The Policy Of Genetically Modified Crops - 1401 Words

INTRODUCTION: There are a lot of questions concerning the policy of genetically modified crops in India, regarding the approach towards the development of economy, the technological impact on the nation and also the relationships between farming and business communities. The supporting parties of Biotechnology in agriculture argue that the genetically modified crops could be the solution to most of the existing problems in the country’s agriculture; opposing parties argue that it could have negative impact on the environment and livelihood of farmers. The policy changes in India on the GM crops were influenced by both the pro and anti GM parties, the approach of both the parties has been similar in many ways through their international†¦show more content†¦Meanwhile Illegal Bt cotton was found in Gujarat during 2001 and it was later found that the seeds were from a local company based in Hyderabad producing hybrid varieties called Navbharat Seeds Co and not Monsanto-MAHYCO Biotech. During the same year at the citizens’ jury of India meeting held in Karnataka which consisted of 14 farmers both men and women, the jury has voted against the GM crops after discussing and accessing all the information provided to them by the Monsanto, government, scientific institutes and other biotech organisations .The jury supported localized food systems over GM crops at the time and provided a list of actions that could be undertaken by the government and biotech companies for the approval of GM Crops in the future. ‘Genes are the functional units of heredity’, the insertion of a transgene (gene sequence from another organism of similar or different species) using technologies like genetic engineering and R-DNA into a plant makes it a genetically modified plant.GM Cotton is produced by inserting a gene coding for Bt (Protein present in bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis) into cotton plant, Bt-protein is toxic to certain pests like Bollworm. The name Bollgard was given to the newly developed genetically modified cotton and it was commercialized in the year 2002.Many developing countries have opted for GM crops, despite the presence of strong opposing parties and campaigns, including India, China, Canada,