The ‘agrochemicals-agritech industry’ should not be regarded as some kind of faceless concept because that lets individuals off the hook. It is run by identifiable individuals who sell health-and environment-damaging products,co-opt scientists, control public institutions and ensure farmers are kept on a chemical treadmill. From CEOs and scientists to public officials and media/PR spin doctors, specific individuals can be identified and at some stage should be hauled into court for what amounts to ‘crimes against humanity’.

To begin with, public funds should not have been wasted on developing an herbicide tolerant (HT) genetically modified (GM) crop. Further, regulators should not have ever entertained an application for a HT crop and allowed it to come this far. It is by now established that no testing of GM mustard has been done as needed for HT crops. This is because both the crop developer and the regulators have been denying that it is an Herbicide Tolerant crop! They argue that they are not recommending it to be used as a HT crop, as though farmers are going to wait for such recommendations, if they see a “convenience factor” in using a chemical instead of employing women for removal of crop weeds. To that extent, all testing so far for environmental and health safety impacts automatically stand null and void, since the use of herbicides will certainly leave its own environmental and health effects, apart from serious socio-economic impacts.

Genetically modified (GM) crops are back in the debate in India, with the Indian Government standing on the verge of approving what could be the first transgenic food crop to be cultivated in the country – GM mustard. A technical panel within the apex regulatory body called Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) in the Environment Ministry has already given a clean chit to the environmental and health safety of this GM mustard. Following this, the GEAC put up a pre-concluded document with only summaries of biosafety studies done on GM mustard, and gave 30 days for the public to give their feedback on this sanitized document called “Assessment of Food & Environmental Safety” (AFES) of GM mustard, which is purportedly a report by its technical sub-panel which studied the 4000-odd pages of biosafety dossier submitted by the crop developer.

The case of genetically modified (GM) mustard in India has reached the Supreme Court. The government has said it will bow to the court's eventual ruling. That ruling could green-light GM mustard as first commercial GM food crop. If this goes ahead, there will be wide-ranging, devastating implications for Indian food and agriculture.

The protest organised by the satyagraha against GM Mustard at Jantar Mantar on October 25 was much more than an ordinary dharna. On the one hand representatives of the Opposition parties like the Congress, CPI-M, CPI and AAP lashed out at the support extended by the Modi Government to GM crops whose serious hazards are well-established. On the other hand there were also representatives of organisations like the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM) which are a part of the Sangh Parivar and yet have firmly opposed the pro-GM crop stand of the BJP-led government and more particularly its efforts to introduce the GM Mustard crop.

Suman Sahai, founder, Gene Campaign talks about why the GM technology is outdated

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.

Genetically modified sarson, developed by Delhi University scientists, is not quite the safe, high-yield manna for farmers the government is making it out to be

Genetically modified sarson, developed by Delhi University scientists, is not quite the safe, high-yield manna for farmers the government is making it out to be

The case of genetically modified (GM) mustard in India has reached the Supreme Court. The government has said it will bow to the court’s eventual ruling. That ruling could green-light GM mustard as first commercial GM food crop. If this goes ahead, there will be wide-ranging implications for Indian food and agriculture.