THE FOOD Safety and Sta- ndards Authority of India (fssai), the country’s nodal food regulatory body, does not know if the fresh food produce imported in the past five years included genetically modified (GM) varieties. Neither does fssai have information on tests undertaken to check for the presence of such varieties. These are the findings of a Right To Information (rti) investigation by Down To Earth (dte). This raises questions whether the fruit and vegetables sold currently in the country— at supermarkets and by roadside vendors—are free of GM varieties or not.
When a new variety of plant is created by inserting in it the genes of another plant, organism or bacteria, the variety becomes a genetically modified organism (gmo). Since there is not enough data or research on the long-term impacts of gmo on human health, there is no unanimity in the scientific community on their regular consumption.
Globally, about a dozen gmo species are being farmed on a large scale. Some 28 countries allow large-scale farming of these gmo crops, states a 2015 report by The Royal Society, a London-based fellowship of scientists and the world’s oldest scientific academy in continuous existence. In India, the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, prohibits import, manufacture, use or sale of GM food without fssai’s approval (see ‘We all eat genetically modified food’, dte, 1-15 August 2018). So far, the country has allowed cultivation and import of only one gmo—cotton, a non-food crop. In 2022, India also allowed commercial cultivation of GM mustard, but the move has been challenged and is pending at the Supreme Court.
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Denne historien er fra November 16, 2023-utgaven av Down To Earth.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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In leading role again
MOVIES AND WEB SERIES ARE ONCE AGAIN BEING SET IN RUSTIC BACKGROUNDS, INDICATING A RECONNECT BETWEEN CINEMA AND THE COUNTRYSIDE
One Nation One Subscription comes at a huge cost
As top US universities scrap big deals with top scientific publishers, India’s ONOS scheme seems flawed and outdated
Return of Rambhog
Bid to revive and sell the aromatic indigenous paddy variety has led to substantial profits for farmers in Uttar Pradesh's Terai region
Scarred by mining
Natural springs of Kashmir drying up due to illegal riverbed mining
Human-to-human spread a mutation away
CANADA IN mid-November confirmed its first human case of avian influenza, with a teenager in the British Columbia being hospitalised after contracting the H5N1 virus that causes the disease. The patient developed a severe form of the disease, also called bird flu, and had respiratory issues. There was no known cause of transmission.
True rehabilitation
Residents of Madhya Pradesh's Kakdi village take relocation as an opportunity to undertake afforestation, develop sustainable practices
INESCAPABLE THREAT
Chemical pollution is the most underrated and underreported risk of the 21st century that threatens all species and regions
THAT NIGHT, 40 YEARS AGO
Bhopal gas disaster is a tragedy that people continue to face
A JOKE, INDEED
A CONFERENCE OF IRRESPONSIBLE PARTIES THAT CREATED AN OPTICAL ILLUSION TO THE REALITY OF A NEW CLIMATE
THINGS FALL APART
THE WORLD HAS MADE PROGRESS IN MITIGATING EMISSIONS AND ADAPTING TO CLIMATE IMPACTS. BUT THE PROGRESS REMAINS GROSSLY INADEQUATE
