Genetically Modified Crops

• GM technology involves inserting DNA into the genome of an organism.

  

• Plants can be genetically modified by inserting a particular DNA sequence into their genome to confer new or different traits.
• This can include altering the plant’s growth pattern or providing disease resistance to it.
• The additional DNA is incorporated into the genome of the GM plant, which is what the seeds generated by these plants will do.
• Over the years, there has been a heated discussion around GM crops.
• Benefits cited by their supporters include an increase in production, lower input costs, increased insect resistance, and a decreased demand for pesticides.
• The critics assert that these crops have a negative influence on food security and human health.

Bt Cotton

• One of the first biotechnology-based crop protection products is bt cotton.
• All Bt cotton plants are transgenic because they all have one or more foreign genes that came from the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis that lives in the soil.
• Crystal insecticidal proteins, also known as Cryproteins, are produced by cotton plant cells as a result of the insertion of B. thuringiensis genes.
• The larvae of tobacco budworms and bollworms, two of the most harmful caterpillar pests of cotton, can be killed by these insecticidal proteins.
• India is now the leading producer of cotton in the world thanks to bt cotton.
• During the current decade, the nation is anticipated to continue to be the top producer of cotton worldwide.
• The Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s long-term research on the effects of Bt cotton had not revealed any deleterious effect on soil, microflora, and animal health, the Center informed the Lok Sabha in September 2020.

Way Forward

• The locally created transgenic mustard hybrid would require the authorities to calm worries and concerns.
  • To convince the agricultural community that GM crops may benefit them, a data-driven, open strategy is essential.
• There is an urgent need to use biotechnology’s potential to assist farmers in adopting sustainable practices given that agriculture faces a continuous danger from climate change, as demonstrated by the heatwave that affected India’s wheat crop earlier this year.
• More GM crops can revitalise Indian agriculture by raising productivity and production, allowing foodgrain producers to spend less and earn more.

Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)

• The Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) houses the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC).
• It is in charge of evaluating from an environmental standpoint operations requiring extensive use of hazardous microorganisms and recombinants in research and industrial production.
• The committee is also in charge of evaluating requests for the release of genetically modified (GE) goods and organisms into the environment, including field tests.
• GEAC is chaired by the Special Secretary/Additional Secretary of MoEF&CC and co-chaired by a representative from the Department of Biotechnology (DBT).