Ask government to be cautious of Bangladesh's Bt Brinjal cultivation
Illustration: Divya
Around 250 scientists and researchers working in various institutions
of India have written to the prime minister to accept the
recommendations of the
Supreme Court-appointed Technical Expert Committee (TEC), calling for a moratorium on all GM testing
till the regulatory gaps are plugged and seeking complete ban on
herbicide-tolerant crops. They supported the TEC report stating it to be
based on sound science, principles of sustainability and
inter-generational justice.
Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Tushar Chakraborty, head of
the gene control laboratory at Indian Institute of Chemical Biology of
Kolkata, said that the biggest drawback of the genetic modification
technology is that the changes once made cannot be recalled. There is a
strong scientific evidence to prove the same and adverse effects of the
technology. It is just the right time for India to take a cautious
approach and not get carried away by technology which has a short life.
Citing the example of Bt cotton, he said that it was effective for three
years against pink bollworm insects, but after that stacking, addition
of more genes was required. “You cannot sacrifice human health and
environment for such a short-lived technology,” added the scientist.
Supporting Chakraborty, another scientist, Dinesh Abrol from
Institute of Studies in Industrial Development, said, “All the
scientists supporting this technology are from agricultural background.
There is a need for scientists from other fields like molecular biology,
health, environment, ecology and social sciences to access and review
this technology and present a clear picture before the society. He added
that the history of GM crops, not just in India but across the world,
is laden with conflicts of interest and corporate control on
agricultural research.
The scientists warned that “another big threat approaching India is
Bt Brinjal being commercially cultivated in the neighbouring country of
Bangladesh. With such porous border, contamination of Indian soil is
bound to take place. India should use the provisions in Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD) to its benefit and stop Bangladesh from doing
this.” He also requested for a meta-analysis of all the published
material so that a better picture of the risks can be presented before
the citizens of India.
The speakers urged the prime minister to be responsive to science and
consider the impacts of such technologies on common people before
making decisions. The letter has come a few weeks before a crucial
hearing on the recommendations of TEC in the Supreme Court. The court
hearing is scheduled for next week in response to a public interest
petition on environmental release of GMOs in India.
‘Interests influence reports’
The GM debate in the Indian scientific circles has seen a
polarisation because of contradicting views between a final report
submitted to the court by five independent members in the TEC and a
separate report submitted by the sixth member of the committee, R S
Paroda. He was brought into TEC by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and
insisted on presenting a report.
The speakers pointed to studies that show that scientists with
relationship with industry are more significantly associated with data
withholding than others, in genetics and other life sciences. Research
also shows that existence of financial and professional conflict of
interest was associated to study outcomes that cast genetically modified
products in a favourable light.
“This illustrates lack of independent scientific research to the
extent needed, in addition to lack of scientific consensus. Without
addressing these issues, there is no urgent need to rush into open air
releases of GM crops,” added Abrol.
Meanwhile, Kavitha Kuruganti of Coalition for a GM-Free India
released the second edition of compilation of scientific references and
abstracts of more than 400 peer-reviewed papers on various adverse
impacts of GM crops/foods published across the world. She said there is
no dearth of scientific evidence on the adverse impacts of GMOs in our
food, farming and environment. “What is needed are the eyes to see it,
the wisdom to understand it and the conscience to accept it,” added
Kuruganti.
