GM mustard disastrous for country's agricultural independence, says GEAC member Bhargava

The Supreme Court appointed member of the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), Pushpa M Bhargava, on September 24 said that the commercial cultivation of Genetically Modified (GM) mustard would be "disastrous" as it would eventually open doors for multinational corporations to control India's agriculture.

"It's a disaster. If you permit it then you open the floodgates for other GM crops. Our agriculture will be in the hands of multinational corporations like Bayer. We will lose our independence," told Bhargava to IANS.

Urging the civil society to protest against such a commerical drive, the noted molecular scientist also warned the government of "losing face" if it continued to ignore the ensuing protests of the civil society against GM crops. 

Environmentalist Vandana Shiva had earlier written to parliamentarians from the mustard growing states, cautioning them against the commercialisation of GM mustard.

Arguing on grounds of seed sovereignty, Shiva alleged that "unfair activities" were practiced by MNCs like Monsato and Bayer, thereby, making it necessary for the parlaimentarians to enact liability laws before the GM mustard is commercialised.

GM mustard could become India's first transgenic food crop released for cultivation by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), which regulates the testing and introduction of genetically-modified (GM) crops in the country.

An Environment Ministry sub-committee report declared the GM mustard technology safe for consumption and environment, saying that it does not raise any public health concerns for human beings and animals, but environmentalists are not satisfied and have been demanding that the ministry should make all the documents on the study available.

The ministry has put the sub-committee's 133-page "Assessment of Food and Environmental Safety of GE mustard" (AFES) online and invited public comments before the GEAC takes the final decision on GM mustard. Comments can be submitted till October 5.

However, casting doubts over the committee's findings, Bhargava said, "My general impression of the AFES report, therefore, is that most of the important conclusions that have been drawn, have been arrived at on the basis of insufficient data and inadequate experimentation."

The transgenic crop, Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11 (DMH-11) has been developed by the Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants (CGMCP), University of Delhi.

At present, GM cotton is the only transgenic crop commercially available in fields.

Scientists involved in developing the GM  mustard, however, claim that it is "benign" and beneficial for farmers as it provides a higher yield.