As the many-sided risks and harms of GM crops are so serious, obvious and well-established, it is only to be expected that any completely unbiased appraisal and regulatory system will not allow their approval and spread. Hence it is an important part of the big business agenda of dominating world food and farming via GM crops to weaken the appraisal systems of various developing countries in particular so that GM crops can gain entry despite their huge risks. Hence it is not surprising that several senior scientists of India and world have repeatedly criticized the regulatory processes and systems relating to GM crops and foods.
The latest of these exposures regarding the weaknesses of the regulatory system and its glaring violations has been released very recently in January 2023 by the Coalition for a GM-Free India (CGMFI) in the specific context of “serious deficiencies, lapses and violations in GM mustard appraisal and approval.” This report has put together 15 examples of the “violations of statutory regulations and serious procedural infirmities with regard to GM mustard appraisal and approval in India.”
While focussing on GM mustard, this report nevertheless recalls that some of these violations were applicable to other GM crops like Bt cotton and Bt brinjal too – in the case of Bt brinjal, these kind of egregious violations and compromises were incidentally made the grounds for the Government of India to impose an indefinite moratorium on the environmental release/commercial cultivation of Bt brinjal.
The reason for this irresponsible compromise in testing and appraisal, this report suggests, could be a US-AID supported project implemented in India, in the name of “harmonisation” of regulation, which resulted in dilution of testing in the regulatory regime.
Many studies that were prescribed and done for Bt brinjal were not conducted for GM HT mustard. This dilution happened despite the fact that mustard is grown in far larger area than Brinjal in India, despite the fact that it is not just mustard seeds that are consumed but its leaves and flowers also, and despite the fact that significantly more livelihoods are directly dependent on mustard crop, when compared to Brinjal. The tests done on Bt brinjal revealed its lack of safety as per independent public scrutiny. Government is clearly avoiding that distinct possibility arising with GM mustard too, by limiting the testing drastically.
This report referring to legal cases says the Learned Bench was interested in knowing if industry does safety studies itself. Yes, is the reply. In the case of this GM mustard too, most studies were done by the crop developer.
All test protocols for GM mustard testing were evolved by the crop developer itself. Further, 8 of the tests that were done to prove safety and efficacy of GM mustard were done by the applicant itself. Only 5 other studies were done by other agencies. Members of these other agencies were also closely connected to study protocol designing, or conducting of tests and even appraisal of the results later on.
Making public the entire biosafety dossier is one good way of ensuring that regulatory compromises in the form of conflict of interest or unscientific testing of any kind can be clearly addressed, by independent appraisal of the data submitted by the applicant. It was such independent scientific scrutiny that brought to light the serious deficiencies in the case of Bt brinjal. It is with a clear malafide intent that the GM mustard biosafety dossier has been kept hidden by the regulators, despite their own commitment to publish the dossier.
Regulatory capabilities are clearly lacking with GEAC, as well as regulators under other statutes, to ensure farmer-level compliance of regulations or conditions laid down by GEAC. The clear attempt to criminalise farmers is also condemnable. In such a case, conditional approvals are just an abdication of the responsibility of the regulators. Further, if GM mustard has been released for further testing, the applicable guidelines and protocols are that of “confined field trials”, and this cannot be termed as “Conditional Approval for Environmental Release Prior to Commercial Release”.
Several key provisions of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety have not been operationalised in the Indian regulatory regime. There are no mechanisms for fixing liability for damages, nor redressal for such damages or losses. No guidelines and protocols have been instituted to include Socio Economic Considerations into the appraisal mandate given to the regulatory body. In fact, GEAC’s lack of understanding of the Precautionary Principle, which is the cornerstone for the Cartagena Protocol, is very apparent.
After being renamed as an Appraisal Committee, from being an Approval Committee, Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) itself knows that it is not the competent authority for approving GM mustard. This is reflected in its meeting minutes as well as submissions in the Supreme Court. However, GEAC issued the approval letter to GM mustard crop developer, and this is invalid.
GEAC’s approval of GM mustard environmental release clearly ignores and bypasses the constitutional authority that state governments have been vested with, when it comes to Agriculture and Health. What is even more surprising is that GEAC takes into account the rights of state governments when it comes to Field Trials, but is choosing to ignore the same when it comes to Environmental Release, despite stated policy positions of state governments against GM crops.
CONCLUSION:
Approval of GM HT Mustard in fact demonstrates total failure of India’s limited biosafety regulations and also showcases the serious deficiencies in the regulatory regime. Public Health and Environmental Safety have been seriously compromised in GM mustard approval. State Governments’ Constitutional authority over Agriculture has been bypassed and violated – States have not even been consulted, the way they were in the case of Bt brinjal. India, a signatory to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, has also violated international commitments in the approval of GM mustard. Indian Government and regulators have clearly ignored and neglected the Supreme Court’s Technical Expert Committee’s science-based recommendation to ban HT crops in India, apart from banning transgenics in those crops for which we are the Centre of Origin and/or Diversity.
The CGMFI derserves widespread appreciation for preparing and releasing this very timely report on many-sided glaring violations of procedures and protocols relating to GM mustard.
The writer has been active in reporting food safety issues and environmental issues for several years.
Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now.
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