Debate about the pros and cons of GM crops has raged for a long time now. What is wrong with India’s current farming model?
We are at a juncture where there is tremendous degradation of natural resources. This kind of destruction of the environment impacts the livelihood of millions of people. The kind of agriculture that has been practised since the Green Revolution has left an impact on the health of the people. This is a good time for a decisive shift to a food production system that will be a win-win situation. While increasing the food production was the concern of the proponents of the Green Revolution, there is enough scientific research to show that you can take care of food production that is needed for our country. It does not make sense to grow GM crops here.
Often corporations are able to get away with unethical behavior in India. Why is that so?
Monsanto wants to introduce Bt maize in India as countries like ours and China offer huge potential for business. Companies for who profit is the bottom line, there is obviously a tendency to look at our market and even adopt unethical or sometimes illegal practices. There is a lot of aggressive marketing which tells the farmers that GM crops are equally good for you. One side is laden with resources like PR fund and the other side does not have that kind of resources.
Informed public debate is an added challenge and the political class does not hesitate to compromise on public interest. While we do not have first hand evidence of corruption in the GM regulatory, there certainly is a conflict of interest. GM crops manufactures are themselves certifying their crops as safe. There is a lot of push from the corporations and lack of awareness among the public to assert their right. This is a potent combination.
Government is pushing GM crops in the country citing that it is important for food security. How accurate is this view?
It is ironical that in India, where we are sitting on tons of food grains that are left to rot and people starve, we are talking about GM being essential for food security. Our food production was always more than enough. These are just convenient arguments.
First let’s be clear, GM is not a technology which has a capacity to improve yields. Science of transgenesis has not progressed so much where you can modify multiple genes.
Some time back, around 200 scientists wrote to the government explaining how the argument was flawed. The letter was also used by the then Minister of Environment and Forests Jayanthi Natarajan to fight against NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) chief Sharad Pawar who was batting for GM crops.
What scientists had done was to give Natarajan evidence to show that countries where 60% of crops under production was GM, food insecurity had actually gone up. US, Argentina and Paraguay are examples that GM is not an answer. GM soy is the largest grown GM crop in the world and constitutes 70% or more of soy crops in plantation. Evidence suggests that it has not enhanced the yield, instead the yield has come down. It is important to understand that food security is also food safety.
Environment minister Prakash Javadekar has gone on record to say that there is no scientific proof against GM crops.
The government is being unscientific. They are repeatedly brushing aside evidence that does exist. Another aspect to this is that scientific evidence emerges depending on where funds are going. In India, ` 350 crore of public fund is being spent on developing GM crops.
We are not aware of a single project where money is being invested in research on biosafety. Several published papers show that there is evidence that GM crops are safe, but there is a conflict of interest about who funded/did the studies.
As a convenor of ASHA you interact closely with the farmers. What has been your observation with respect to their experiences with GM crops?
The largest number of farm suicides continue to be that of Bt cotton farmers. You can safely conclude that Bt cotton has not reduced, but exacerbated the crisis. The crops are risky as they require a lot of out of pocket investment for farmers. Seed is expensive and the crops require more inputs in the form of pesticides. Risk comes from the fact that Bt cotton is observed to be less stress tolerant, which is something the farmers cannot afford.
Farmers did adopt Bt cotton on a large scale. That is an indication of how frustrated they were with pesticides. Bt cotton farms saw pest infestations in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Punjab, where farmers had to plough back the crops because the pest infestation was too high. We are talking about tens of thousands of crores of losses for the farmers. The seed companies never pay up.
What are the dangers of GM food that consumers remain unaware of?
Oil companies are allowed to blend around 30% of their oil with other types of oil. Even if the label says it is 100% rice bran oil, there is a presence of other oil – generally of GM origin. People are consuming GM crops without knowing about it. Most of this is food imported from other countries as they don’t have a law which requires them to segregate GM and non-GM crops. Popcorn, mayonnaise and even baby foods have ingredients which have GM crops. Nestle products were also found to have GM ingredients when Greenpeace tested it sometime back.
If the food is imported, then one must avoid buying anything that has soy, corn, canola or cotton seed extracts in it. When it comes to oil in India, the only way to avoid GM is to opt for edible organic oil. Organic in India has zero tolerance for any kind of chemicals.
You’ve spoken about how American corporates are pushing GM crops in India. What stand according to you should the Indian political class take?
Politicians have to prioritise public interest. There are state governments who are saying that they will not allow GM crops anywhere in the state. Kerala has expressly said GM will not be allowed. If the government shows the political will, then there are ways to move forward. We will also need public pressure and awareness among the citizens.
How do you look at the market for organic produce and what would you like to change in it?
Government is investing very little in the sector. We need more promotion of organic farming. We need citizens who can easily afford to spend a little more on food to buy organic produce. It goes a long way in incentivising the farmers. If farmers are paid better, they will certainly move towards better practices. The middle class behaviour of haggling for food prices should change. When you unhesitatingly pay for brands like Nike because you know that the quality is better, then you should also know that the quality when it comes to food also varies.
Farmers understand that chemicals are not good, but their knowledge about seeds is limited. They are taught that with this you don’t have to use pesticides. It is important for farmers to start organising themselves. Unfortunately, their compulsions are such that they are unable to think beyond the immediate season.
Will shifting to organic produce and ensuring that farmers get access to markets improve the situation and bring down the large number of farmer suicides in our country?
Certainly. We don’t have a single organic farmer who has committed suicide. Cost of cultivation comes down drastically with organic farming. For 50 years, in the name of Green Revolution, the country has geared itself towards only one kind of farming. Only organic farmers and NGOs are telling farmers about organic farming – no one else is.