dispassionately, you would be astounded at their being even referred to anything close to an ‘achievement’ or ‘success’.
The Big Lie and Big Omission (propaganda techniques) have so insidiously crept into our syllabi, that it is often hard to distinguish education from propaganda. There’s a fine line between the two. There should be a balance between facts and that which is taught in classrooms. When this balance ceases to exist, as it does when facts are represented ‘selectively’, education verges on propaganda and the first step to ‘brainwashing’ is to ‘limit’ the data available to the reader. As a student, you know it is propaganda when the information given to you does not complement with what you find out on self-enquiry and it strikes you like a thunderbolt because your brain had been primed all these years to agree with those ‘generalizations’ and ”allness” statements, and now it appears to have been some pointless drivel that deflected ‘truth’ all along.
There is no harm in propagating the utility of science. The problem arises when the balance is tilted too heavily on one side with a complete lack of concern for more ‘ethical’ aspects like possible irreversible horrendous effects or ‘misuse’ of science itself by corporate mischief mongers.
Perhaps it is hard to be aware due to the misinformation tsunami but the Green Revolution & GM crops have been a major cause of crop failure & escalating suicides by farmers all over the world. In the face of reality, the argument and favor for GM and High Yielding Varieties has the depth of a shot glass. A Delhi-based academic, Santosh Singh, even goes on to describe Green Revolution as ‘the worst thing to happen.‘ And, he has a point. What is often guarded and never mentioned, is that the ‘initial’ increase in agricultural output in ‘some’ states, came at a heavy price- increased water usage leading to scarcity, increased susceptibility to pests and diseases, increased pesticide use, increased soil salinity, exorbitant cost of GM seeds, increased input cost of agriculture, leading farmers into the ‘death trap of money lenders.’ According to Dr. Mae-WanHo, ‘Official records underestimate the real extent of suicides‘ which ‘worsened’ after 2002, the year GM was introduced in India. Monsanto, in a joint venture with an Indian seed company promoted BT cotton using some rather aggressive propaganda of high yield promises.
SAGE (Southern Action of Genetic Engineering), observed that the ‘seeds were found to be good for an initial boost in production for one or two years, after which there was consistent failure.’ Some even go on to name BT cotton as a ‘terrible tragedy’ due to reports of 100% failure of crop in the fields from ailing farmers. They also claimed to have witnessed a ‘rise in mortality and infertility rates in cattle’ fed on BT fodder, revealing how the rhetoric of genetic manipulation deliberately slurs over the utter failure of BT crops. For a full breakdown on the disaster of GM crops head to Lim Li Ching’s study on ‘How GM crops destroy the Third World’. A former Pro-GMO scientist, Thierry Vrain, explains, “The whole paradigm of the genetic engineering technology is based on a misunderstanding. Every scientist now learns that any gene can give more than one protein & that inserting a gene anywhere in a plant eventually creates rogue proteins. Some of these proteins are obviously allergenic or toxic.” Keeping all the supposedly arcane information refuting GM safety aside, it seems the only sector to have really achieved ‘something’ was the seed and pesticide industry.
There are a plethora of studies that confute the credibility of vaccinations. Observations of historical data reveal declining mortality and morbidity rates even before vaccination schedules were imposed on a large scale. The decrease was attributed to an increased personal and environmental hygiene rather than the miracle of immunization. In fact, when vaccines were introduced, the graphs showed more soft peaks in the case of Pertussis, and higher cases of mortality during vaccination against Diphtheria. England decreased its smallpox mortality rate significantly (between 1882 and 1908) by ‘abandoning vaccination’- ‘its survival rates soared & smallpox death rates plummeted.’ More people died in ‘vaccinated’ areas due to the vaccine itself than in the ‘unvaccinated’ areas. ‘On any scientific analysis of history and data, crediting smallpox vaccine for the decline in smallpox appears misplaced,” says Dave Mihalovic, a naturopathic doctor specializing in vaccine research. Viera Sceibner’s study of smallpox reveals a remarkable increase in encephalomyelitis post vaccination, with the highest incidence in England, Germany, and Holland. Another study done by a Medical University in Poland aims barbs at the safety of vaccines. Mandatory vaccination schedules, it says, ‘on one hand provides many benefits & on the other carries an increased risk of side effects, the immuno-pathogenesis of which is not fully explained in many cases.’ They explain the development of ‘systemic autoimmunity’ due to ‘over-stimulating the host’s immune system by repeated immunization’ in the ‘critical periods of brain development’ in infants and children. Further studies reveal the presence of Thimerosal- a mercuric compound- in vaccines which is known to be associated with neuro and cardiotoxicity. Apparently, there has been a rise in psychoneurological diseases over the past two decades, with possible relation to the high dose of vaccines. There have been cases of SUD (Sudden Unexpected Death) post vaccination and increase in Autism (Geier et al. 2004) in children in the US since. Their study concludes, “…if there is a probable, although poorly known, risk of adverse effects of new technology, it is better not to implement it rather than risk uncertain but potentially very harmful consequences.”
What makes this rather orthodox argument appear to be a ‘heresy’ is the clever use of questionable statistics and well-orchestrated ‘pandemic campaigns’. The technique of ‘maximum damage from problem & minimum damage from solution’ used by biostatisticians has captured the public and framed the debate to be one of ‘solution vs problem’ rather than the health-risks associated with the proposed solution. Studies as mentioned above are proving to be a massive source of anxiety for the current ‘big pharma’ and the mainstream medicine, that restricts such evidence from leeching out into the public.
There is another ugly flipside to it- illegal testing of vaccines. Pictures of Bill and Melinda Gates (the Microsoft guy) or that of celebrities going around vaccinating children is a cynical ploy to maximize their emotive impact. The Gates foundation has been accused of conducting illegal tests on tribal children in India. In the Chad vaccine disaster in Africa, children were force-vaccinated, and ‘after being shuttled around like cattle, many of these sick, weak children were finally dumped back in their village without a diagnosis.’ What’s more is that ‘the vaccine program was hailed a success’ which was supported by WHO, UNICEF and PATH. And, the list is endless- including ‘polio vaccines causing more deaths and disabilities in regional countries.’
It gets worse when you learn the same ‘humanitarian’ Gates foundation has also been investing in Monsanto, which is perhaps the world’s most hated GM giant. From creating a havoc in the agricultural sector of the world to the manufacture of deadly military chemicals like Agent Orange used in the Vietnam war or the White Phosphorus in the Gaza Massacre, it has its dirty hands everywhere.
There is no harm in propagating the utility of science. The problem arises when the balance is tilted too heavily on one side with a complete lack of concern for more ‘ethical’ aspects like possible irreversible horrendous effects or ‘misuse’ of science itself by corporate mischief mongers. The magnitude and urgency of these dangers calls for ‘ethically-based’ scientific knowledge that comes with a dose of caution and some truth.
As for those who continue to eulogize science, please rein in your enthusiasm. That’s the last thing humanity needs today.
