Committee in India Recommends Ban of GM Trials

Avatar for Posted by |4 December 2012

A media briefing in New Delhi organized by Aruna Rodigues, lead petitioner in a public interest litigation case seeking a decade-long termination of GM testing in India, has raised both fans and opposition across the ag industry.

One three-district-level farmer group went so far as to deem the recommendation “anti-farmer,” saying, “We need to reinforce checks and balances to ensure systematic trials and implementation of all guidelines. To stop all research into biotech crops, though, is short sighted and regressive. Any moratorium on field trials could impact the interest of the farmers. We need biotechnology. We want the right to choose and the freedom to farm.” they explained.

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The Times of India stated that much of the concern about the trials of GM crops in India stem from a general lack of understanding regarding the effect of GM crops on traditional seed based crops. The Times report that the committee in opposition of GM products requests that there should be designated, sanitized, and protected sites for the various stages of field trials that are not in close proximity to agricultural fields, in addition to other stipulations including the recording of bio-safety data.

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