: Is GEAC truly a representative and knowledgeable body to evaluate impact of GM foods

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40 years ago the U.S. made a costly error of trusting a novice economic research scholar to bring forward the theory of Carbon Capping to reduce emissions. Had energy specialists taken the lead that day instead of a novice economist the world would have made giant strides in Clean Energy instead of wasting so many years and billions of dollars in the negative economics of Carbon trade.

Today India is on the verge of creating such a monumental mistake in developing its approach to Genetically Modified Foods. The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee of India, GEAC is packed with bureaucrats, scientist turned administrators in Government departments and scientists whose careers are linked to the prosperity of biotechnology, and not the medical safety of the masses . All of these people have no reason to understand , appreciate and evaluate the real risks involved in propagation of genetically modified foods in India.

Why it was a mistake to trust the opinion of a novice economist on climate change is a strange story of ignorance of authorities and opportunism by the protectionist groups elaborated in my popular presentations in the Climate change Positive Solutions Series:

COP 15 : Bullshitting 15 years on climate change http://tinyurl.com/luzxss

COP 15: Gassing 15 years on Carbon Economy http://bit.ly/4kzzIz


Why it is wrong to have such a lopsided GEAC decide or opine on the issue of GM Foods entering India is as under :

1) No paediatricians and gynaecologists or specialist physicians in the committee who can rightly assess the risk to future generations of the mother and child the most vulnerable section to such genetically modified foods

2) No professional Risk Managers like representatives of the Life Insurance Corporation or IFFCO Tokio in the GEAC despite the fact that GM foods are a huge medical risk adequately covered in the U.S. by the presence of comprehensive health insurance policies that reach all sections of the society

3) No professional mega market vegetable chain representative like Mother Dairy or Reliance in the GEAC who can actually run the numbers with their experience and say convincingly that with the current production of the species in the market this variety is perpetually short of demand and requires a GM input. Surely you don’t want excessive production of a variety, low market prices and a spate of farmer suicides due to overproduction and low demand induced by GM foods

4) No foreign representative experts from the markets abroad where GM products are successful to give us a picture of the market and its demographic composition and risks involved and mitigation procedures and safeguards.

5) No specialist food /culinary expert like Sanjeev Kapoor, Tarla Dalal or Nita Mehta in the GEAC committee to opine on the taste of BT Brinjal or other GM varieties. The taste of Indian food differentiates its in the world markets not only due to the spices and cooking but also due to the fact that the vegetables themselves are more tasty than their American counterparts which are much larger but very bland .

Merely labelling of a product as a GM food is not enough when 70 % of the population is illiterate and hungry. We have the responsibility to safeguard their needs with adequate care and insurance for both the farmer producer as well as the consumer user. Whereas GM foods is being used in America let us not forget that the multi-racial and multi-cultural EU still has a level of resistance against its free usage. Also let us not forget that a land usage in India for crops is low and so is productivity…..not due to absence of Genetic varieties but because we do not have a developed farming infrastructure support to sustain our farmers through the thick and thin of natures cycles like the western economies. Let us develop those areas first before we take up this new challenge of which may just spin out of control …as we are still not battle ready to face the consequences of GM Foods