TITLE:
Genetically modified crops and climate change linkages: An Indian perspective
AUTHORS:
Amanpreet Kaur, Ravinder Kumar Kohli, Paramjit Singh Jaswal
KEYWORDS:
Genetically Modified Crops; Climate Change; Carbon Emissions; Agriculture; Bt Crops
JOURNAL NAME:
Agricultural Sciences,
Vol.4 No.10,
October
10,
2013
ABSTRACT: Genetically Modified
Crops (GMCs) and Climate Change (CC) are the two most contentious ecological
issues the world faces today. Application of transgenics in agriculture is most
debated because of its direct and indirect implications. The advertized
benefits in the backdrop of the potentially harmful effects on health and environment
make this an issue of greater concern. On the other
hand, Climate Change is a problem of enormous scale and its
after-effects even more grave. The impact of climate change on agriculture,
though well researched, is still very uncertain. Further, the introduction and
global embrace of a technology with unverified credentials may prove to be an
ill-conceived and ill-timed act. The future of GMC technology in India will be
both challenging as well as exciting. Therefore any decision on this front
should be taken with scientific rigor and logic. Our aim is to explore this
complex inter-relationship and provide impetus for further research.