Genetically Modified Soymeal

In News

For the first time, India is set to import 15 lakh tonnes of genetically modified soymeal.

Why does India need to import?

• Rising Demands: The import of soymeal is to meet the current feed shortage in the country. There is a rising demand  for a major ingredient of poultry feed.
• Poor harvest: The poor harvest of soybean led to shortages in soy feed.
• High Prices: Poultry farmers have been asking for imports as the domestic price of soymeal has skyrocketed from Rs 40 per kg to Rs 110 per kg.
• Pressure from Industry: The poultry industry has been lobbying for the import of soymeal to tide over domestic shortages and tame prices.

Rising Concerns over Imports

• Lack of Regulation: There are concerns over the grey area of regulation regarding genetically modified ingredients, given that most imported meals come from GM beans.
• Entering Food Chain: Environmental activists have raised concerns about the permission given for something derived from a genetically modified plant to enter the human food chain.
• Health at Stack: The public is being subjected to the hazards of this genetically engineered feed which may lead to adverse health impacts.

Import Policy

• The import of genetically modified organisms and living modified organisms is restricted and governed by the Environment Protection Act 1985.
• GM import proposals are examined by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), a statutory body under the Environment Ministry for making a recommendation to either accept or reject the proposal.
  • The Committee is chaired by the Special Secretary/Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, GOI. A representative of the Department of Biotechnology is a co-chair.
• However, soya de-oiled cake or meals do not fall under these categories. It falls under the non-living organism category.
• Hence, import of soya de-oiled cake of meal will not be subjected to the Schedule of 1 of GEAC import policy approval as it is a non-living organism.

About Soymeal

• Poultry feed: 
  • Soymeal is the protein rich solid left after the oil is expelled from the seed and is used as a raw material for poultry feed. 
• Domestic prices skyrocketing: 
  • Since the last few months, domestic prices have skyrocketed with soymeal, which was earlier trading at Rs 40/kg, touching Rs 110/kg. 
  • As a result, production cost for poultry farmers have also crossed the Rs 100/kg-mark while realization remained at Rs 80-90/kg.
• Speculations are the cause of surge pricing: 
  • The Poultry industry had blamed speculators for this price rise. 
  • While the formal notification allowing the import is yet to be issued by the DGFT, the poultry industry said they are hopeful of a duty-free import regime as against the 15 per cent duty at present. 
  • Also, it would take 45 days before the imports land on Indian soil. The landed price of imported meal is expected to be Rs 40/kg.
• Changes in import allowed: 
  • Earlier, only import of soya oil was allowed because oil/fat technically contains no genetic matter. However, this is the first time that the decks have been cleared for import of soymeal.

What are Genetically Modified Seeds?

• Traditional method: 
  • Conventional plant breeding involves crossing species of the same genus to provide the offspring with the desired traits of both parents. 
• Genetic engineering method: 
  • Genetic engineering aims to transcend the genus barrier by introducing an alien gene in the seeds to get the desired effects. The alien gene could be from a plant, an animal or even a soil bacterium.
• GM crop allowed in India: 
  • Bt cotton, the only GM crop that is allowed in India, has two alien genes from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) that allows the crop to develop a protein toxic to the common pest pink bollworm. 
  • On the other hand, Bt cotton is derived with the insertion of an additional gene, from another soil bacterium, which allows the plant to resist the common herbicide glyphosate.
• Bt Brinjal: 
  • In Bt brinjal, a gene allows the plant to resist attacks of fruit and shoot borer.
• DMH 11 Mustard: 
  • In DMH-11 mustard, developed by Deepak Pental and colleagues in the South Campus of University of Delhi, genetic modification allows cross-pollination in a crop that self-pollinates in nature.

(Image Courtesy: isaac blog )

• Global variants: 
  • Across the world, GM variants of maize, canola and soybean, too, are available.

Advantages of GM Crops

• It improves production and raises the farmer’s income. 
• It reduces the use of pesticide and insecticide during farming that might be great moves for the betterment of the food supply.
• It can feed a rapidly increasing population because it shows dramatically increased yields.
• It can produce more in small areas of land.

Legal position of genetically modified crops in India

• In India, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) is the apex body that allows for commercial release of GM crops. 
• In 2002, the GEAC had allowed the commercial release of Bt cotton. 
• More than 95 per cent of the country’s cotton area has since then come under Bt cotton. 
• Use of the unapproved GM variant can attract a jail term of 5 years and fine of Rs 1 lakh under the Environmental Protection Act ,1989.

Apprehensions Regarding GM Crops

• Inadequate Safety Assessments: The current safety assessments are inadequate to catch most of the harmful effects from the GM crops. Moreover, the regulatory regime in India with regard to the GM crops has never been assessed thoroughly with regard to the GM risk assessment in Indian conditions.
• Health Hazards: Several studies in Bt crops show that there are many potential health hazards. Itching skin, eruptions on the body, swollen faces, etc., have been reported, correlated with levels of exposure to Bt Cotton. 
• Decline in Fertility: Farmers from various parts of the country have reported a decline in their soil productivity after growing Bt Cotton. Many groups are also studying the decline in fertility and milk yield of cattle due to GM Cottonseed cattle feed.
• Pesticides Resistance: Apprehension has been expressed that the target pest would grow resistance to the Bt toxin with time. Not enough studies on soil ecology have been done to understand the impact of Bt toxin. 
• Pricing Policy: The pricing policy has also been questioned. Cost-recovery would be much higher for Bt seeds due to the research and marketing involved. 
• Patent & Litigation: Moreover, Patent infringement is a big concern of agribusiness. Litigation on the part of the company with regard to pricing and use of GM seeds is not new. 

What are FSSAI guidelines on GM Food? 

• FSSAI issued an order on February 8 setting the permissible limit for genetically modified organisms (GMO) in imported food crops at 1%. 
• However, trade organisations have said that this threshold is unacceptably high. 
• It amounts to an advocacy for zero presence of GMO in food and some other consumables.

Way Ahead

• GM foods have the potential to solve many of the world’s hunger and malnutrition problems, and to help protect and preserve the environment by increasing yield and reducing reliance upon chemical pesticides. 
• Yet there are many challenges ahead for governments, especially in the areas of safety testing, regulation, industrial policy and food labeling.

Sources: IE+DTE