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Sunday, February 16, 2025, 1:13 am

Sunday, February 16, 2025, 1:13 am

While GM crops are not without flaws, their utility is paramount.

While GM crops are not without flaws, their utility is paramount.
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Last week, a two-judge bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Sanjay Karol of the Supreme Court of India issued a split verdict on allowing genetically modified (GM) mustard in farmer fields, adding to India’s long-running debate over genetically modified food crops. Cotton is now the sole authorized GM seed in India. Agricultural organizations, both private and public, are developing GM seeds for food crops such rice, wheat, tomato, brinjal, and mustard due to increased cotton output. However, no such seeds have been published yet.

DMH-11, also known as Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11, is a publically financed study at Delhi University’s biotechnology department that addresses these difficulties.

The plant’s DNA make it a valuable crop for private seed corporations to create new hybrid kinds. To be authorized under India’s agricultural system, crops must be tested over three seasons in various agro-climatic zones and continuously outperform their current counterparts. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research conducted three-year trials and found that DMH-11 matched the required criteria. The GEAC, a scientific advisory council led by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, approved DMH-11 in October 2022 after various tests. Environmentalists, on the other hand, claim that DMH-11 is a ‘herbicide tolerant’ crop.

The genetic coding drives farmers to use specific pesticides, leading to negative environmental implications. The developers are accused of not being honest about this information. Aruna Rodrigues and Gene Campaign have opposed the GEAC approval and its findings in court.

The judges divided on whether the GEAC was proper. Justice Nagarathna ruled that the GEAC violated the ‘precautionary principle’, which states that every new organism or technology should be subjected to careful consideration before implementation. Justice Karol seems to be satisfied with the proceedings.

The case is now assigned to a larger bench overseen by the Chief Justice of India. The most significant ruling was a Court order for the Centre to develop a policy on GM crops. The debate over genetically modified crops is more about ideology than yield or economics. India’s agricultural history highlights the negative impact of hybrid seeds and synthetic fertilizers on the environment, despite their promise to improve yields and productivity. The Court and government should avoid viewing the good as the enemy of the perfect when making decisions.

ABHISHEK VERMA


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