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Why Not to Grow GM Crops?
Context:
There are several criticisms associated with GM crops and its commercial production has been one of the most persisting public policy debates in India.
GMO and Environmental Contamination
- GMOs are self- regulating organisms and through gene flow it leads to genetic contamination of the environment
- The genetic contamination of wild species and non- GM crops cannot be reversed or remedied.
- It is argued that the seed stock will get contaminated at the molecular level.
- Environmentalists have argued that the toxicity caused by GM crops will remain in perpetuity
GMO and Health Impacts
- Effects of GM crops on human health can be unpredictable.
- The health impacts of GMO only appear in the long run.
- Glyphosate, that is considered as one of the safest herbicide, has been categorized as “probable carcinogen” by the World Health Organization
- There has been evidence from Argentina of the horrifying birth defects because of Glyphosate used in herbicide-tolerant (HT) soybeans.
GM Crop Technology: Unsustainable
- The myth that GM crop technology “will feed the world” is fading rapidly.
- At present GMO comprises just two products, Bt (e.g. Bt cotton) and HT crops (HT mustard)
- These account for nearly 99% of GMOs planted worldwide.
- Based on empirical evidences (including India’s Bt cotton), both the products have been proven unsustainable technologies
Going Against Evidence: Problem with regulatory institutions in India
- Regulatory institutions are neither independent nor rigour
- There is serious lack of expertise in risk assessment
- There is lack of transparency in the regulatory processes
- In India, all the safety tests for regulatory approvals are conducted by the same party that applies for commercialisation of GM crops.
- Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee’s (GEAC) refusal to publicly release the safety testing data submitted for regulatory approval of BT Brinjal and GM Mustard, until GM opponents filed a Right to Information petition has further worsen the concern over transparency.
Way Ahead
- India should learn lessons from the history of hazardous technologies, DDT, asbestos, etc.
- The traits for disease, saline and drought resistance, yield, etc. are found in nature, not biotech labs.
- India should maintain its still-rich genetic diversity for the future of its agriculture.
“You cannot insert a gene you took from a bacteria into a seed and call it life. You haven’t created a life, instead you have polluted it”–Vandana Shiva
KNOW ABOUT Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)
- The GEAC is established under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change
- GEAC is the apex body for the approval of activities involving large-scale use of hazardous microorganisms and recombinants
Functions
- To permit the use of GMOs and products thereof for commercial applications.
- To adopt producers for restriction or prohibition, production, sale, import & use of GMOs both for research and applications under Environmental Protect Act (EPA).
- To approve for conduct of large scale field trials, evaluation of large scale field trial data and final approval for release of transgenic crop into the environment.
- To authorize large scale production and release of GMOs and products thereof into the environment.
- To authorize agencies or persons to have powers to take punitive actions under the EPA.