Have strong bio-safety systems for GM crop: Swaminathan

Eminent Agriculture Scientist M S Swaminathan today urged the government to put in place a strong bio-safety system for genetically modified (GM) crops which is acceptable to the public.
He also expressed concern over malnutrition despite India achieving self-sufficiency in foodgrain following the success of the Green Revolution.
"There are concerns about safety aspects of GM crops. NGOs came and destroyed the crops of Golden rice. It is important to set up a proper bio-safety system for GM crops which is acceptable by public," Swaminathan said on the occasion of golden jubilee of the Green Revolution.
Swaminathan, known to as the Father of Green Revolution in India, emphasised that research in GM crops should be conducted keeping bio-safety concerns in mind.

The Centre has so far permitted commercial cultivation of Bt cotton but imposed moratorium on commercial release of Bt brinjal in February 2010 due to bio-safety concerns aired by green activists.
While recalling how India transformed from ship-to-mouth situation due to the Green Revolution, Swaminathan said despite achieving self-sufficiency in foodgrains production, hunger is still prevalent in the country.

The country is facing three kinds of problems -- calorie deficiency, protein deficiency and micro-nutrient deficiency, he said, and emphasised the need to take concrete steps to address these concerns.
Appreciating the right to food approach adopted under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), Swaminathan said, "If the food security law is implemented properly, hunger can be addressed to a great extent in the country."

In India, the GEAC recently sought comments from public on
the safety aspects of GM mustard variety developed by Delhi University's Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants.
Following this, the Environment Ministry received over 700 comments from stakeholders, including farmers and researchers on the assessment of food and environmental safety report on environmental release of genetically engineered mustard.
With anti-GM activists opposing the "unscientific" appraisal process, the Environment Ministry had said that after evaluating the comments, the sub-committee will submit its final report to the biotech regulator-- GEAC.
Other Indian studies cited in the report include one by M Ranjith, A Prabhuraj, Y Srinivasa on 'survival & reproduction of natural populations of Helicoverpa armigera on Bt-cotton hybrids in Raichur in India'; and also by S Dhurua and G Gujar on 'field-evolved resistance to Bt toxin Cry1Ac in the pink bollworm'.

The report said that its review of studies pointing to risks and uncertainties in the use of transgenic plants on a commercial scale does not claim to be exhaustive.
"Still, bringing together around 750 published articles that contradict certain aspects of the dominant view in the media and in the regulatory agencies, provides irrefutable evidence of lack of consensus in the scientific community on the subject," the study said.
"The abundance and the importance of such documents, as well as the invisibility imposed to them in the discussions conducted by the regulatory agencies, justify this publication, the objective of which is to enhance the scientific controversy concerning the biosafety of the transgenic plants," it said.