GMO

NEW DELHI: Honey cultivators and bee keepers have raised several concerns with the government's plans to introduce genetically modified (GM Mustard). Members of the Confederation of Bee Keeping Industry claimed that the number of bees had reduced dramatically after the introduction of Bt cotton. They demanded an "independent" analysis of the impact of Bt cotton on bee keeping first.

Honey cultivators from across the country have opposed the government’s proposal to introduce genetically modified (GM) mustard in India on the ground that it could adversely impact production and hit lakhs of livelihoods. They argue that they have already had a bad experience with GM cotton (Bt cotton) with bee-keeping nearly disappearing from the areas where such cotton is grown, and the negative impact in case of GM mustard could be much more.

Beekeepers association of different states, today, announced a day-long protest on September 28 at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi against government’s proposal on introducing genetically modified (GM) mustard for commercial cultivation. According to the associations, the GM mustard will harm bees as well as reduce their capacity for producing honey.

नयी दिल्ली: देश में जीन संवर्धित (जीएम) सरसों के लिए जैव प्रौद्योगिकी नियामक जीईएसी द्वारा अपनाई गई मूल्यांकन प्रक्रिया को पर चिंता जताते हुए अनेक सेवानिवृत न्यायधीशों और नौकरशाहों का मानना है कि जीईएसी समीक्षा प्रक्रिया का मजाक बना रही है.

Non-government organisations on Thursday wrote to Union Environment Minister Anil Dave demanding release of complete biosafety data on the Genetically Modified (GM) mustard. They also sought four months time to comment on the GM oilseed. “We urge you to extend the public feedback time to 120 days, to get the regulators to put out the full biosafety dossier in the public domain for independent scientific scrutiny as has been done with other GMOs in the past,” said the NGOs in a letter to Dave.