WorldNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has frozen requests to commercially release a locally developed genetically modified mustard, an environment ministry document released on Tuesday showed, amid stiff opposition to lab-altered food from domestic activists and politicians. But the environment ministry's Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) has deferred approval despite a panel the ministry supervises giving the genetically modified (GM) mustard technical clearance last year. FILE PHOTO: An Indian scientist points to a patch of genetically modified (GM) rapeseed crop under trial in New Delhi, India February 13, 2015. REUTERS/Anindito Mukherjee/File PhotoCotton is the only GM crop currently allowed to be sold in the world’s second most populous country where arable land is shrinking. The environment ministry told parliament on July 31 that GM mustard had been recommended by GEAC to it for "consideration for environmental release and cultivation"

Source: Sunday Times October 24, 2017 07:52 UTC