BT Brinjal-The new bio-terror in India
Bacillus Thuringiensis Brinjal, popularly called BT brinjal, is currently the eye of storm in India. The debate over its safety continues with mixed views from scientists working for the government, bureaucrats, politicians, farmers, and environment.
BACILLUS THURINGIENSIS Brinjal, popularly called BT brinjal, is currently in the eye of storm in India. The debate over its safety continues with mixed views from scientists working for the government, bureaucrats, politicians, farmers, and environment activists. BT BRINJAL – A CROPPER BT brinjal, a genetically modified strain created by India's No.1 seeds company Mahyco, (Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company) in collaboration with US MNC, Monsanto, claims to improve yields and help the agriculture sector besides reducing pesticide use and vegetable wastage by 50%-plus. But, BT brinjal lost to pests such as fruit and shoot borers. In October 2009, the Indian biotechnology regulator, Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), an ad-hoc committee of 30 members, comprising bureaucrats and scientists, accorded its approval for introduction of BT brinjal, the first genetically modified (GM) food crop to be allowed in India. This significant decision opens the door to other GM food crops, including rice, maize, soyabean and sorghum (jowar, or the Great Millet) besides directly introducing a genetically-engineered vegetable into India's food chain. This would pose a major threat to India's agriculture, as Indian farmers will become dependent on MNCs for seeds, making seeds costlier. UNFAVOURABLE SAFETY TEST RESULTS There are only 6 countries in which GM crop production is significant: The US (54 percent of world total), Argentina, Brazil, Canada, India, and China. Many studies indicate that genetically modified (GM) crops adversely affect animals and humans. In 1996, the UK conducted over 50 long-term safety studies on GM foods. A team headed by Arpad Pusztai of the esteemed Rowett Institute tested GM potatoes engineered to produce an insecticide called GNA lectin by feeding them to rats. The feed adversely affected every organ of young rats, including the brain, liver, and testicles, indicating damage to the ‘immune system.' The effect of GM crops on rats proved to be fatal for lungs and kidneys, too. GM-fed rats also had diarrhoea, higher water consumption, low liver weight, besides decrease in relative liver to body weight ratio. Diseases like swollen face, itching skins, allergies, etc., are also likely. Also, the consumption of pollen grains of BT brinjal by moths and butterflies may lead to their death and extinction. The safety tests have not tested for transgenic BT that includes genes for antibiotic resistance and genes for viral promoters. Greenpeace activists have also demanded long-term tests before the introduction of BT brinjal in the market. The BT toxins produced in BT brinjal are also present in other Monsanto products such as BT cotton and BT corn. They have been known to cause organ toxicity and growth impediments when fed to animals. Adverse effects have been reported from the Philippines, the US and Germany from GM maize, cotton and soyabeans, including allergies in humans and permanent damage in pigs, cows, and chickens. Professor P M Bhargava, GEAC's only independent expert appointed by the Supreme Court, and founder-director of the Hyderabad-based, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), pointed out that there are 30 essential tests which must be conducted for establishing the safety of BT Brinjal while only six of these tests were carried out, and that too by Monsanto itself. A majority of the essential bio-safety tests were avoided before according the clearance. French scientist, Gilles-Eric Seralini, of the Committee for Independent Research and Information on Genetic Engineering (CIRIGEN), who studied BT Brinjal and carried out the first ever independent evaluation of Monsanto-Mahyco's dossier on toxicity tests revealed that the tests conducted by Mahyco were not valid and raised serious health concerns. He said the release of BT brinjal into the environment for food, feed, and cultivation may present a serious hazard for human and animal health. The governments of West Bengal, Orissa, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Bihar have already opposed the Union government's plan to approve BT Brinjal. Considering the above evidences, GM foods certainly cannot be certified as safe. If GM crops are introduced, the fate of Indian agriculture, farmers, and consumers are on crossroads!
Login
 Login through Social ID
|
Not finding what you are looking for? Search here.
