Guidelines for Safety Assessment of Genome Edited Plants, 2022

In News 

Recently ,the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) issued guidelines easing norms for research into Genetically Modified (GM) crops and circumventing challenges of using foreign genes to change crops profile.

Major Highlights 

• The ‘Guidelines for Safety Assessment of Genome Edited Plants, 2022’ exempt researchers who use gene-editing technology to modify the genome of the plant from seeking approvals from the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC).
  • The guidelines provide a road map for the sustainable use of genome editing technologies and applicable to public and private sector research institutions engaged in research and development and handling of genome edited plants.
• The guideline aligns and harmonises India’s regulatory framework on genome editing with other mega food producing countries from Latin America, North America, Africa and Asian countries. 
• Environment ministry notification 
  • It had exempted certain types of genome-edited crops from the stringent biosafety regulations applicable to genetically-modified (GM) crops. 
  • The ministry had exempted site directed nuclease (SDN) 1 and 2 genomes from rules 7-11 of the Environment Protection Act, thus avoiding a long process for approval of GM crops through the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC).

Significance 

• These guidelines are expected to bring transformational change in product development and commercialisation and would contribute towards increasing farmer’s income.
• It will accelerate agriculture and good trade of such products.

Concerns raised by Environmentalist groups 

• Environmentalist groups have opposed this exception for gene-edited crops.
• Gene editing is included in genetic engineering. Therefore, there is no question of giving exemptions to particular kinds of genome edited plants from the regulatory purview.
• Gene editing techniques involve altering the function of genes and can cause “large and unintended consequences” that can change the “toxicity and allergenicity” of plants. “
•  They have demanded that these exemptions be withdrawn.

What are Genetically Modified Crops?

• Conventional plant breeding involves crossing species of the same genus to provide the offspring with the desired traits of both parents. 
• The GM plants that have usually come for such scrutiny are those that involve transgenic technology or introducing a gene from a different species into a plant, for instance BT-cotton, where a gene from soil bacterium is used to protect a plant from pest attack.

• 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 the University of Delhi, genetic modification allows cross-pollination in a crop that self-pollinates in nature.
• Global variants: 
  • Across the world, GM variants of maize, canola and soybean, too, are available.

Advantages of GM Crops

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

The legal position of genetically modified crops in India

• In India, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) is the apex body that allows for the 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 a fine of Rs 1 lakh under the Environmental Protection Act,1989.

Why are farmers rooting for GM crops?

• Reduced cost of production: In the case of cotton, farmers cite the high cost of the wedding, which goes down considerably if they grow Ht Bt cotton and use glyphosate against weeds. Brinjal growers in Haryana have rooted for Bt brinjal as it reduces the cost of production by cutting down on the use of pesticides.
• Currently being used illegally: Unauthorised crops are widely used. Haryana has reported farmers growing Bt brinjal in pockets which had caused a major agitation there. In June last year, in a movement led by Shetkari Sanghatana in Akola district of Maharashtra, more than 1,000 farmers defied the government and sowed Ht Bt cotton.

Issues /Concerns related to GM Crops

• 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. 
• The 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.
• 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 about GM crops has never been assessed thoroughly about the GM risk assessment in Indian conditions.
• Pesticides Resistance: Apprehension has been expressed that the target pest would grow resistant 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 about pricing and use of GM seeds is not new. 

What lies ahead ?

• GM foods have the potential to solve many of the world’s hunger and malnutrition problems.
• It could help in protecting and preserving the environment by increasing yield and reducing reliance upon chemical pesticides. 
• At the same time, the challenges need to be addressed by governments, especially in the areas of safety testing, regulation, industrial policy and food labelling.

Source:TH