Are GMOs killing off bees all over the world?

Some of the worst fears expressed against genetically modified products may be coming true in India.  The shortages of onions and problems with other crops may be the result of using genetically modified seeds, but these problems may not be occurring in the manner normally associated with damage caused in genetically modified plants. The usual arguments centre around the lack of genetic diversity in various species of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) making them vulnerable to large scale destruction during the outbreak of  diseases, but we may now be witnessing a more insidious effect of tampering with nature.

Around the world, entire colonies of bees have been dying off and farmers suspect these deaths to be the result of exposure to pollen from genetically modified plants that weaken the immune systems of bees. This recent phenomenon, known as Colony Collapse Disorder, has resulted in more than a third of the bee population in the US dying off. Several European countries have already banned MON810, a brand of maize created by Monsanto, on the grounds that its pollen has a harmful effect on bees.

Monsanto recently acquired a firm that was developing a product to make bees resistant to mites, but at a recent conference in the US, a farmer expressed concern that he would need to keep the bees continually treated with Monsanto’s product as taking the bees off the product would result in their deaths.

India is yet to awaken to these dangers as the main narrative has centred around cotton crops.

The success of genetically modified cotton crops in India tells us only part of the story because cotton is predominantly self-pollinating and does not depend on bees. Other crops may already be facing the destructive effects of the mass deaths of bees. The formation of seeds in onion plants depends on pollination by bees. It is significant to note that almost all the recent crises related to the shortage of onions were related to the shortage of seeds.

The recurring shortages of onions are of recent making and have occurred only since the late 1990s after firms selling genetically modified seeds entered India. Even in 1980, when extreme drought conditions pushed up the prices of vegetables, the price of onions remained low and farmers agitated for higher support prices from the government.

After the shortages of onions, problems are now rearing their heads in other crops. The apple crops in some regions of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, the two main apple-producing states, have been affected by strange new phenomena. Both these states are among those that have entered into agreements with Monsanto. The cold weather has been blamed in some places in Jammu and Kashmir for the failure of the apple blossom to convert into fruit, but such weather conditions are not new to the region.

In Himachal Pradesh, it is acknowledged that the bee population has declined drastically in recent years. Mites from Nepal have been blamed for the deaths of bees, but the mass deaths indicate that the vulnerability to mites is most likely the result of a weakened immune system.

Although mites, disease, and the weather have all been blamed for poor harvests around the country, the real problem could lie elsewhere. India should step back from its embrace of genetically modified products and tread this area with caution. Otherwise, farmers who depend on business houses for seeds and medicines to keep bees alive will soon see their livelihoods end up on life-support with the corporations becoming their caregivers.

The author is an expert on technology and economic issues