The fear mongering by anti-GM activists defocuses the issue away from the Food Safety aspect.
“It is better to die eating genetically modified food instead of dying of hunger,” said Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug – regarded as the father of the Green Revolution – during his visit to India in 2005. While it’s a grim reality that thousands die of hunger daily in India, Norman’s belief doesn’t adequately answer how safe Genetically Modified Foods are. The only way to answer this question is to subject GM Foods to Scientific Scrutiny.
In a move which has earned the BJP-led Government flak from none other than the BJP’s own ideological cousins from within the Sangh Parivaar, a regulatory body under Environment and Forest Ministry has approved new field trials of genetically modified (GM) food crops. On July 18, Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), the regulatory body for GM crops under the Environment and Forests Ministry, gave approval for field trials of genetically-modified (GM) rice, mustard, cotton, chickpea and brinjal at its meeting in Delhi. The Sangh Parivar affiliated Swadeshi Jagran Manch(SJM) has accused the BJP-led Government of deceiving the people. “Neither the Government nor the GEAC has disclosed as yet the contents of the promised scientific evaluation,” SJM’s all-India co-convenor Ashwini Mahajan said. In response, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar clarified on Twitter yesterday that the decision was not by the Government but by an empowered expert committee.
GM Field Trials in India spur a heated debate
The bone of contention of the anti-GM activists is an apparent promise made by the BJP in its election manifesto that GM foods will not be allowed without full scientific evaluation on the long-term effects on soil, production and biological impact on consumers.
Genetically Modified crops are those crops in which genetic material (DNA) is altered artificially to enhance crop nutrition, and make them disease and pest resistant. Opponents of GM crops argue that this technology not only causes harm to the soil, human health and environment, but they also believe that GM seeds will enslave farmers to powerful multinational seed corporations like Monsanto. Since its introduction in 2002, genetically modified Cotton is the only crop allowed to be commercially grown in India. In 2010, the Central Government stopped the commercialisation of GM Brinjal owing to a lack of consensus among scientists and opposition from Brinjal-growing States. In 2013, a Supreme Court appointed panel suggested moratorium on GM field trials.
Some studies suggest that this technology is an effective way to increase the food supply. While today GMO leads to enhanced crop nutrition, in future it can lead to crops that would grow in drought, crops that would enable farmers to deal with conditions that spoil conventional crops. Hence, Genetically Modified crops would mean more food to feed a rapidly expanding population and less dependence on external factors like rain, unfavorable climate. While data suggests that farmers in many countries are increasingly adopting Genetically Modified crops and also there is no scientific evidence of adverse effects of GM food. The maximalist position taken by anti-GM activists suggests they are not really interested in any open ended scientific evaluation but would rather have a blanket ban on Trials, leave alone any adoption.
While there are legitimate concerns on long term unknown effects of GM Foods, the ultimate choice on adoption and consumption of GM Foods must be left to Farmers and Consumers. The Government’s role must be limited to making sure there is maximum disclosure on Genetically Modified Foods and in keeping the two Food Chains separate so that the Organic Food Chain remains uncontaminated. The Government must also require all Field Trials to be fully transparent while protecting the Intellectual Property of entities undertaking Research. Ultimately, it should be up to the Indian Farmer to make the choice on adopting GM seeds and up to the Indian Consumer to consume a GM Food product.
The fear mongering by anti-GM activists defocuses the issue away from the Food Safety aspect while creating the impression that a Government Department has been influenced by GM seeds companies. This approach of anti-GM activists is counterproductive and self-defeating. It does little towards ensuring the safety of GM Foods while limiting economic choices for Farmers. It is unfortunate that Swadeshi Economics has been reduced to Socialist Economics of the Leftist/NGO variety which we witnessed during the UPA era.
Why should Swadeshi Economics be so unimaginative as to tread the same path as the Left in limiting economic choice while mongering fears over Large Corporates ?
There is a perfectly Swadeshi position one can take on this issue that protects both Consumer and Farmer interests while being distinct from the Left. It would be in coming up with economically viable and superior alternatives that address both India’s Food Security needs and financial concerns of Farmers.
Which Farmer or Consumer would choose a Monsanto engineered GM-Seed or Food over cheaper and superior Swadeshi Option if there was one ?
What is stopping those who swear by a Swadeshi way of life from investing in agro-innovation that can result in better Swadeshi choices for Indian Consumers and Farmers ?
Indian farms and markets are far from being flooded and overrun by Genetically Modified Foods. Limited Trials are merely a step towards Scientific Evaluation so consumers and farmers can make better and informed choices in the future. It is time Swadeshi activists overcame fear and paranoia and rediscovered their confidence and faith in Indian abilities to offer better choices to consumers and farmers. Letting a motley group of NGO Activists make choices on behalf of consumers and farmers would take us back squarely to the Sonia Gandhi NAC era.
What would it take for Swadeshi Economics to put informed choice above fear and paranoia ? After all “svechha” is hardly a videshi idea!
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