Criticism of Genome-Edited Rice Release in India

The Coalition for a GM-Free India has criticized the Government of India for releasing two genome-edited rice varieties, deeming the action as devious and irresponsible.

Concerns Raised by the Coalition

• The Coalition advocates for a GM-free world and emphasizes that scientific literature highlights the lack of safety in gene-editing techniques.
• The government is accused of succumbing to corporate pressure to promote these techniques.
• Gene editing is portrayed falsely as precise and safe, despite scientific evidence to the contrary.
• India has deregulated two types of gene editing (SDN-1 and SDN-2), which the Coalition claims is illegal.

Issues with Intellectual Property and Public Resources

• Gene-editing tools are proprietary technologies under IPR ownership, affecting India's seed sovereignty.
• The introduction of these crops is seen as a waste of public resources.

Environmental and Agricultural Concerns

• Promises of increased yields in cereal crops like rice are doubted, especially since India already has surplus production.
• Monocultures of such crops are causing severe environmental problems.

Comments by Agricultural Representatives

• Venugopal Badaravada, a farmers' representative, criticized the ICAR's claims about genome-edited rice as premature and misleading.
• Farmers are calling for accountability, transparent data, and field-tested technologies rather than mere press releases.