Blogpost by Rajesh Krishnan – August 20, 2012
Genetically engineered (GE) food is a hot button topic in India. What happens here often sends ripples throughout the GE debate worldwide, but what happened last week is surely a major milestone.
GE crops are not the best option for a country like India, either in terms of farmers’ livelihoods or food security. In fact, the committee concluded that GE crops could pose a serious threat to people’s health and to biodiversity. The committee also found that Bt cotton, the only commercially cultivated GE crop in India, has failed to benefit farmers, especially small and marginal farmers in rainfed regions who form the majority of cotton cultivators in the country.