Why GM mustard faces vocal opposition despite regulator nod

Approval for the environmental release of genetically modified (GM) mustard—Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11 (DMH-11)—across India has not come a day too soon. The GM crops regulator, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), had cleared GM mustard in 2017 but the Indian government raised questions and asked for more studies, which has taken another five years. Now, even if the government gives the mandatory final approval, it will be another three years before farmers finally get GM mustard seeds for commercial cultivation.

While giving approval on October 18, the GEAC said that simultaneous field studies will have to be conducted along with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) on the effect of GM mustard on honeybees and other pollinators. The GEAC approval is, therefore, only a vital step forward. Since the approval for seed production “prior to commercial release” is in place, gene developers will have to follow multiple processes while adhering to the stipulated 16 conditions under the supervision of ICAR before releasing DMH-11 seeds to farmers.

Mustard is cultivated by around six million farmers in around seven million hectares across Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh. There is a compelling need to grow GM mustard, considering that the traditional varieties in India offer low yields—less than 1,200 kilos per hectare—while the global average is 2,000-2,200 kilos per hectare. Besides, India faces a severe shortage of edible oils. Imports of over 14 million tonnes, which involved paying $18.99 billion (around Rs 1.5 lakh crore) in foreign exchange in 2021-22, are far greater than the domestic production of 8.5 million tonnes. Currently, over two thirds of the domestic edible oil requirement is met from Argentina and Brazil.

Glossing over food security needs and the fact that foods derived from transgenic seeds are being consumed safely across the world for over two decades, the RSS-affiliated Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) and Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) as well as groups of green activists continue to oppose GM crops. In a letter to Union minister for environment, forest and climate change Bhupender Yadav, the SJM accused the GEAC of functioning in an ‘irresponsible fashion’ and termed the claims made in support of GM mustard as ‘completely untrue, unsubstantiated and wrongly projected.’

“The Swadeshi Jagran Manch has all along been opposing this dangerous and unneeded GM mustard being brought in through the back door as a public-sector GMO (genetically modified organism),” SJM national co-convenor Ashwani Mahajan stated in the letter. He termed as ‘completely untrue’ the claim that GM mustard was ‘swadeshi’. “We are confident that as a person who has carefully studied the adverse impacts of GM crops and also published opinion pieces on it in the past, you will intervene immediately and ensure that no GM mustard seed is allowed to be planted now or ever,” Mahajan said in the letter.

The BKS wants Yadav to direct the GEAC to withdraw its recommendation. Its argument is that GM mustard poses a health hazard and could cause cancer. BKS all India general secretary Mohini Mohan Mishra said the GEAC, in its study, had claimed that GM mustard was herbicide-tolerant (HT). Mishra alleged that the HT technology was mostly carcinogenic and that the GEAC had not been able to resist the entry of unwanted and unsuccessful (high investment) GM food crops into the farming system and food chain of India.

The Coalition for GM-Free India, a network of anti-GMO organisations and individuals, said the GEAC approval was shocking and alleged that the regulator and crop developers had colluded to circumvent bio-safety assessments. Kavitha Kuruganti, a member of the Coalition for GM-Free India, reminded Yadav that he had himself written against GM crops in the past.

Others have welcomed the GM mustard approval conditionally. ICAR director Ashok Kumar Singh says it will lead to finding a science-based solution to the challenge of high import of edible oils and allow the development of more high-yielding hybrids. “Given India‘s huge population, we need to increase food production. Technology must be used for this,” said Hannan Mollah, general secretary of the left-wing All Indian Kisan Sabha (AIKS). “However, control of the technology should remain with the government and public sector and extensive testing of the hybrid seed must be done by ICAR. The government should allow its cultivation if the tests establish that hybrid seeds are not harmful and help in increasing yield.”

Analysts contend that in the face of the continuing widespread reservations, Yadav may be left with no option but to follow the example of former environment minister Jairam Ramesh, who had refused the final clearance for Bt brinjal in 2009 even after it had been cleared by the GEAC. This is despite the 26-member GEAC going the extra mile to place the report of safety studies of GM mustard in the public domain.

Government representatives told a parliamentary committee in 2017 that Indian regulators had assessed Bt cotton, Bt brinjal and GM mustard and found them to be safe as animal feed. The challenge is to demonstrate that GM crops guarantee better productivity for farmers. The ICAR conducted a study of Bt cotton in Maharashtra between 2012 and 2015 that showed that the average seed cotton yield increased after adoption of GM technology.

If GM mustard does finally reach the farms, it will only be the second approved transgenic crop in India after Bt cotton, way back in 2004, and the first such food crop that can be commercially cultivated.

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