The GM mustard baiters have … made a big song and dance about the bar gene, which makes the plant resistant to the application of the herbicide glufosinate. Herbicides, they say, should not be permitted because they displace farm labourers engaged in manual weeding. By that logic, shouldn’t we also ban washing machines or metro trains, since these reduce employment opportunities for domestic helps and rickshaw pullers?…
In this whole debate about GM crops, the one person whose views seem to matter the least is the farmer himself. A farmer, we know very well, will not say whether a new hybrid/variety is good or bad until he has planted them and seen the results. Unfortunately, an environment has been created today where he is being denied the chance to make an informed judgement by those who don’t really farm for a living…
The only man who can stop all this nonsense is Narendra Modi. He should … [p]ut national interest first and let farmers decide. And it must be done fast, as mustard cannot be sown beyond October. The time is truly running out.
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