Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

GM crops’ advocates speak up

— Photo: S. Gopakumar

Strong support: Ronald J. Herring, professor, Cornell University, U.S., addressing a workshop on ‘Modern Biotechnology in Indian Agriculture’ in the city on Monday.

Thiruvananthapuram: Speakers at a two-day workshop on Modern Biotechnology in Indian Agriculture which began here on Monday have warned against restrictive regulations on the development of genetically modified crops and attempts to mix up biosecurity issues with political, economic and ethical concerns.

Delivering the keynote address, Ronald J. Herring, professor, Cornell University, U.S. said the opposition to GM crops was an infringement on the farmers’ freedom to select seeds and access technology.

He said Indian farmers who had planted Bt Cotton had found it useful. “New claims of intellectual property in seeds, enabled by the genomics revolution in biology, created conflicts over what can be owned, by whom, under what conditions, and in which nation. Transnational advocacy politics succeeded in framing genetically modified organisms as uniquely risky plants, with corresponding global soft law for special regulation. Farmers have responded to restrictions of both regulation and property claims with stealth strategies,” he said.

Mr. Herring said many of the extreme risks of GM crops like death of humans and livestock, abortion, obesity and infertility were unsubstantiated.

“While recombinant DNA technology has been widely accepted for pharmaceutical products, despite the high risks involved, the same technology has run into opposition in its application in food crops though there is no known risk.”

He added, “Faced with climate change and agrarian crisis, it would be inexcusable for our species to rule out science-based tools for ideological reasons.”

The workshop is organised by the All India Crop Biotechnology Association (AICBA) in association with the Environment Resource Research Centre (ERRC), Thiruvananthapuram and the Foundation for Biotechnology Awareness and Education (FBAE), Bangalore.

In his paper, C. Kameswara Rao from FBAE said the development and deployment of genetically engineered products in India was hampered by restrictions that lead to cost escalation.

Shanthu Shantaram, Biologistics International, U.S., said the anti-GM lobby in India had succeeded in delaying field testing of GM crops by legal means. A few disgruntled, anti-establishment scientists have joined the bandwagon to give an air of pseudo-authenticity to claims against GM crops.

Mr. Shantaram alleged that the campaign unleashed by the anti GM lobby was based on misinformation,, disinformation and outright falsehood. Director, ERRC, P.K.K. Nair was also present.

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