Context: The Union government has decided to allow the import of crushed genetically modified (GM) soybean, which is a major ingredient of poultry feed.

• For the first time, India is set to import 15 lakh tonnes of genetically modified soymeal.

About Soymeal

• Poultry feed: Soymeal is the protein rich solid left after the oil is expelled from the seed and is used as a raw material for poultry feed. 

Why does India need to import?

• Rising Demands: The import of soymeal is to meet the current feed shortage in the country. There is a rising demand  for a major ingredient of poultry feed.
• Poor harvest: The poor harvest of soybean led to shortages in soy feed.
• High Prices: Poultry farmers have been asking for imports as the domestic price of soymeal has skyrocketed from Rs 40 per kg to Rs 110 per kg.
• Pressure from Industry: The poultry industry has been lobbying for the import of soymeal to tide over domestic shortages and tame prices.

Rising Concerns over Imports

• Lack of Regulation: There are concerns over the grey area of regulation regarding genetically modified ingredients, given that most imported meals come from GM beans.
• Entering Food Chain: Environmental activists have raised concerns about the permission given for something derived from a genetically modified plant to enter the human food chain.
• Health at Stack: The public is being subjected to the hazards of this genetically engineered feed which may lead to adverse health impacts.

Import Policy

• The import of genetically modified organisms and living modified organisms is restricted and governed by the Environment Protection Act 1985.
• GM import proposals are examined by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), a statutory body under the Environment Ministry for making a recommendation to either accept or reject the proposal.
• The Committee is chaired by the Special Secretary/Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, GOI. A representative of the Department of Biotechnology is a co-chair.

However, soya de-oiled cake or meals do not fall under these categories. It falls under the non-living organism category. Hence, import of soya de-oiled cake of meal will not be subjected to the Schedule of 1 of GEAC import policy approval as it is a non-living organism.

Additional Information

GM crops in India

• Bt cotton, the only GM crop that is allowed in India, has two alien genes from the soil bacterium Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt) that allows the crop to develop a protein toxic to the common pest pink bollworm.
• Ht Bt, on the other, cotton is derived with the insertion of an additional gene, from another soil bacterium, which allows the plant to resist the common herbicide glyphosate.
• In Bt brinjal, a gene allows the plant to resist attacks of fruit and shoot borer.

Why are farmers rooting for GM crops?

• In the case of cotton, farmers cite the high cost of weeding, which goes down considerably if they grow Ht Bt cotton and use glyphosate against weeds.
• Brinjal growers in Haryana have rooted for Bt brinjal as it reduces the cost of production by cutting down on the use of pesticides.
• Industry estimates say that of the 4-4.5 crore packets (each weighing 400 gm) of cotton sold in the country, 50 lakh are of the unapproved Ht Bt cotton.
• Haryana has reported farmers growing Bt brinjal in pockets which had caused a major agitation there.

Why furore over GM crops?

• Environmentalists argue that the long-lasting effect of GM crops is yet to be studied and thus they should not be released commercially.
• The genetic modification brings about changes that can be harmful to humans in the long run.