Allowing GM mustard a fatal decision for humans, environment, agriculture: Mahila Kisan Union

The Fact News Service

Chandigarh October 30

The Mahila Kisan Union, an affiliate of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, has categorically denounced the recent decision of the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee of the Union Environment Ministry to allow the production of genetically modified (GM) mustard seeds and termed it hazardous and unsafe to humans, environment, biodiversity and agriculture.

Castigating the Central government for extending rewards to its privileged corporate companies and creating hindrance for cultivators, the farmer outfit anticipated that this approval would establish a monopoly of seed companies being run by MNCs and open flood gates for introduction of more GMs crops in future.

Interacting with media persons here on Friday Mahila Kisan Union president Biba Rajwinder Kaur Raju said earlier decisions pertaining to allowing GM seeds were widely criticized and opposed as the GM crops and the food were found to be unsafe, toxic and life-threatening, for which the government had withdrew its decision.

Strongly condemned the approval of organically modified seeds she bemoaned that the experience of sowing BT cotton has also proved to be very fatal for the farmers of the country due to the emergence of new diseases every year on the BT cotton. Subsequently, the growers have been using pesticides indiscriminately to save their crops and were committing suicides due to high indebtness for expensive farming.

The women leader has demanded immediate intervention of the central government to withdraw this unscientific decision as GM mustard cultivation would result in poisonous hybrid crop. Biba Raju said the transgenic hybrid mustard was herbicide-tolerant that would lead to an increase in spraying of toxic chemicals on the crop. Thereby Glyphosate and cancer-causing carcinogenic substances would assimilate into human food and soil, and affect the health of humans and animals.

Biba Raju alleged that the BJP government at the Center is taking autocratic decisions regarding agriculture that would certainly devastate farming community. The women leader warned that farmers’ unions had earlier opposed strongly to allow GM seeds and would resist this time also for bestowing monopoly to corporate firms in production of seeds.