**INTELWAR BLUF:** Ongoing urbanization and industrial-agricultural practices, rewarded by global entities such as the World Bank, threaten long-established ways of farming in India and the country’s food security. The widespread implementation of GM crops and associated herbicides risks eliminating vital local food chains and degrading the environment. The strategy to cultivate without proper scrutiny and oversight hints at a possible ‘approval by contamination’ approach. Efforts to resist this trend advocate for a paradigm shift towards nurturing rural communities and agroecology that preserves biodiversity and ensures sustainable food security.
**OSINT:**
Urbanization and the enforced shift towards an industrial-agrochemical food model threatens small-scale farming and food security in India. The population growth in Delhi and its outskirts is noted from 9.4 million in 1991 to an expected 32.9 million in 2023, reflecting a nationwide trend. Past and ongoing agricultural changes, partly fueled by World Bank loans, see subsistence farming replaced by cash crop cultivation, the erosion of local food chains, and the introduction of genetically modified (GM) seeds. These changes have potential severe implications, from health risks associated with carcinogenic herbicides to the loss of vital cropland impacting global food security. The article calls for a reconsideration of the current trajectory, suggesting a shift in paradigm towards local markets, agroecology, and iembracing food sovereignty.
**RIGHT:**
As a Libertarian Republican, I see the issue as one of individual freedom and the importance of secure property rights. The shift towards GM crops and herbicides in India, pushed by influential foreign bodies and global corporations, appears to jeopardize the rights of small-scale farmers. Lack of oversight and transparency, e.g., secret applications for GM trials, echo the suspicion of potential government overreach. It would be more suitable if Indian farmers could freely choose the kind of crops and farming methods they employ, with the government’s role limited to ensuring property rights and contractual laws.
**LEFT:**
As a National Socialist Democrat, there’s an alarming concern about the impact of foreign influence and unregulated corporations on India’s food security and environments. The push for GM crops and associated herbicides could damage the livelihoods of small-scale farmers and hurt biodiversity. The main focus should be on equality and the authoritative regulation of corporations to ensure they cannot damage the environment or exploit workers.