Bt Brinjal – the country’s first genetically modified (GM) food – brought out by the International Service for Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications, is being downloaded 10,000 times a month.Genetically modified crops resist pests and give better yields as well as nutrition. But they are feared for potential health hazards.The fence runs right through the government. Environment minister Jairam Ramesh wants a national consensus to decide Bt Brinjal’s fate. Farm minister Sharad Pawar and science minister Prithviraj Chavan are said to be in its favour. The ball will soon be in the Prime Minister’s court.
Govt in favor of it:
“All reliable scientific evidence strongly indicates Bt Brinjal could be very toxic.” Mahyco Managing Director M.K. Sharma denies the charge: “The Bt Brinjal has cleared all tests required by the government.” India’s biotech regulator, the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), cleared the Bt Brinjal after it passed all recommended tests over six years in reputed private and state-owned labs. But Bhargava, among many others, wants many more tests done.
Farmers Against Bt-Brinjal:
“Monsanto is notorious for having farmers jailed for saving their own seeds in the name of property rights violation,” says Kavitha Kuruganti of Kheti Virasat Mission. “Local seeds will be withdrawn. We will be left with no choice but to buy Bt seeds,” says Avinash Patil, a farmer in Maharashtra’s Wardha district. But other farmers are prepared to give it a shot. “If sowing Bt seeds increases productivity and prevents pests from destroying my crop, I’m willing to take the risk,” says Navnath Solaath, a brinjal farmer in Pune. Activists have also panned the manner in which the brinjal was cleared.
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