This refers to the article “Engineered ban” (May 31) by Surinder Sud. One wonders if the author is being naïve or disingenuous when he says the heavily-funded biotechnology industry lobby is coming forward to “disseminate accurate and unbiased information on GM technology.” Unfortunately, the author’s blatant pro-industry bias is evident throughout the article.
This is not a battle between good corporations and evil NGOs. It is about the safety of our food, our right to choose as consumers, the threat to biodiversity and seed sovereignty of the nation.
The author has ignored a large body of peer-reviewed science and evidence from agricultural fields across the world that has provided proof of harm caused by GM crops — resistance development, secondary pests, adverse health effects, takeover of agricultural lands by super weeds and contamination of water bodies, to cite a few examples.
Therefore, as a prudent nation it is not enough to merely assess the “harmful” effects of GM technology, instead we should look for evidence of safety.
The author is correct when he stresses on the “gainful application of biotechnology”; indeed the technology is very gainful for a handful of transnational seed companies and a large number of research entities funded by them.
It should be noted that addressing the issue of hunger and food security requires political will and better governance and administration; it does not need technological quick fixes. Global reports – including ones from the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development and Food and Agriculture Organisation – have categorically said small-scale sustainable agriculture is the best way to ensure food security and sustainability of agricultural livelihoods.
The “displeasure and dismay” of a few Indian plant biotechnologists thus is not reason enough to introduce this technology without adequate evidence of safety.
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Sreedevi, Den Haag, Netherlands
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