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GM Mustard: Need or Disaster

It can be said that in the country where there is no need for GM foods, the permissions given to them under the pressure of foreign powers can cause huge damage to the country’s agriculture, environment, health and exports. — Dr. Ashwani Mahajan

 

On October 18, 2022, a committee of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee, that is, GEAC, has once again recommended, the introduction of DMH-11, a variety of GM mustard, in the farmers’ fields. It is worth noting that earlier in May 2017 also GEAC had given its green signal to the same variety. But due to intense opposition from farmers and scientists, the government did not approve the recommendations of GEAC. It is being said that this variety has been developed by Prof Deepak Pental and is completely ‘Swadeshi’. It is also being claimed that this GM mustard will give 26 percent more yield. It is also being said that the production of edible oils in the country is extremely deficient, due to which the country is losing valuable foreign exchange in imports of edible oil. It is also being claimed that GM mustard is safe for consumers, farmers and the environment.

But the falsehood of these claims of GEAC is becoming clear from the fact that GEAC itself has imposed certain conditions while allowing GM mustard, which proves that GEAC itself is not convinced about the safety of this seed. There is no proof, what so ever, about safety of GM mustard; and they want to avoid the responsibility of side effects by imposing conditions, that in future they can say that we allowed GM mustard only with certain conditions and since those conditions were not followed, they are not at fault. It is worth noting that it is not practical for the government to comply with the conditions imposed.

This variety is not Swadeshi

There is no truth in GEAC’s claim that DMH-11 is an indigenous discovery. In 2002, Proagro Seed Company (Bayer’s subsidiary), applied for commercial approval for similar construct that Prof. Pental and his team are now promoting as HT mustard DMH-11. Bayer’s application at that point of time was turned down because the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) said that their field trials did not give evidence of superior yield. As is well known the, hybridisation of GM mustard is achieved by means of the two genes barnase and barstar, derived from a soil bacterium called Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. The bar-barstar-barnase gene is a patented technology of Bayer Crop Science, and Bayer is not a swadeshi Company. This fact has been hidden and in future the Bayer company can demand payment in lieu of its intellectual property rights and the farmer of India will have to pay through his nose.

False claim of high productivity

It is noteworthy that GEAC’s claim of higher productivity about DMH-11 is not true as India’s Mustard and Rapeseed Research Institute says that there are already varieties developed in the country, with at least 25 percent higher yield than DMH-11. Need of the hour is that the government should promote these indigenous hybrid non-GM varieties.

GM mustard is Dangerous

It is a matter of great regret that not only the foreign origin of this technology was hided, but also the fact that GM mustard is herbicide tolerant was also concealed. It is worth noting that while testing the DMH-11, no test was conducted about its herbicide tolerance. When alert citizens and experts exposed this misdeed of GEAC, the committee imposed a condition that under no situation, any herbicide will be used by the farmers. Now since this variety is herbicide tolerant, naturally no government agency can stop the farmers from using herbicides, when herbicides are available in free market. A parallel example in this regard is in front of us that although the herbicide named glyphosate can be used only in tea gardens and non-crop areas, despite that this herbicide is sold indiscriminately across the country and its total sales in India is more than Rs. 1200 crores. Understandably, this act of GEAC is indeed immoral. Significantly, the world is grappling with ill-effects of different types of herbicides. Due to these herbicides, cancer is increasing like a pandemic in USA and other countries, where such varieties are being used, and the litigation against the manufacturers of these herbicides is also increasing continuously. It is worth noting that only in USA, one lakh 40 thousand cases have been filed by cancer victims against Boyer, the company that makes Glyphosate/Roundup.

Thus, even with the understanding that the herbicide tolerant variety has not been properly evaluated, it is also a scientific hoax and a threat to public health.

Indian mustard is a boon in Ayurveda

Indian mustard is indispensable in many Ayurvedic medicines. Its aroma and taste are its distinguishing characteristics. Experts say that DMH-11 will neither have aroma nor taste, that is, there is no question of it having medicinal properties. Not only this, mustard leaves ( Sarson ka Saag) is a unique cuisine of our country, especially Punjab, and is known for in the whole world for its unique taste. When DMH-11 is grown as a replacement for India’s mustard using herbicide tolerant traits, not only sarson ka saag will disappear in the country, but other saag grown along with sarson ka saag such as bathua and palak will also disappear. Significantly, these greens are extracted almost free of cost by our women from the fields and they are a major source of iron for the women of India. Due to their elimination, the problem of anemia in the country may deteriorate further.

Export of food products may be hit

On the one hand, where it is being said that the import of edible oils in the country will be reduced, due to the introduction of this variety, which is not likely at all, but due to the introduction of this variety, the import of herbicides can definitely increase in the country. But the worst part is that after the introduction of GM in food items in the country, there can be a huge adverse effect on the food exports of the country. It is worth noting that till now GM is not allowed in food items in our country. All the food items produced in the country are non-GM. This non-GM tag in the country’s food exports enhances the acceptability of our food products in many countries including Europe. The danger is that as soon as this non-GM tag is removed from India’s exports, India’s exports will be disrupted to a large extent, as Europe and many other countries want to buy from countries that do not produce GM. Significantly, today India exports food items worth 50 billion dollars. The country cannot afford to disrupt these exports. If these exports are disrupted, then the possibilities of increasing the income of the farmers will be exhausted and valuable foreign exchange will also be lost.

It can be said that in the country where there is no need for GM foods, the permissions given to them under the pressure of foreign powers can cause huge damage to the country’s agriculture, environment, health and exports. In such a situation, it is the responsibility of the government to protect the interest of the country by bypassing the recommendations of GEAC in this matter.         

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