Genetic modification is the process by which the genetic material of any living organism (plant, animal or micro-organism) is altered in order to bring about a required change. This change is not through any natural process but done in laboratories. It is a well thought out, planned action. What then is genetic material?

All living things are made of cells. The control centre of all plant and animal cells is called the nucleus, which contains thread-like structures called chromosomes. Chromosomes are made up of the genetic material -- deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA). DNA is made up of sugars, phosphates and nitrogen bases. It looks like two strings of beads coiled around each other. DNA and RNA carry 'genetic codes' that represent the characteristics of an individual. During reproduction, DNA or RNA passes from the parent cells into the new cells and eventually the offspring (be it a plant, animal or micro-organism) gets characteristics similar to that of its parents. If changes, modifications and mixing of two or more organisms are made in the genetic codes of DNA or RNA, the changes will pass on from generation to generation. Humans have conducted selective breeding procedures for a long time to produce desirable characteristics -- for example, to increase yields or to resist disease. Two or more varieties of a crop are crossbred to create a new variety that has the best characteristics of each. This process is very slow and it may take years to obtain a ‘perfect’ organism. Radiation has also been used to change the genetic characteristics of seeds. This is called mutation. The mutated seeds are then crossbred with other varieties. These processes are called hybridisation.


Today, the laboratory processes (in making a GMO) that are used to manipulate this DNA or RNA genetic codes are like the process of cutting and pasting. Strands of DNA, the basic chemical of life which produce a particular effect in one living organism, can be 'cut' and then 'pasted' into the DNA of another living organism. The genetic strands are 'trimmed' so that only a precise, fully defined piece of DNA is pasted into the recipient organism. The process of GMO making uses advanced molecular techniques.

The Promise...
a) Food production -- an area in which biotechnology plays a significant role is the production of vitamins, and enzymes for food processing.
b) Agriculture -- fruits and vegetables can be improved in appearance, taste, nutrient content, shelf life, resistance to pests and even stability under unfavorable climatic conditions.
c) Plants -- better yield, more efficient use of land, lesser use of herbicides, pesticides and other chemicals
d) Medicine -- new methods of producing critical vaccines that are cheaper
e) Environmental management -- biotechnology offers new opportunities for the protection of the environment, for example, genetically modified bacteria may one day be used to convert non-biodegradable wastes to useful products.

...and the risk
a) Unintentional introduction of allergens and other anti-nutrients in foods and soils
b) Escape of transgenes from cultivated crops into wild relatives. These may affect or reduce plant species in natural communities, or influence diversity of wildlife as a result of changes in available food and food sources
c) Super weeds may play havoc in the wild, being resistant to most herbicides and pests
d) Transgenic crops carrying antibiotic genes may generate antibiotic resistance in livestock or humans
e) Pests may evolve resistance to toxins produced by GM crops
f)  Toxins of GM crops may affect non target pests
g) Small farmers will lose out as the technology cost is very high, while the price of products, low
h) The technological development has a hazy future

Two cases of forest management. As different as the two sides of a coin. One says people please, the other says, Indigenous people, who?

Why do we need GMOs? Top corporations based in rich developed countries have invested a lot of money in the research and development of these modified crops. These conglomerates say that genetic modification increases the yield of the land. Scientists and environmentalists on the other hand believe it is still a rich man's technology as it is financially beneficial to produce products for the supermarket. Are high returns the reason why conglomerates propagate GM crops as the only solution to world hunger?

Global Biotech research is controlled by 15 major corporations, of which 13 are in North America, known collectively as the ‘Miami Group’. In 2000, about 109.2 million acres were planted with transgenic crops. Countries that grew 99 per cent of these crops worldwide include the United States (68 per cent), Argentina (23 per cent), Canada (7 per cent), and China (1 per cent).


The US is the largest producer of GMOs in the world. In 1999, it exported $60 billion in agriproducts. Having the largest interest in the market, it dictates rules. It also detests any regulation in the biotechnology laws.

Environmentalists cry foul. Excluding Argentina and China, the developing world accounts for only a one per cent stake in this business. But it is this one per cent that bears the brunt of these
partisan policies.

The 'gene revolution', like the 'green revolution' could boost food production, say the GMO propagators. But they forget that the 'green revolution' was a government initiative the world over benefiting the marginalised farmer (though it later flipped over to benefit the pesticide industry). About 80 per cent of biotech firms are private conglomerates that spend huge sums in developing the technical know-how and are solely driven by the profit motive.

Samuel Ochieng of the Kenya Consumer Information Network says, “We are not saying there are no benefits.The issue is that we are being rushed and their is not enough consultation”.

MEXICO has a large number of wild corn varieties. Since 1998, GM crops, and particularly GM corn, has been banned in the country. The January/February, 2002 issue of the World Watch journal, however, reports that a team of scientists studying corn varieties in remote parts of Southern Mexico has found contamination in Bt corn. Contamination has become a common fact of life for Mexican farmers. Before the ban, Mexico was doing field trials of the GM crop. Farmers are still planting seeds taken from some 4-5 million tonnes of corn that Mexico imports from US annually (supposedly not GM). The team of scientists working with indigenous people in the province of Oaxaca detected the genetic material from a variety of seeds patented and sold by one of the leading biotech corporations, including Novartis and Monsanto. They also found genetic material in the corn that could prove harmful to a wide range of butterflies, moths and a host of other insects.

INDIA Cotton, also called the 'white gold' is among the nation’s most important cash crop. The government invited Monsanto Inc. in 1990 to introduce Bt cotton, but they were not allowed to do field trials due to widespread protests by environmentalists. In 1995, permission was finally granted to Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (MAHYCO), an Indian subsidiary of Monsanto to import seeds. More than Rs 5 crores was spent in the project.

China is taking its GMOs seriously. GMO research in the country amounted to US$ 112 million in 1999. By the year 2005, it is expected to increase by 400 per cent.

China also has stringent GMO laws. In June 2001, a comprehensive labeling system on GMO seeds and food products was introduced. The new law safeguards biodiversity, environment, and human health, against the potential adverse effects of GMOs.

In India, the agriculture minister claims that very soon all agri product importers will have to fill in a mandatory form notifying the authorities whether the product is a GMO and help in labeling the product. But this is not enough, say environmentalists. They want stricter laws and the rights of the farmer to be upheld. With all restrictions lifted from imports of food and allied products recently, they say the poor farmer will suffer all the more. P.K. Ghosh, former advisor to the Department of Technology, says: "Transgenic crops suitable for one environment may not be suitable for another. That is why countries which have rich biodiversity should be cautious."

Over the last seven years in Ethiopia, small farmers have been using traditional farming-produced food that is needed within the country. Enhanced seeds are selected and exchanged by small farmers. There is minimal use of chemical fertilisers and no genetically engineered crops. The country has good stocks of food today. Ethiopia shows that diverse, ecologically and culturally adapted food is the key to self-reliance.

Like Ethopian farmers, Himalayan farmers in India grow pulses and other cereals in their terraced fields. In Bengal, more than 150 plants are used as greens and in Java, small farmers cultivate 600 species in their home gardens. A single home garden in Thailand has more than 230 species of vegetables. Rural families in the Congo eat leaves from more than 50 different species of trees. Home gardens in Indonesia are estimated to provide more than 20 per cent of household income and 40 per cent of domestic food supplies.

But sadly, today farmers everywhere are not being paid what they got for the same commodity a decade ago. Farmers growing cereal grains, wheat, oats, corn, earn negative returns, while the companies that make breakfast cereals out of these reap huge profits. In 1998, cereal companies, including Kellogg's, Quaker Oats and General Mills made profits of 56 per cent, 165 per cent and 222 per cent respectively. While a bushel of corn sold for less than US $4, a bushel of corn flakes sold for US $133.

In India, food prices have doubled between 1999 and 2000, and consumption of food grains dropped by 12 per cent in rural areas.

The official or the exclusive right or license to a person or a company, to make or sell or distribute a new product invented or discovered by the person for a certain period of time, is called a ‘patent.’

Genes are 'green gold'. Low-income Southern countries are bestowed with an abundance of this treasure by nature. As this belongs to their land, ethically, they should have the rights for the genes of banana, potato, corn, wheat, and so on.

But the rich industrialised countries that lack these, want a monopoly over these genetic strains. Companies belonging to these countries spend a lot of money on modifying this ‘green gold’. Consequently, the rich countries argue that the value of the genes increase only when genetically modified, so they ought to have every right over their ownership.

Periwinkle flowers have been used as medicine for ages by the indigenous peoples of Madagascar. A pharmaceutical company patented the gene of this flower and modified it to make medicine for cancer. The company earned profits worth US $160 million in 1993. But not a penny was shared with the country.

Some modified seeds also carry genes that make it redundant for use in the next harvest. The farmers need to buy fresh seeds again for the next sowing. Today, industrialised countries hold 97 per cent of all patents, and global corporations hold 90 per cent of all technology and product patents. So who benefits from patents -- the transnational companies or the farmers?