November 24, 2016 09:09 AM

A study of GMO cotton varieties shows they disrupt an important beneficial soil fungus, writes Eva Sirinathsinghji, apparently due to the Bt insecticide they are engineered to express. Disruption caused by the transgenic cotton to mycorrhizal fungi, and the wider soil ecosystem, may underlie the low yields and poor pest resistance now endemic among Bt GM crops.

November 24, 2016 06:58 AM

Rats fed GM Bt corn MON810 for only 90 days suffered serious damage to the surface mucous membranes of the jejunum (part of the small intestine), according to a new study.

November 22, 2016 09:16 AM

The widespread planting of GM glyphosate-tolerant crops has led to the spread of glyphosate-resistant weeds. Attempts to control the weeds through the use of other herbicides are not always effective as weeds often are resistant to those chemicals too, even before they are used. At best this practice can provide only a temporary solution.

November 21, 2016 08:28 AM

Hyderabad: GHMC food safety officials have written to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India seeking details of the firm SR International which supplied genetically engineered products that were illegally imported from the United States.

November 21, 2016 06:18 AM

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Organic Standards Board voted unanimously on Friday to update U.S. organic standards to exclude ingredients derived from next generation genetic engineering and gene editing.

November 18, 2016 07:49 AM

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’.

November 18, 2016 07:29 AM

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.

November 17, 2016 07:25 AM

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.

November 16, 2016 07:44 AM

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.

November 16, 2016 07:24 AM

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.

November 16, 2016 07:22 AM

Suman Sahai, founder, Gene Campaign talks about why the GM technology is outdated

November 16, 2016 06:35 AM

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.

November 14, 2016 08:00 AM

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

November 14, 2016 06:27 AM

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

November 11, 2016 06:21 AM

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.