Live Mint , Friday, December 05, 2014

Correspondent : Sayantan Bera

New Delhi: There is no scientific evidence to prove that genetically modified (GM) crops are harmful to soil, human health and environment, Prakash Javadekar, minister of environment, forests and climate change, said on Thursday. GM corn, canola, soybean and cotton are being cultivated and consumed by human beings as well as animals in many countries as food, feed and processed products, the minister said while replying to a question in Rajya Sabha related to the safety of GM crops. “In view of various concerns related to the safety, efficacy and agronomic performance of transgenic seeds, extensive evaluation and regulatory approval process takes place before any GM plant is approved for commercial cultivation,” he added. The minister further said that GM crops have beneficial traits such as insect resistance and herbicide tolerance, stress tolerance, fungal resistance, disease resistance, salt tolerance, drought tolerance, enhanced yield and nutrition that may help in food security. Last week, the minister had informed the Lok Sabha that there is no ban on GM crops either by the government or the Supreme Court. The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), the biotech regulator under the ministry, earlier this year—in March and July—approved 12 crops for experimental field trials for the purpose of generating biosafety data. The crops approved for field trials are cotton, rice, castor, wheat, maize, groundnut, potato, sorghum, brinjal, mustard, sugarcane and chickpea. However, the environment ministry is yet to sign the minutes of the meeting of the GEAC, and the approval is therefore not operative. Further, states are required to give no-objection certificates (NOC) for field trials. However, several states like Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu have refused to give NOCs while states like Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra are willing to give NOC.

SOURCE : http://www.livemint.com/Politics/TsSU9pQmYNW87dyJh1JzDI/No-scientific-evidence-to-prove-GM-crops-are-unsafe-Prakash.html