GM foods, presented often as biotechnologically developed foods, are shunned by many people on many grounds including their safety but in countries like the US, Canada etc these foods and ingredients based on them have crept into the food plates of the consumers unannounced and unrecognized. The regulatory authorities in these countries, invariably pro-industry, depended very heavily on safety data generated by the genetic food companies while not insisting on mandatory labeling provision. In contrast European Union has been more cautious in dealing with GM foods and even to day no commercial GM food crops have been cleared. The recent Bt Brinjal episode in India brought out the enormous clout the GM food industry enjoys with governments, even the democratic ones and Bt Brinjal would have become a reality but for the hostile reaction from the public articulated all over the country. Now comes the news that Indian Government is on the threshold of enacting a Bill for regulation of Biotechnology Industry and since the government has a majority in the Parliament, it is a question of time before GM crops are cleared by the so called regulatory body mostly managed by "Sarkari" babus like the food safety agency. Here is a take on this controversial issue.
After vocal protests over the commercial introduction of BT-Brinjal in the country over the last few months, activists fighting against Genetically Modified foods in Madhya Pradesh have now called the proposed Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) bill an effort to stifle anti-GM voices in the country. The bill, which is likely to be approved by the cabinet next month and tabled for passage in the budget session, will bring about wide ranging changes in the process of regulating the research, transport, import, manufacture and use of GM products in the country. According to activists, the bill serves to override State-specific concerns by making the proposed authority solely responsible for releasing and controlling GMOs throughout the country and envisages only an advisory role for States. According to Section 81 of the Bill, the Act will have an over-riding effect (over other State-level acts). Activists allege that this ignores the constitutional powers that State governments have over their Agriculture & Health.
As per Section 24 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, FSSAI is supposed to regulate GM foods but once the NBRAI comes into existence, the Section could in all probability be diluted as the latter will be a single regulatory body for all GM-related issues in the country. It is presumed that all aspects regarding crops, food and vaccines may be regulated by the NBRAI except for food-labeling. The proposal for setting up the NBRAI was prepared by the Department of Biotechnology, under the ministry of science & technology in 2008. It was in 2004 that a Task Force on the Application of Agricultural Biotechnology was set up and according to its recommendations, an autonomous, statutory and professionally-led National Biotechnology Regulatory Authority should be set up with distinct wings for dealing separately with one responsible for food and agricultural biotechnology and the other with medical and pharmaceutical biotechnology. The avowed objective of NBRAI is for "generating the necessary public, political, professional and commercial confidence" in the science-based regulatory mechanism in place in the country. There is a sneaking suspicion that GOI wants to bring in GM technology in a big way into the country, probably under American pressure, and NBRAI would only be a fig leaf to cover this agenda. As the anti GM movement in the country is pretty strong, unless the technology is really beneficial to the country, it will be difficult to imagine that transnational companies with large financial stake in GM technology propagation, would be able "to do an America" on India!
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