Ahead of the Parliament session, critics of Genetically Modified (GM) mustard have accused the government of violating regulatory procedures and creating a questionable public document in order to ease the political opposition to the GM crop.
In a 35-page document, the anti-GM advocates not only questioned the reliability of the Assessment of Food/Feed and Environmental Safety (AFES) document on GM mustard, released by the Union Environment Ministry, but also charged the government with ignoring long-term safety issues to expedite the commercial release of GM mustard.
Indian scientists, who developed the genetically engineered crop and officials associated with the trial and regulatory affairs, however, rejected the allegations outright.
“These (the activists) are ideologues with no value for data or scientific arguments. We have submitted all the biosafety data to the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC). It is their call now,” Delhi University scientist Deepak Pental, who spearheaded the GM mustard development team told DH.
Developed by Delhi University scientists, the genetically engineered mustard varieties are under the government’s consideration for commercial launch. If it happens, the GM mustard would be the first GM food crop to be cultivated in Indian farms.
Biosafety regulator, GEAC, under the environment ministry, heard the critics and released the AFES document in the public domain seeking people’s comments.
The regulator received 759 comments, which are now being examined by the experts.
DH News Service