GM CROP

GM CROP
Genetically-modified foods (GM foods) are been in the news lately. European environmental organizations, India and public interest groups have been actively protesting against usage of GM foods for months.
The former environment minister of India told the apex regulator of genetically modified organisms (GEAC) that it failed to properly use available science to determine the safety to human health and environment in 2010.
There is fierce opposition from activists even to the introduction of the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority Bill (BRAI) in Parliament, meant to evolve a scientific basis for the regulatory process.

What is GM CROPS?

* These crops have been modified in the laboratory to enhance desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content.

* The enhancement of desired traits are undertaken through breeding, but conventional plant breeding methods are time consuming and are often not very accurate.

* Transgenic (or genetic modification) technology, which includes Bt (Bacillus thuringensistoxin) crops, combats abiotic stresses and improve nutritive quality of the grain.

* Transgenic technology is only one component of agri-biotech, which includes non-GM options such as marker-assisted selection breeding (MAS), reverse breeding, grafting non-GM scion onto GM-root stocks etc.

* Genetic engineering can create plants with the exact desired trait very rapidly and with great accuracy. For example, plant geneticists can isolate a gene responsible for drought tolerance and insert that gene into a different plant. The new genetically-modified plant will gain drought tolerance as well.

* Not only can genes be transferred from one plant to another, but genes from non-plant organisms also can be used. The best known example of this is the use of B.t. genes in corn and other crops. B.t., or Bacillus thuringiensis.

Purpose of research on GM crops

* To overcome national issues concerning lost revenues for farmers, breeding companies and consumers, brain drain and lost technology innovations, reduced agricultural productivity and sustainability, foregone health benefits, especially reducing malnutrition.

* If rice could be genetically-engineered to contain additional vitamins and minerals, nutrient deficiencies could be alleviated. For example, blindness due to vitamin A deficiency is a common problem in third world countries





GM crop features

* GM is not a stand-alone technology. It can blend with conventional technologies, including organic farming. In fact, it is ideal to have a Bt crop as central to organic farming, since the overall objective is to decrease use of chemical pesticides.

* Thus, drought-tolerant maize and quality protein maize have been developed using Market Assistant Selective Breeding (MAS). Golden rice has been developed using the GM approach with two genes, one from daffodil and another from a soil bacterium.


* GM crop promises to meet needs in many ways like

Pest resistanceCrop losses from insect pests can be staggering, resulting in devastating financial loss for farmers and starvation in developing countries.

Herbicide toleranceFarmers often spray large quantities of different herbicides (weed-killer) to destroy weeds, a time-consuming and expensive process.

Disease resistancePlant biologists are working to create plants with genetically- engineered resistance to these diseases.

Cold toleranceUnexpected frost can destroy sensitive seedlings. An antifreeze gene from cold water fish has been introduced into plants such as tobacco and potato.

Drought tolerance/salinity toleranceCreating plants that can withstand long periods of drought or high salt content in soil and groundwater will help people to grow crops in formerly inhospitable places.

NutritionMalnutrition is common in third world countries where impoverished peoples rely on a single crop such as rice for the main staple of their diet. However, rice does not contain adequate amounts of all necessary nutrients to prevent malnutrition.


Reasons for embargo on GM crops

* Technical expert committee of India feels that the technology in the field of biotechnology is relatively new and there is limited information on safety, especially food safety.

* Effects of long-term and widespread consumption and commercial release of GM crops in the environment.

* No enough or extensive field trails to evaluate the health and environmental aspects of allowing GM crops.

* Concentration of intellectual property and resources for research on GM crops in the private sector was resulting in perverse and exploitative relationships of public institutions with the private sectors in developing countries and that these had not been successful in meeting the development and sustainability goals. ( this view held that the control of GM crop biotechnology by private sector was affecting the ability to deploy it towards the public good in developing countries).

* The cost of GM seeds is the fastest growing expense for U.S. farmers who are simultaneously suffering from weeds resistant to the herbicides excessively used on GM crops and pests resistant to the insecticides over-used in Bt crops. That likely would be Indias experience had it commercialized Bt brinjal which was developed with the least effective form of Bt for the target pest.

Transgenic (or genetic modification) technology in India and necessary developments and limitations

* In our country, agricultural biotechnology has been reduced to Bt (Bacillus thuringensistoxin)-crops and further restricted to Bt cotton and Bt brinjal.

* If India has become a cotton-exporting country from a cotton-importing one, Bt cotton has played an important role in this change. The sustainability of Bt cotton would require both gene pyramiding along with IPM, NPM strategies, including crop rotation.

* Livestock fed on Bt corn are the main source of meat products, imported even by Europe. One needs to worry about water availability, loss of soil fertility and hostile weather conditions. Scientists are already looking for a cold shock protein to overcome drought stress, or a nitrate reductase gene that lets the organism grow with 100 times less nitrogen than normal.











GM technology of US (vs.) NON-GMs of European countries

* Western Europes maize yields match or exceed the U.S. yields using less pesticide. The yields in wheat and oilseed rape are increasing at an even faster rate in Western Europe than in the U.S. and Canada.

* This indicates a dangerous trend: those countries choosing to innovate in agriculture using GM are demonstrating lower productivity increases and greater dependence on chemical inputs in all crops compared to economically and environmentally comparable countries choosing to not use GM crops.

* GM products attract the strictest intellectual property (IP) rights instruments possible in agriculture (e.g., process patents).

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The very existing issue draws national concern as major part of Indian population is under poverty. Now as our whole country is expecting a lot from FOOD SECURITY BILL. At this very moment if we implement total embargo and oppose BRAI in parliament, it will not solve the problem of food scarcity and poverty in our country. Sole dependency on GM crops poses a greater threat in future for children suffering from under and malnutrition.
India being a part of GM technology needs genes from plants with deep roots that can use water and nutrients very effectively. These areas of research are extremely important and must be protected from hypothetical risks. Growing GM and NON-GM crops parallelly can ease some difficulties to a particular extent.
Supporting communities with education on nutrition and farmers with technologies that build up their soils manage pests with little or no application of pesticide and manufactured fertilizers gives them the means and independence to grow a variety of crops and livestock to meet their dietary needs and sell their surplus in local markets.
This investment in agriculture is not as good at making intellectual property, but better for growing food. To support Indias mainly small holder farming requires removing the penalties and incentives on the public scientist to develop primarily technologies that bring direct revenue to their institutions. Instead, invest in them with public money and measure their success by the yields of farmers, the reduction of pesticides and fertilizer they use, and the increase in their wealth and health.
India needs agriculture technology policy. Expert group need to decide year after year which crop, which trait and which strategy has to be used. Bt brinjal embargo cannot seal the fate of our country. These contentious issues can be debated only if the bill is introduced in our parliament.
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NAME: B BABLOO
REFERENCES: Sow the wind, reap a storm- The Hindu
Keep the pause button on GM pressed- The Hindu

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