GM mustard row crops up

Jayshree Sengupta

GENETICALLY modified (GM) mustard, or DMH11, has been developed by a team of scientists in Delhi University and may be granted permission to be grown in the forthcoming rabi season commercially, provided the Supreme Court allows it. Aruna Roderigues, a biotechnologist and activist, filed a case last year, seeking a stay on the commercial release of GM mustard. 

Recently, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) cleared GM mustard for commercial cultivation and sent it for the Environment Ministry’s approval. Bt Brinjal was also cleared for cultivation in 2010, but was stopped. For years, the GM controversy has occupied people’s minds in India. Most are either for or against GM food and many are unaware of what it is about. Yet it is something India has to decide fast because there are many severe problems in agriculture, especially related to climate change and rapid urbanisation which will require a quick solution. How to handle the burgeoning food problem? Many believe that by allowing GM food, India’s problems will be solved. 

GM food, however, is not an emotive or political issue and should be looked at from a purely scientific point of you. Everyone would agree that if such food is found to be causing tumours and cancers in rats, it should not be allowed. 

Those in favour point out that there is overwhelming evidence about the safety of GM food crops. But the controversy still rages. The vehement opposition from the RSS economic wing, Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, and the BKU are an important stumbling block. That GM food is safe for human consumption is quite visible from the fact that nearly all the corn and soyabean grown in the US and Canada are GM crops and people have been consuming these for decades. Many EU member countries, however, have banned GM crops outright, and so also have many countries in Africa. 

According to scientists, the human race has been selectively breeding crops and altering plant genomes for millennia. And for around 60 years,  scientists have been using mutagenic techniques to alter the DNA of plants through radiation and chemicals, creating new strains of wheat, rice, peanuts and pears that have become common. Nobody has objected to this practice so far. 

The GM technique is different. It enables scientists to insert into a plant’s genome a single gene or a few of them from another species of plant or even from bacterium, virus or an animal. This process can have long term effects which may not be visible at the present moment, but may unfold later. It is therefore better to keep a close eye on health and environmental impact and use more testing to determine its safety, especially when it is a food item consumed by a vast population.

According to Roderigues, GM crops contaminate nearby plants, endangering biodiversity. She has criticised GEAC for lack of transparency and that the agency did not share its full biosafety assessment of GM mustard publicly online, contrary to the government’s Central Information Commission which enforces the right to information. 

Those against have pointed out that GM crops create super weeds which are herbicide resistant and a threat to other crops. Another environmental issue is regarding the negative impact on non-target organisms, loss of conventional plants and ability of GM organisms to introduce engineered genes to native fauna as well as increased use of chemicals in agriculture. The harmful effects on human body, according to biotechnologist Pushpa Bhargava, are allergies and cancers in children as well as transferal of antibiotic resistant genes from GM foods to humans. 

 The big point in favour of the proposed commercialisation of mustard seed is that it has been developed by our own scientists and the question of royalty to a multinational firm like Monsanto will not arise.

Monsanto has withdrawn its application for seeking approval for its next generation of GM cotton seeds in India in August 2016. Its Bt cotton was the first GM crop allowed in India and Bollard I produced was given the go ahead in 2002. Monsanto, in 2006, released Bollard II. The introduction of Bt cotton increased the yield of cotton manifold — acreage and exports of cotton grew. Monsanto raked in a huge royalty ‘trait fee’ but when it was found that the cotton plant was again infested by pink bollworms, the government reduced the royalty and ordered a cap on the prices of Bt cotton seeds which was unacceptable to Monsanto’s Indian joint venture, Mahyco Monsanto Biotec. 

If the commercialisation of mustard seed does take place, it will open a new era of GM food crops in India which could be drought and pest resistant and also have higher yields. GM mustard is supposed to increase productivity by 30 per cent. India does need an agricultural revolution as the sector is facing low productivity, susceptibility to drought and pest attacks. These problems have led to low incomes of farmers who get into a debt trap as crops fail, causing hardships and suicides. Prime Minister Modi has promised a doubling of incomes which may be difficult if the problems in agriculture are not solved. Niti Aayog has been in favour of GM crops to increase the yield per acre of several crops, but mustard has had a bountiful harvest last year. Our dependence on oil imports have been caused because of cheap imports of palm oil and the consequent diversion of land under oil seeds to other crops. Many scientists have questioned the claim that GM crops have higher yields and are sustainable over time. 

As there is considerable amount of uncertainty regarding the impact of GM food on the environment, insects and animals, the decision of allowing GM mustard has to be weighed carefully. There has to be clear evidence about the safety of GM foods in India. The questions also arise about having GM seed banks and their preservation. The BJP manifesto (2014) was clear about this: ‘GM foods will not be allowed without full scientific evaluation on the long-term effects on soil, production and biological impact on consumers’. Thus people should be made fully aware of all the pros and cons of GM foods and should be consulted before any decision is taken because they have a right to know what they eat.