Commercial release of GM Mustard opposed

Church body says its will have harmful effect on ecology and rural health

The Department of Ecological Concerns of the Church of South India (CSI) Synod has taken exception to the reported recommendation of the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee attached to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change for the commercial release of the genetically modified (GM) mustard named Dhara Mustard Hybrid 11 (DMH11).

The DMH11 has been developed by the Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants (CGMCP), University of Delhi South Campus (UDSC), New Delhi.

Talking to

The Hindu , Mathew Koshy Punnackad, Director of the CSI Ecological Concerns, said the proposed GM Mustard engineered with three genes is a herbicide-tolerant crop and has not been evaluated for its impact. He said the herbicide tolerance trait has been problematic world over due to its negative impact on ecology, creation of unmanageable super weeds and deleterious impact on rural health.

Honey trade to be hit

Dr. Punnackad said mustard is a major forage crop for honey bees. Honey from GM crop fields will be rejected by consumers, both within and outside the country, thereby devastating the honey trade. In addition, honey bees are adversely impacted by GM crops, which may not only decrease the honey production but also crop yields in mustard and

other crops.

He said it was quite perturbing that the proponents of the GM Mustard (Delhi University) have refused to put out the bio-safety reports on the trials made so far. The impact of GM crops on the therapeutic values of the particular vegetable or seed must be assessed before

taking any decision on GM mustard, as mustard is one an important items in Ayurveda treatment, especially for rheumatism, skin diseases, cholesterol, blood circulation and cancer, he said.

Dr. Punnackad said it must be recalled that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture in its report submitted to Parliament on August 9, 2012, unequivocally recommended banning of even field trials of GM crops for various reasons.

According to him, plants form the base for Ayurveda medicine and the genetic modification of plants will have adverse impact on the Ayurveda treatment systems and medicine.

India is a centre of diversity of mustard having 9,720 varieties. Once the GM mustard is released, there is every chance of these being contaminated and lost, says Dr. Punnackad.