Are we really GM-free?

India claims to be free of genetically modified food and crops but there’s nothing to check the import of these products into the domestic market

The shelves of this supermarket in Mumbai are stacked with imported food products.

By Desiree Alemao

BANGALORE (Oct.13)—India is a country that has taken a strong stance against genetically modified crops by banning field trials and the entry of big players in the GM industry such as DuPont and Monsanto.

Yet we have overlooked the fact that the Indian market is flooded with GM food in the form of imported products. Most imports from countries such as the Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China and the United States, which are major producers of GM crops, such as corn and soy, contain GM ingredients.

The fact that there is no label on GM products and no law to check their entry into India is worrying. So if you thought you didn’t need to think twice before you drop an imported product into your shopping cart, think again.

Dilnavaz Variava, an environmental expert working for the Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture, said that as consumers we have a right to make an informed choice about the food we consume.

This would require that both food produced within the country as well as that which is imported be properly labeled.
“I would like to quote Norman Braksick, president of Asgrow Seed Co., a subsidiary of Monsanto: ‘If you put a label on genetically engineered food you might as well put a skull and crossbones on it,’” Variava said.

Ruth Sequeira, communications executive at The Leaf Initiative, an NGO in Mumbai, echoed Variava’s sentiments. “Introducing a technology that is potentially hazardous to an entire country without sufficient long-term benefits
and reliable studies by independent scientists that guarantee human and environmental safety is being far from prudent,”
she said.

All we can do at this point is be more aware as consumers till proper action is taken to make India truly GM-free.

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