0 Bewertungen0% fanden dieses Dokument nützlich (0 Abstimmungen)
40 Ansichten1 Seite
Official approval of the laboratory engineered Bt brinjal has drawn
battlelines between its promoters and consumer rights activists. An article in Business India.
Official approval of the laboratory engineered Bt brinjal has drawn
battlelines between its promoters and consumer rights activists. An article in Business India.
Copyright:
Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Verfügbare Formate
Als PDF, TXT herunterladen oder online auf Scribd lesen
Official approval of the laboratory engineered Bt brinjal has drawn
battlelines between its promoters and consumer rights activists. An article in Business India.
Copyright:
Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Verfügbare Formate
Als PDF, TXT herunterladen oder online auf Scribd lesen
B U S I N E S S I N D I A ◆ November 29, 2009 Agriculture
The embroiled brinjal jal line selection and backcrossing,
while it conducted agronomic testing jointly with the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR). Official approval of the laboratory engineered Bt brinjal has drawn Mahyco was also behind the intro- battlelines between its promoters and consumer rights activists duction, in 2002, of Bt cotton, brand- named Bollgard, the only genetically
T he recent endorsement of geneti-
cally modified (GM) brinjal in India by the Genetic Engineering vegetable in the world embedded with the Bt gene. Being genetically engineered, Bt brinjal comes under modified organism (GMO) currently in commercial cultivation in India. It had developed this hybrid cotton Approval Committee (GEAC) has the purview of the ‘Rules for Manufac- jointly with MHPL’s sister subsidiary, roused the ire of consumer rights and ture, Use/ Import/ Export & Storage of Monsanto India Ltd (MIL). The MoEF environment groups across the coun- Hazardous Micro Organisms/Geneti- then had not involved stakeholders in try. And the resultant furore has forced cally Engineered Organisms or Cells, the run-up to its introduction. the government to the back-foot. 1989,’ notified by the MoEF under the The Bt toxin, when ingested by Ratification of the biotechnology Environment Protection Act of 1986. the insects, disrupts their digestive regulator’s sanction by the Union According to Mahyco, which is 26 processes, ultimately resulting in their ministry of environment and forests per cent owned by American biotech death. Independent studies, however, (MoEF) would have permitted com- multinational Monsanto, Bt brinjal show that the toxin survives digestive mercial cultivation of this hybrid veg- processes and can remain as residue etable (known as aubergine in British that can be transferred into intestinal English and eggplant in North Amer- bacteria. Bt toxin had caused powerful ica) by its developer, the Jalna-based immune responses and abnormal cell Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company growth in mice. It has also been Ltd (Mahyco). But MoEF has been del- shown that all the Cry proteins in Bt uged by over 45,000 protest facsimiles crops have an amino acid sequence and letters urging it not to clear a similar to known allergens and are method that does not address funda- hence potential allergens. mental concerns with regard to GM “The matter is sensitive,” said a foods like Bt brinjal and that can pose MoEF official. “The GEAC’s recommen- risks to human health and the envi- dations to us are not binding and the ronment. There were also mass minister is also not planning to take protest fasts called by activists nation- any decision in haste.” But the protes- wide on 16 October, which happened The brinjal: long on Indian soil tors were outraged that the GEAC, to be World Food Day. which falls under the environment Environment minister Jairam will increase yields for farmers, reduce ministry, was swift with its clearance Ramesh says his ministry will seek the need for pesticides by 70 per cent even when Ramesh had mentioned at comments on this issue by 31 Decem- and pose no health safety hazards. a public forum soon after the UPA g o v- ber. “During January and February Badrinarayan Barwale, chairman, ernment was formed last June that he 2010, I propose to have a series of con- Mahyco, says the brinjal, which is one did not support GM foods and saw no sultations in different places with sci- of the most popular and widely grown great urgency for Bt Brinjal. Farmers’ entists, agriculture experts, farmers’ vegetables in India, receives the high- groups protesting the clearance organisations, consumer groups and est dosage of pesticides among vegeta- include Karnataka Rajya Raitha NGOs,” he points out. “All points of bles. This is due to a single pest, the Sangha, Bharatiya Kisan Union, view will be represented in these con- fruit and shoot borer (FSB), which can PMK’s Farmers’ Union, Uzhavar sultations.” Noting that strong views destroy 50-70 per cent of the crop in Periayakkam, Tamil Nadu Farmers’ have been expressed both, for and severe infestations. Association, Tamizhaga Vyavasayigal against, he says his objective is to Sangham and the Shetkari arrive at a careful, considered decision Modifying the product Sanghatana. in the public and national interest. Mahyco developed the transgenic Pushpa M. Bhargava, former direc- “This decision will be made only after brinjal by inserting the Cry 1Ac gene tor, Centre for Cellular and Molecular the consultations process is complete from the soil bacterium Bacillus Biology, who has been appointed by and all stakeholders are satisfied that thuringiensis. It sourced the gene from the Supreme Court to oversee matters they have been heard to their satisfac- Monsanto’s Indian subsidiary, Mon- of the GEAC, is one of the two dissent- tion,” he asserts. santo Holdings Pvt Ltd (MHPL), and ing committee members. “It’s a disas- If cleared by his ministry, Bt brinjal introduced it into the brinjal genome ter; it’s unethical,” he says. “No time will become the first ever commer- via genetic modification techniques was given to us as members to review cially cultivated GM food crop in at the Mahyco Research Centre at the findings.” India and the first ever such GM Jalna. Mahyco undertook the Bt brin- ◆ S ARO SH B AN A