Transcript 160910-gm

GM mustard
in your daily tadka or avakaya
What is GM mustard?
• Mustard Genetically Modified to become male
sterile
• For ease of producing Hybrid mustard
• Claims to increase the yield due to heterosis
How GM Mustard is developed?
• By introducing genes bar, barnase and barstar from Bacillus
amyloliquefaciens (which uses barnase for protection from
microbial predators and barstar to protect itself from
barnase )
• Both gene link to bar gene which confers resistance to the
herbicide Gluphosinate.
• Mustard line containing the TA29–barnase construct are
male sterile; those with TA29–barstar are not affected by
the transgene ( Male fertile )
• Cross male sterile (barnase) with male fertile (barstar) to
get hybrid seed, which now has both barnase and barstar
expressed and, hence, is fully fertile. barstar is dominant
over barnase
Female lines cross to
homozygous maintainer
BarN link to herbicide resistance
Male parent line C carries BarS
Inhibit barnase activity,restore
fertilty
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GEAC’s deliberations on ProAgro’s GM Mustard in the
November 2002 and April 2003
Pollen flow studies as reported by the company showed transgenes escaping upto 35m,
while the ICAR trials indicated pollen flow upto 75 meters. “Considering the agro-climatic
conditions and small land holdings of Indian farmers, the Committee was of the view
that the non-GM mustard seed from the adjoining fields is likely to get contaminated by
the male sterility barnase, barstar, neomycin and bar genes. This factor may affect the
stability of the properties of the non-transgenic varieties”.
While the company showed seed yield increase ranging from 16% to 23% over the best
check Varuna indifferent GM hybrids, ICAR results showed only 5% upwards.“
ICAR under whose supervision the trials are supposed to have taken place clarified that it
did not supervise the number of trials that the company claimed, and that it conducted
trials only at 4 locations which is not adequate.
“Mustard being an edible crop, important policy issues related to labeling, traceability
etc., need to be put in place prior to commercial release”
Trial studies conducted by the company also indicated that the presence of barnase gene
is about 0.31%.
The use of Bar gene as a marker gene, increased weediness and consequent use of more
toxic persistent herbicides were discussed. Further studies should be conducted by ICAR to
address all biosafety issues including resistance to herbicide
The Committee noted that mustard being an edible crop, further studies to establish
health safety aspectsneed to be conducted
Why we don’t need GM mustard
• Its part of everyone’s daily consumption
• GURTechnologies banned in India
• India is the centre of origin and centre of diversity
for mustard and its relatives
• Containment impossible and contamination
inevitable
• ‘Herbicide tolerance’ not a desirable trait for
India
• Potential impact on pollinators
Shrouded in secrecy
• Supreme court orders, Technical Expert
Committee recommendations and Parlimentary
Standing Committee suggestions ignored
• Biosafety data not in public domain inspite of
orders
• Developers have not disclosed herbicide
tolerance
• Wrong comparisons with older varieties
• IPRs and implications
Glufosinate toxic to
pollinators and beneficial
insects EFSA (2005)
Glufosinate, is shown in animal
experiments to be toxic to the
neurological and reproductive
systems; it is also documented in
studies that it is toxic to beneficial
insects that control crop pests and to
pollinators.
Contamination Risks
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Mustard is Self which may often Cross
Pollinate.
Tiny Seeds easily carried away by wind
Contamination Possibilities over short and
long distance through cross pollination via
bees and other carriers.
Seeds remain viable for years and could be
transferred through Feral plants and other
volunteers.
The cultivation, even field trials of GM
threatens other varieties of the crop. This
would endanger the availability of safe and
Organic Mustard, permanently and
irrevocably
Deepak Pental to journalists of DTE magazine ““it is
wrong to claim that transgenes won’t move to nontransgenic material. If you have a selection over it like a
herbicide, then they spread very quickly “
“ the non-transgenic Brassica juncea as well as Brassica
rapa that is grown in eastern India can ‘receive’ these
genes.
GM Mustard Fild Trials Flout SC Orders
Even though ICAR found contamination at 75
meters in the case of Pro-Agro’s GM mustard, the
isolation distance prescribed at present for GM
mustard trials is only 50 meters.
An End of Choice to Farmers and Consumers. The
cultivation, even field trials of GM threatens other
varieties of the crop. Mustard is especially
susceptible, This would endanger the availability
of safe and Organic Mustard.
GM Technology makes Organic
Food More Expensive
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History of GM Contamination
2002-GM oilseed Rape got imported into France from the Canada.
2004-Japanese port areas as well as prefectures far from the import locations contaminated with GM
rapeseed
Unauthorized GM mustard growth was found along railway lines along borders with Italy and France, till
oilseed processing factories in Switzerland.
Organic Rapeseed cultivation not possible in Canada due to large scale contamination
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2008- GM oilseed rape cross-fertilised with a distantly related weed plant, charlock, discovered in a follow
up study after 2 years of a 3-year research! Unauthorized GM material. Found in conventional variety.
www.theguardian.com/science/2005/jul/25/gm.food
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2010-GM Herbicide Tolerance (both glyphosate and glufosinate) discovered in wild plants n North Dakota.,
introduced into nature without intent or approval.
www.nature.com/news/2010/100806/full/news.2010.393.html.
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2012/13- GM contaminations discovered in S.Korea and Switzerland. GM Rapeseed cultivation is not
authorised in these countries www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/4274136
The cultivation of GM Mustard will threaten all other varieties of Mustard with
contamination. This would endanger the availability of safe and Organic
Mustard, permanently and irrevocably.
India is the Centre of Diversity for Mustard
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India is a signatory to the Cartagena protocol, 2000 and has committed to protect the Centre of
Diversity from GM Crop contamination. This was one of the reasons for the BT Brinjal
moratorium amongst many others.
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India has a tremendous Mustard diversity. The Directorate of Rapeseed-Mustard Research
(DRMR) alone has 1868 accessions of Indian Mustard. Further, around 12755 accessions of
rapeseed-mustard are available in India.
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Although its been established* that India is the Centre of Diversity of Mustard, attempts are
being made to prove otherwise.
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The Supreme Court’s TEC, in its majority report, in the year 2013 had asked for GM research to
be stopped for all those crops for which India is the Centre of Origin and/or Diversity.
*R S Paroda and R K Arora (Eds) (1991):
Plant Genetic Resources – Conservation and Management.
International Board for Plant Genetic Resources.
http://www.bioversityinternational.org/fileadmin/
bioversity/publications/Web_version/174/ch05.htm
Poor Regulatory Regime for GMOs.
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History of bending rules and norms, and compromising on bio-safety assessment.
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Public sector Bt cotton variety is mired in an ownership controversy and lead to its
withdrawal.* * Sopory Committee report
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A 2007 Supreme Court order has specified zero tolerance for contamination for GMOS
The GEAC has been lax with bio-safety measures for GM Mustard, for instance prescribing only
a 50-metre isolation for the trials
Neha Kunjwal, Yogesh Kumar and M S Khan (2014): Flower visiting insect pollinators of Brown Mustard
Brassica juncea (L.) Czern and Coss and their foraging behavior under caged and open pollination. African
Journal of Agricultural Research. Vol. 9(16), pp.1278-86
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Processes for Trials of Non GM Seeds are more rigorous than the the ones used for GM
Mustard
Is health and food safety less important if crop is developed by a
Public Sector entity?
Can we trust the developer?
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Department of Science and Technology revealed that it has no idea where the GM lines in
this high profile case came from, and who gave permission for research. Delhi University’s
Gene Mystery.*
*Latha Jishnu in Down To Earth. February 15th 2015. http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/delhi-universitys-gene-mystery accessed
on May 30, 2015
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Pental is the official applicant and crop developer in the case of the GM mustard that has
reached BRL II stage. The developer has plagiarism charges against him .
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A court case with charges on the developer of this GM Mustard for using such ‘hazardous
material’ without regulatory approval and for stealing GM seeds from the laboratory of
another Delhi University Professor called P Pardha Saradhi .The case is against Pental and
Prasad, for Prasad stealing seed of CodA transgenic Indian mustard.
The developer of GM Mustard Mr. Deepak Pental has court cases
and negative charges pending against him.