Claim that decision will reduce dependence on oil imports is baseless, say activists
Chennai: As the Centre mulls over giving approval for commercial cultivation of GM mustard, a section of biologists and activists have warned that such a move would be ill-advised.
Arguing that the rationale given by the government and industry to allow Genetically Modified mustard to enter the food ecosystem is flawed, Kavitha Kuruganti, convener of the Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA), said that GM mustard threatened the seed diversity of indigenous mustard.
“The push for GM is coming from the commercial food industry, not from the kitchens of ordinary Indian homes. India produces sufficient mustard to meet its consumption requirements. The claim that GM mustard will reduce dependence on oil imports is baseless,” she told a panel here at Anna University.
She further claimed that some of the hybrid varieties of indigenous mustard in India have been shown to give better yield, when compared to what GM mustard could provide.
Organised by Poovulagin Nanbargal, an environmental organisation, the panel hosted biologists, medical practitioners and activists, who discussed why allowing commercial cultivation of GM mustard could prove harmful later.
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