Contested Harvest: On India And Genetically Modified Food Crop

India’s torturous saga on the fate of genetically modified food crop made another pit stop last week with a two-judge Bench, of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Sanjay Karol of the Supreme Court of India, delivering a split verdict on the question of allowing genetically modified (GM) mustard in farmer fields. 

India And Genetically Modified Food Crop

• As of today, the only GM seed permissible in India is cotton. 
• The gain in cotton yield had prompted agricultural institutions, private and public, to develop GM seeds in food crops such as rice, wheat, tomato, brinjal and mustard though none has been released.

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GM Mustard (DMH-11)

• Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11 (DMH-11) is a genetically modified hybrid variety of the mustard species Brassica juncea.
• Characteristics: This variant is herbicide tolerant (HT).
• Parent Varieties of GM Mustard
  • Varieties Used
    • Indian Mustard: ‘Varuna‘
    • East European Mustard: ‘Early Heera-2’
  • Cross-Breeding: The GM mustard is created by crossing these two varieties.
• Genetic Modification in Mustard
  • Barnase and Barstar: Two genes are used in the modification.
    • Source: These genes come from the soil bacterium Bacillus amyloliquefaciens.
  • Purpose
    • High-Yield Hybrids: The genes help create high-yielding commercial mustard hybrids
  • Genetic Purity: The “bar gene” maintains the genetic purity of hybrid seed.
• Reason to Focus: India faces a major deficit in edible oils, with 60% of its demand being met by imports. Thus, increasing the productivity of mustard in the country is vital for the economic well-being of farmers and self-sufficiency in edible oil production.
• Significance of GM mustard hybrid, DMH-11: Higher vigor and yield and will facilitate an increase in domestic production of edible oils as well as enhanced farm incomes.
• Approval: On October 25, 2022, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, approved the release of DMH-11 and its parental line for cultivation.
  • This will help boost the vibrant genetic engineering research sector in the country and enable the generation of new crop varieties with improved traits.

India And Genetically Modified Food Crop

• This led the GEAC, the scientific advisory body led by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, to approve DMH-11 in October 2022, subject to certain tests. 
• On the other hand, environmentalist groups have said that the DMH-11 is a ‘herbicide tolerant’ crop. 
• It is genetically coded in a way that effectively forces farmers to use certain kinds of pesticide, with destructive environmental consequences; the allegations are that the developers were not transparent with this information. 
• These findings, and the GEAC approval, have been contested in the Court by Aruna Rodrigues and the organisation, Gene Campaign.
• The judges disagreed among themselves whether the GEAC was correct. 
• Justice Nagarathna said that the GEAC had violated the ‘precautionary principle’, under which any new organism or modifying technology should, by default, be caged in unless its consequences are deliberated upon. 
• Justice Karol, however, appeared to be satisfied by the process. 
• Therefore, the case passes on to a larger Bench led by the Chief Justice of India. 
• However, the most significant decision was a Court order to the Centre to evolve a policy on GM crops.
• The dispute over GM crops is fundamentally ideological and less on the traditional agricultural yardsticks of yield and farm economics. 
• This is amplified by India’s agricultural history where a panacea from yesteryears, hybrid seeds and synthetic fertilizer, while improving yields and productivity, have unleashed environmental harm. 
• In their decisions, the Court and the government must remember that the good ought not to be seen as the enemy of the perfect.

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Conclusion

The debate on GM crops in India underscores a clash between technological advancements and environmental concerns. A balanced, transparent policy is essential for sustainable progress.

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