Indian farmers judge GM crops

Citizen Juries offer an innovative way of giving the poor and marginalised an opportunity to participate in decision making. Initiated by ActionAid, the first in a series of citizens' juries was held in Karnataka, India, with the aim of bringing the perspectives of the developing world's farmers to national and global debates about genetically modified (GM) crops. The jury was made up of 14 small farmers, representative of a region of poor and marginalised people likely to be directly affected by the introduction of GM crops. This document describes the outcomes and gives an analysis of the actual process, including an analysis of conclusions, a short history of citizens' juries and a response from Monsanto to the initiative. Some key points are made; lack of education or illiteracy does not equal incompetence or inferiority, rather the farmers were able to make informed and sophisticated judgements on highly technical matters.