Use and spread of GMOs should cease so science can focus on real agricultural solutions

(http://www.thehindu.com) In 2010, former Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh told his then apex regulator of genetically modified organisms that it had failed to properly use available science to determine the safety of Bt brinjal. His decision to do so was based in science and validated by the esteemed scientists that made up the Supreme Court Technical Expert Committee who have advised the Court on the need for better research before continuing to release GM crops in the environment or use them as food.

Many scientists view questions and concerns about GM crop technologies as an assault on science, but this simply is not true. For over 30 years, GM technology has promised to produce plants that will resist the stresses of drought, heavy metals and salt, increase yield, reduce the use of toxic pesticides and even fix their own nitrogen, but none of these promises have been sustainably delivered to farmers. GM crops have also still not been proven to be safe. Over 1,000 applications were approved to test stress-tolerant GM plants in field trials in the United States. None ever made it out of the testing phase.

GM technology is an attempt to use genetics to overcome the environment, which never works for long and will soon be seen as just a distraction from investing in real solutions to the problems faced by farmers. Countries that choose to innovate in agriculture using GM have demonstrated lower productivity increases and a greater dependence on chemicals compared to other countries that do not use GM crops, such as Western European countries like France. Better solutions to the problems faced by farmers would include using technology to build up their soils and manage pests with little or no application of pesticide while expanding the variety of crops grown and increasing nutrition. That is why we should halt the use and spread of GM crops until further testing is done and science has made attempts to come up with real, sustainable solutions.