Anti-GM groups slam ICAR over release of genome-edited rice varieties

The Coalition for a GM-Free India has criticised the release of two genome-edited rice varieties, calling the move unscientific, risky, and a threat to seed sovereignty

The Coalition for a GM-Free India has accused the Government of India of being devious, unscientific, and irresponsible in releasing two genome-edited rice varieties yesterday.

 

In a statement released today, the Coalition — which advocates for a GM-free world — said that an enormous body of scientific literature points to the lack of safety of gene-editing techniques. It blamed the government for working under corporate pressure.

 

“Given the lack of public acceptance of transgenic r-DNA technology, which is one kind of modern biotechnology, the biotech industry and lobbies have resorted to falsely portraying gene editing as a precise and safe technology, whereas published scientific papers show that this is untrue. India’s deregulation of two kinds of gene editing (SDN-1 and SDN-2) is outright illegal,” the statement said.

 

Moreover, gene-editing tools are proprietary technologies under IPR ownership and have a direct bearing on the seed sovereignty of India’s farming community, in addition to being a waste of public resources.

 

“Promising some unverified yield increases on cereal crops like rice — on which India already has surplus production, the monoculture of which is causing severe environmental problems — cannot be the rationale for introducing a risky crop into India’s food systems,” the Coalition said.

 

Yesterday, Venugopal Badaravada, farmers’ representative and a member of the ICAR Governing Body, who has been a vocal critic of the premier research body, also said that ICAR’s genome-edited rice claims are premature and misleading.

 

He said farmers demand accountability, transparent data, and technologies that are tested in their fields — not just polished in press releases.