Palm Oil and GM Mustard: A Marriage Made in Hell
March 11, 2016
Palm Oil and GM Mustard: A Marriage Made in Hell
by Colin Todhunter
The current drive to get genetically modified (GM) food crops into India is being spearheaded by GM mustard. However, the decision to sanction the commercialisation of this crop has been delayed due to accusations of “unremitting fraud” and “regulatory delinquency.”
These accusations are being strengthened with each passing day, as further evidence comes to light about the underhand, deceptive and corrupt tactics that have been used to fudge and manipulate data under a veil of secrecy. It is becoming increasingly clear that GM will not increase yields or have any benefits, especially when compared to current non-GM and traditional, high-yielding varieties. In fact, it would do more harm than good (see this also and this slide show too) and GM mustard would serve only one purpose: it would act as a Trojan horse to open the floodgate to GM food crops being grown in India.
One of the main (bogus) arguments put forward in favour of GM mustard is that India needs to reduce its imports of edible oils and that GM will give an underproductive indigenous edible oils sector a much-needed boost. While it is clear that India’s imports of edible oils have indeed increased, this is not as a result of an underperforming home-grown sector.
In terms of volumes, palm oil, soybean oil and mustard oil are the three largest consumed edible oils in India, with respective shares of 46%, 16% and 14% in total oil consumption (2010 figures). Over the past 20 years, India’s indigenous edible oil output has risen only about a third whereas imports have surged twelve fold, making it the world’s top buyer of cooking oils.
More:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/03/11/palm-oil-and-gm-mustard-a-marriage-made-in-hell/
= new reply since forum marked as read
Yellow vs. Brown! Horse radish vs. No horse radish! Now we have to worry about GMO mustard???
And what about ketchup on hot dogs? (No self-respecting Red Hot would have ketchup on it! Just liberally slather on the mustard!)
The only justifiable response to religious inquiries is satire.
