With reference to Shekhar Gupta's piece, "Genetically ossified absurdity" (September 10), it is ridiculous that since 2002 the genetically modified (GM) and indigenously developed drought-resistant mustard seed, which will increase its yield by 25 to 30 per cent, was not permitted for commercial cultivation in India, where mustard constitutes about a third of all oil crops.
No doubt, GM crops create a sense of dread among the public and farmers. But as pointed out by Gupta, India imports nearly three million tonnes of edible oil annually - all of it GM. When "almost every Indian has been eating GM oils for years and nobody protests, or can protest because nothing else is available", why did we delay indigenously developed GM seeds permission for commercial cultivation? After all, it has been developed with taxpayers' money.
It was reported that to develop a GM seed, world leader Monsanto spends around Rs 900 crore whereas our scientists developed it with just Rs 50 crore. Now, with clearance from the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, our farmers and consumers should soon be able to benefit from the genetically engineered mustard seed developed by professor Deepak Pental and his team.
Nujum Mayyanad, New Delhi
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