No proof to show GM foods bad for health: Prakash Javadekar

There was no scientific evidence that genetically modified (GM) crops are bad for health or environment, union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Thursday told Parliament.

"GM crops particularly GM corn, canola, soybean and cotton are being cultivated and consumed by human beings as well as animals in many countries world over as food, feed and processed products," he said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

"There is no scientific evidence to prove that GM crops would harm soil, human health and environment," he said.

The minister said the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee recently approved 12 GM crops - cotton, rice, castor, wheat, maize, groundnut, potato, sorghum, brinjal, mustard, sugarcane and chickpea - for experimental field trials for the purpose of generating bio-safety data.

"GM crops have beneficial traits such as insect resistance and herbicide tolerance, stress tolerance, fungal resistance, disease resistance, salt tolerance, drought tolerance, enhance yield and nutrition etc that may help in food security," Javadekar said.