Why we must get involved in the genetically modified –GM crop debate
Rachana Arora 16 November 2016
The fact that genetically modified (GM) technology is dangerous, irrevocable, unpredictable and uncontainable had  mobilised an unprecedented gathering of   representatives of 57 unions of farmers, an association of five lakh beekeepers,  150 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and representatives of diverse political parties to declare a ‘Sarson Satyagraha’ on 25 October 2016 in Delhi. They were opposing the attempt to push through genetically modified - GM - mustard by India’s Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC). They all knew that once a GM crop is introduced, the flow of pollen by wind and insects, the mixing of seeds and a variety of corporate marketing strategies would ensure that non-GM mustard is virtually wiped out.  
 
Unfortunately, most other people are unaware what genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are and their consequences. This occurs partly due to deliberate efforts by GM crop developers and approvers or regulators to keep the information cloaked. This reached brazen levels recently when the GEAC ignored the order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) to publicly upload the safety data of GM mustard.  GEAC uploaded only a subcommittee report, and gave just one month for people to come to Delhi to study thousands of pages of data - without copying any of it.  Did GEAC scorn the CIC, ignore the opinion of the Supreme Court appointed Technical Expert Committee (TEC) and a multi-disciplinary Parliamentary Standing Committee on GM technology because powerful vested interests are pushing the proposed GM mustard through the development, testing and approval mechanisms? Despite the fact that the GM mustard fails every reasonable test and process relevant to consumers and farmers: be it need assessment, testing protocols, safety tests, environmental and socio economic impact assessments!  BT Brinjal, earlier approved by GEAC, was put on an indefinite moratorium in 2010 in the face of informed opposition from scientists and consumers. Now, the mechanisms of data sharing, public discourse and responsiveness of government agencies to the people are simply not working.  
 
Ethical questions apart, there is no substance in the claims made for this GM mustard of higher yields and reduction in edible oil imports. It is the trade policies that facilitate imports of cheap and often unhealthy oils such as GM based Canola, Corn and Soya oils and non-GM Palm oil, which discourage    Indian farmers from meeting India’s oilseed needs. 
 
A glib, but false, response to consumer concerns with GM is that “over a trillion GM meals have been eaten with no ill effects”. Since GMOs were introduced in 1996, the rates of autism, Alzheimer’s, cancers, kidney damage, diabetes and food allergies have increased many folds in America. In the absence of labelling in US - which agri-biotech companies like Monsanto and big food companies have spent millions to obstruct – it is impossible to establish direct causation. However, a number of scientific studies, and Dr Nancy Swanson’s painstaking compilation of  data from the US Department of Agriculture and the Centre for Disease Control, show high correlations between the consumption of GM foods, the glyphosate herbicide used with them and other crops, and various illnesses in a study entitled “Genetically Modified Organisms and the deterioration of health in the United States” accessible at http://sustainablepulse.com/wp-content/uploads/GMO-health.pdf
 
 The health impacts are not surprising, since presently 99% of all GM crops have only two traits – a pesticide producing trait (BT) or a herbicide tolerating trait (HT). The HT crops enable toxic weed killers to kill all plants except the HT crop. In both BT and HT, the toxins are ingested by consumers and also enter drinking water sources. Governments in most European countries, and in Japan, Russia, Israel and, in fact, all countries of the world except 30, have refused to grow GM crops. China was one of the first adopters in 1996 but, realising the hazards, has banned GM foods for its army, halted trials of rice and other grains and now grows GM on only one-third the area as India, which introduced its first and only GM crop – BT cotton – in 2002. After 20 years, only six countries account for 90% of GM crop area. 
 
About 80 % of all GM is grown in just four countries – US, Brazil, Argentina and Canada. In the US, opposition to GM has been gaining momentum over the years, with ‘March Against Monsanto’ and ‘GM Watch’ mobilising millions of people. However, it might be too late for US consumers, as 50 to 70% of the food in their grocery stores has GM ingredients and it is difficult to reverse the GM process. Several states in the US ran the laborious referendum necessary to pass legislation for labelling, but the Federal government, in 2014, passed an Act to enable companies to simply indicate GM content in the bars of the QR codes, and not by labelling.  According to  Environmental Working Group, in the first six months of 2015 Big Foods disclosure on lobbying expenditures that includes NO GMO LABELING ran into millions of dollars – including  Coca-Cola ($5,040,000), PepsiCo ($3,230,000), Kraft ($1,180,000), Kellogg’s ($1,310,000), General Mills ($1,100,000) and Land O’Lakes ($720,000). One wonders why, if GM is safe, are they so unwilling to label it? And if it is indeed unsafe, why should the public exchequer bear the rising cost of public health?  
 
In 2010, BT brinjal was approved by the GEAC – but a moratorium was declared by former Minister Jairam Ramesh after the flaws in the safety testing protocols were exposed. Despite the deliberate obscuring of test data from public scrutiny, it has been possible to ascertain that the GM mustard has a herbicide tolerant gene but has not been tested according to the protocols, which would be necessary for herbicide tolerant crops. Its claim on higher yields is also false as the developer tested it against 40 years old varieties - instead of latest hybrids, which already give higher yields.  Mustard is a well-loved leafy vegetable, seasoning and one of the healthiest of edible oils. You should get involved to stop the development of GM mustard with its herbicide tolerant gene, for the following reasons:
 
If you are worried about your food and water – because the use of dangerous herbicides, which can be used with GM mustard, will be absorbed by the mustard plant and poison your water sources.
 
If you are worried that the highest suicides are amongst BT (GM) cotton farmers.
 
If you are worried that BT cotton was introduced to reduce pesticides used on the bollworm, but  has led to unprecedented epidemics of  sucking pests such as whiteflies, and mealy bugs so that insecticide  use is no lower than before. 
 
If you are worried by the decline in the US in butterflies and the 60% to 90% decline in bee numbers, and that killing of pollinators will lead to future loss of yield 
 
If you are worried that GM can contaminate honey, 60% of which comes from mustard. This will also affect exports to countries that do not tolerate any GM.
 
If you are worried that there is a rising population of poor farmers moving into your city, and that an herbicide tolerant crop will further reduce employment from weeding.  
 
If you are worried that the largest pesticide companies hold almost all the GM seed patents and can eventually control our food and farming.
 
Only citizen voices can compel government to adopt policies that will not force farmers into cycles of debt and that will ensure healthy, nutritious, GM free food for you and your family.
 
So get involved by joining the thousands of citizens across India who are sending a missed call to 044-33124242 and writing postcards to the Prime Minister (PM) at 7, Race Course Road, New Delhi 110011, asking him to halt GM mustard release.
 
(Rachana Arora works for India for Safe Food)
 
Comments
sreeram
8 years ago
Dear Vinay ..correlation isnt eaxty casuation .. :) wonderful .. are you a lawyer or english teacher trying to argue without common sense?

If you are ok , we should feed every meal of you and your family with only GMO foods for next 365 days , then we can re assess if its correlation or Casuation ..?

I am a natural farmer and have intereacted with quiet a few people who are natural food consumers, about the correlated benefits of using organic/natural foods to improve on different health symptoms in their lifes. Including my own correlated experience on psoriasis healing after avoiding some of the not natural produce.
Vinay Shekhar
Replied to sreeram comment 8 years ago
Hi Sreeram. I'm not a lawyer or a teacher, though I am interested in pursuing those careers. Thanks for your interest in me. I'm a Biologist working at a public university of research. I'm not funded by Monsanto or any other Agribiotech company (just in case, you resort to labelling me as a shill).

I accept your proposal to eat GMO for the next one year (let's keep this discussion civil and leave out or families, shall we?). In fact, let the government approve GM Brinjal and Mustard, and I shall eat Baingan ka Bharta and Sarson ka saag for the whole year.

Ok. There, I'm done climbing down to your level of argument. Shall we discuss science and facts now? What I mean by 'correlation' and not 'causation' is, the study which came up with 'Rise in cultivation/consumption of GMOs corresponds to increase in autism/cancer/other diseases' did not choose test subjects who consumed GMOs for 10 years and analyze them. They just took two sets of data and proved that both of them have the same curve (increase over time). That proves nothing. For the exact same period, consumption of organic food also increased at the same rate. You won't believe me if I say organic food causes autism/cancer, etc. will you? So, let us look at studies critically and try to understand it in the right way. I'm not picking a fight here. I'm just trying to level with you here.

As for your experience with natural food, I'm glad that it is working well for you. Please continue with your current diet and I hope it will lead to full recovery. But tell me something. Did you only change your diet to natural food or did you also take medicines or do yoga or try some other means of treating your condition? How can you conclude that only your natural food helped and not one of the other things?

Also, what you have cited here is an anecdotal evidence. That can't be taken as scientific evidence. What worked for you might not worked for everyone else. If that were true, you would be the person who would have invented a cure for psoriasis, right? Just think about what I have written.

Have a good day.
Sanjeev B
8 years ago
I think it's unfair to dismiss the concerns. Please read these sources for a more balanced view:

http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/POST-PN-482/POST-PN-482.pdf

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/14/business/dealbook/another-too-big-to-fail-system-in-gmos.html
Vinay Shekhar
8 years ago
Like someone had pointed out below, there is too much BS in this story. Just calling out one here.

It has been pointed out by Ms. Arora and a countless number of her cohorts that over the past 20 years or so, as the consumption of GM food increased, so has the incidents of autism, cancer and some other diseases. She writes that there is a strong 'correlation'. That's quite mischievous of you, Ms. Arora. I'm sure you know that correlation isn't exactly the same as causation. So, you can't conclusively prove that GM food has caused all those problems. In fact, as the consumption of GM food increased, so did the consumption of organic food. So, one can even show that there is a string correlation between organic food consumption and autism or whatever else has increased.
Robert Wager
8 years ago
There are far too many falsehoods in this article to address individually. Therefore I suggest readers look up "Planting the Future" by the European Academies Science Advisory Council 2013. It is free on line.
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