SC Verdict on Release of GM Mustard

General Studies Paper -3 

Context: The Supreme Court pronounced a split verdict on the validity of the Centre’s 2022 decision granting conditional approval for environmental release of genetically modified (GM) mustard crops.

About

• In 2022, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)— a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and regulator of genetically modified organisms in the country— recommended the environmental release.
• A subsequent decision was taken approving the environmental release of transgenic mustard hybrid DMH-11, a variety of GM mustard.
• In its recent judgment, the SC asked the Centre to formulate a national policy with regard to GM crops for research, cultivation, trade and commerce in the country.
• The case would now be referred to a three-judge Bench to be constituted by the Chief Justice of India.

What are GM crops?

• Crops that have undergone genetic engineering processes to alter their DNA are referred to as genetically modified crops.
• This alteration is done to introduce desirable traits such as resistance to pests or herbicides, improved nutritional content, or increased yield.
• The process of creating GM crops typically involves: identification of desired traits, isolation of genes, insertion into crop genome, and expression of the trait.
• The techniques used in GM crops are: gene guns, electroporation, microinjection, agrobacterium etc.
• The types of modification are: transgenic, cis-genic, subgenic and multiple trait integration.
• The main trait types in GM crops are herbicide tolerance (HT), insect resistance (IR), Stacked traits etc.

Indian Scenario in GM crops

• Bt Cotton: In 2002, the GEAC had allowed the commercial release of Bt cotton.
  • Bt cotton has two alien genes from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) that allows the crop to develop a protein toxic to the common pest pink bollworm.
  • It is the only GM crop that is allowed in India.
• Many varieties of GM crops are under different stages of development, like Bt brinjal and DMH-11 mustard.

Regulatory framework in India

• The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC): It under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), is responsible for the assessment of proposals related to the commercial release of GM crops.
• Acts and rules that regulate GM crops in India are:
  • Environment Protection Act, 1986 (EPA)
  • Biological Diversity Act, 2002
  • Plant Quarantine Order, 2003
  • GM policy under Foreign Trade Policy
  • Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006
  • Drugs and Cosmetics Rule (8th Amendment), 1988.

Need for GM crops

• Food Security: Genetically modified crops can improve yield, build resistances to pests, flood, frost, drought etc.
• Sustainable food system: Crops can also be modified to reduce carbon emissions and boost the sustainability of food production.
• Higher Productivity: With GM crops it is possible to produce more food from less area and with less chemical pesticides and fertilizer.
• GM crop production uses only about 10% of the land non-GM crop production uses.
• Nutritional Security: Genetic modifications can enhance the nutritional content of crops.
• Meeting Consumer Preferences: GM crops can be tailored to meet consumer preferences, such as crops with longer shelf life, enhanced flavor, or specific cooking qualities.

Reasons for opposition of GM crops

• Unintended side effects: The long-lasting effect of GM crops is yet to be studied and thus they should not be released commercially.
  • Genetic modification can bring changes that can be harmful to humans in the long run.
• Threat to biodiversity: Some crops have been engineered to create their own toxins against pests. This may harm non-targets such as farm animals that ingest them.
• Health risks: GM crops are modified to include antibiotics to kill germs and pests. These antibiotic markers will persist in human body after consumption and will render actual antibiotic medications less effective over a period of time, leading to superbug threats.
• Social and economic issues: There are concerns about multinational agribusiness companies taking over farming from the hands of small farmers.
• Dependence on GM seed companies could prove to be a financial burden for farmers.
• Public concern: People in general are wary of GM crops as they are engineered in a lab and do not occur in Nature.

Way Forward

• The environmental release of DMH-11 marks the beginning of a new era in self-reliance and sustainability in agriculture. This will help to achieve the target of Zero Hunger by 2030.
• Governments must address the problems brought on by GM crops, particularly in the areas of safety testing, legislation, industrial strategy, and food labeling.