The TEC has that open field trials of GM crops should not be conducted till the major gaps in the regulatory system are fully addressed. The TEC reiterated its recommendation made in its interim report that there should be a moratorium on field trials for Bt in food crops. It may be noted that this moratorium is now indefinite, the cap of 10 years being removed, in the mode of the imposition of a moratorium by the Minister of the Environment and Forests on Bt brinjal (eggplant), until conditions are met.

The TEC also recommended that release of GM crops for which India is centre of origin or diversity should not be allowed.

Inaugurating the Bio-Agri-2013 Summit organised the apex Indian industry body, Assocham, here on Tuesday, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries, Tariq Anwar said : “There is need for a healthy scientific debate on the whole topic since it has been quite contentious not only in India but across the world with strong opinions being expressed on both sides of the debate.”

The TEC report makes two major points – firstly, the regulatory system has to be strengthened and secondly there should be a more sound system of risk assessment.
“Although genetic modification is generally seen as a tool offering potential benefits to farmers and consumers in a wide range of food and agriculture areas, there is concern about their potential impact on human health and on environment,” said Anwar.

He, however, said that after tremendous progress made in recent years in the field of genetics, “the identity, location, impact and function of the majority of genes affecting traits of importance for food and agriculture are still unknown, this is only the tip of the iceberg.”

He expected biotechnology to play a major role in improving productivity.

“Human health issues have been raised because GM crops can be a direct source of food like by eating a GM plant, animal or fish or an indirect source, where ingredients in processed foods may be GM. For example, soybeans are widely used in processed foods, including margarine, biscuits and sausages or where domestic animals or fish, eaten by humans, may be raised on GM feed. Currently, GM crops are primarily an indirect food source, as the dominant crops in commercial use are used in livestock feed and food processing and GM fish or livestock are not commercially available for food consumption,” the Minister said.

On perceived environmental hazards, he said : “Environmental issues have been raised because of potential consequences of gene flow from GM to non-GM individuals of the same species or because GM Crops may have a negative impact on unrelated species. For example, crops genetically modified for insect resistance might harm non-target organisms, such as soil microbes and beneficial insects. Regulation of GM Crops has therefore always been a central part of the general GM Crop debate i.e. what kind of regulations they should be, what exactly they should regulate, how strict they should be, how GM Crops should be regulated compared to their conventionally-bred counterparts etc.”

Pointing out that regulations governing GM crops can potentially act at a number of key stages, Anwar said : “Regulation related to research and development stage would typically involve conditions under which laboratory experiments take place, testing of the characteristic which the transgene is expected to introduce and also issues related to ensuring that during Research and Development stage also there is no scope for the GM crops affecting non-GM crops in the area.”

The Secretary in the Union Agriculture Ministry, Ashish Bahuguna had earlier informed the TEC that it will not be possible to segregate GM from non-GM material during the overall process of collection, handling and storage in India.

The Minister also emphasised on risk assessment and risk management before approval is sought for commercialisation.

“Issues related to commercial release of GM crops would include matter related to minimum distance of GM crops from non-GM fields, labelling of produce if the crop is used for food and also matter related to penalty for violation of such regulations,” said Anwar.

Admitting that a strong patent regime is important for sustaining required investment in biotech research, he said : “, I would also request the companies to be judicious in pricing of their product.”

The Minister urged the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to contribute to public discourse and provide clarity on this sensitive issue of GM crops.