Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has finally ended his silence on the Indo-US trade deal. On 17 February, Chouhan — who only last year said India needed to be cautious about allowing the entry of

Genetically Modified (GM) crops — declared that Indian farmers had nothing to worry about, their interests were ‘completely protected’ in the ongoing negotiations. He said little on importing soyabean oil from genetically modified soyabeans and DDG (dried distillers’ grains) made from GM maize, both of which find mention in the joint framework to the ‘interim trade agreement’.

Down to Earth, the journal dedicated to environmental concerns, pointed out that a Centre for Science and Environment investigation in 2018 had found ‘GM ingredients in 32 per cent of 65 food products in India, 80 per cent of them imported’.

Sridhar Krishnaswami, a researcher with the Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA-Kisan Swaraj), fears that “DDGs and soyabean are just a ploy and that our agricultural market is going to be totally opened up”. Why else would the US insist on India removing or relaxing ‘restrictive’ trade practices?

GM foods green-signalled in the deal include soyabean oil and DDGs made from GM maize and used for cattle and poultry feed. By doing so, the Modi government ended India’s long-term moratorium on GM food crops. Under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986, the import of GM crops was disallowed; an exception was made for BT cotton in 2002.

India insisted that approval was required for every GM organism entering the food chain. As late as November 2022, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India had made it mandatory to label foods containing one per cent or more GM content insisting that all import consignments had to certify their non-GM status.

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In 2009, there was public backlash against moves to allow BT brinjal cultivation. This time, public reaction is muted because of lack of clarity and absence of........

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