SC Verdict on Release of GM Mustard

Context

Recently 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 choice was taken approving the environmental release of transgenic mustard hybrid DMH-eleven, quite a few GM mustard.
• In its latest judgment, the SC asked the Centre to formulate a national policy in regards to GM crops for research, cultivation, trade and commerce in the country.
• The case could now be referred to a 3-judge Bench to be constituted by the Chief Justice of India.

What are GM crops?

• Crops which have passed by genetic engineering processes to alter their DNA are known as genetically changed crops.
• This alteration is completed to introduce suited traits along with resistance to pests or herbicides, advanced dietary content, or elevated yield.
• The process of creating GM crops usually 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 amendment are: transgenic, cis-genic, subgenic and multiple trait integration.
• The foremost trait kinds in GM crops are herbicide tolerance (HT), insect resistance (IR), Stacked trends and so on.

Indian Scenario in GM crops

• Bt Cotton: In 2002, the GEAC had allowed the economic release of Bt cotton.
  • Bt cotton has  alien genes from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) that allows the crop to expand a protein poisonous to the commonplace pest pink bollworm. 
  • It is the only GM crop allowed in India.
  • Many varieties of GM crops are underneath distinct degrees of development, like Bt brinjal and DMH-eleven mustard.

Regulatory framework in India

• • The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC): It under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), is accountable for the evaluation of proposals associated with the industrial launch of GM crops.

• Acts and guidelines that modify GM crops in India are:

• • Environment Protection Act, 1986 (EPA)
  • Biological Diversity Act, 2002
  • Plant Quarantine Order, 2003
  • GM policy below Foreign Trade Policy
  • Food Safety and generals Act, 2006
  • Drugs and Cosmetics Rule (eighth Amendment), 1988.

Need for GM crops

• Food Security: Genetically changed crops can improve yield, build resistances to pests, flood, frost, drought and many others.
• Sustainable food system: Crops also can be modified to lessen carbon emissions and boost the sustainability of food production.
• Higher Productivity: With GM crops it’s miles viable to provide extra food from less vicinity and with much less chemical pesticides and fertilizer.
  • GM crop manufacturing uses only about 10% of the land non-GM crop production makes use of.
• Nutritional Security: Genetic changes can decorate the nutritional content of crops. 
  • Meeting Consumer Preferences: GM crops can be tailored to satisfy purchaser preferences, which includes crops with longer shelf life, stronger flavor, or specific cooking qualities.

Reasons for opposition of GM crops

• Unintended aspect consequences: The long-lasting impact of GM crops is yet to be studied and as a consequence they must not be released commercially.
  • Genetic modification can carry modifications that can be harmful to human beings ultimately.
• Threat to biodiversity: Some crops have been engineered to create their own toxins in opposition to pests. This may damage non-objectives including 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 the human body after consumption and could render actual antibiotic medicines less effective over a time period, leading to superbug threats.
• Social and economic issues: There are concerns about multinational agribusiness corporations taking up farming from the palms of small farmers.
  • Dependence on GM seed organizations ought to prove to be a monetary burden for farmers.
• Public issue: People in general are cautious of GM crops as they’re engineered in a lab and do not arise in Nature.

Way Forward

• The environmental launch of DMH-eleven marks the start of a brand new technology in self-reliance and sustainability in agriculture. This will assist to reap the target of  Zero Hunger by using 2030.
• Governments should address the problems brought on by GM crops, particularly in the areas of safety testing, legislation, industrial strategy, and food labeling.

Source: The Indian Express