The Indian researcher Poonam Pandey has written an opinion piece for the Hindustan Times about the latest controversy over GM mustard in India.

DMH 11 (Dhara Mustard Hybrid) was recently approved by the country’s biotechnology regulator for commercial release. But the article lists some potential concerns with this development, including the accuracy of claims about productivity, a possible rise in use of herbicides, farmers’ rights and the role of large agribusiness in intellectual property regimes around the new crop.

Discussions about GM and agricultural biotechnology are often reduced to arguments about safety or science, but there are other issues involved in making decisions about which technologies to support: from poverty reduction, to regulation, corporate control and public participation in decision making.  See the STEPS Biotechnology Research Archive for a selection of literature and articles on the topic.

Poonam is a Post Doctoral Fellow at the Maastricht University Science Technology and Society (MUSTS) Program, and an alumna of the STEPS Summer School on Pathways to Sustainability.

Read the article (Hindustan Times)