Indian govt refuses permission to Bt Brinjal

New Delhi, Feb 9 (PTI) Facing intense opposition from
within and outside, Indian government on Tuesday refused to
give a go-ahead to commercial cultivation of Bt Brinjal, a
genetically-modified version of the vegetable that is said to
be more resistant to pests.
Announcing a cautious approach of the government,
Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh said there was
"no clear consensus" among the scientists and stake-holders on
giving permission to Bt Brinjal and more studies needed to be
conducted.
"There is no over-riding urgency to introduce it... When
the public sentiments have been negative, it is my duty to
adopt a cautious, precautionary and principle-based approach,"
he told a hurriedly-called press conference which was
originally scheduled for Wednesday.
"I will not impose a decision till such time independent
scientific studies establish safety of the product from
long-term view of human health," Ramesh said.
He said it was a difficult decision to take but he had
to balance many issues of science and society and producer and
consumer.
However, he made it clear that today's decision applied
only to Bt Brinjal and does not cover future of
genetically-modified crops, be it ladyfinger, cabbage or rice.
Ramesh's decision came after a series of public
consultations in seven cities across the country, that often
turned acrimonious. A number of state governments, including
Congress-ruled Andhra Pradesh, have publicly opposed the
introduction of Bt Brinjal.
Ramesh said in arriving at his decision, he has
responded both to science and society and had followed Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh's speech in the Indian Science
Congress last month.
"I have followed democratic, transparent and often
acrimonious process. I have put my decision before people. I
have given the reasons for my decison. My conscience is
clear," he said.
The Environment Minister said he wanted the issue to be
discussed in Parliament and National Development Council in
detail.
Replying to a question, he said since he assumed the
charge of Environment portfolio on May 29 last year he had not
met representative of any company involved in
genetically-modified crops though as Commerce Minister he had
met them.
Noting that the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh and
Kerala have opposed Bt Brinjal, Ramesh said non-Congress ruled
states of West Bengal, Orissa and Bihar accounted for 60 per
cent of brinjal cultivation.
All the Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states have already
opposed introduction of Bt Brinjal.
Bt Brinjal is a genetically-modified vegetable which is
infused with Cry1Ac gene from a bacterium Bacillus
thuringiensis to make the plant resistant to the fruit and
shoot borers and certain pests.
Some scientists have been opposing it, arguing that the
genes were toxic and would affect the health of the consumers.
In view of the sensitivity involved in Bt Brinjal, the
Environment Ministry had appointed a Genetic Engineering
Approval Committee (GEAC) to regulate research, testing and
commercial release of genetically-modified crops, foods and
organisms.
The GEAC announced approval for large scale field trials
for Bt brinjal in September 2007 with the possibility of
commercialisation by 2009.
It also cleared proposals for biosafety studies for
other food crops such as ladyfinger, rice, and tomatoes.
In February 2008, the Supreme Court revoked its earlier
ban on the approval of large scale field trials of transgenic
crops.
Mahyco-Monsanto Biotech, the company involved in
genetically-modified foods, has been arguing that a normal
farmer sprays pesticide at least 50 to 80 times in the entire
lifecycle of a brinjal crop, and these toxins are transfered
to the consumers.
Bt Brinjal, on the other hand, affects only the pests
and not the humans, it has been maintaining.
Gene Campaign, an NGO opposed to Bt Brinjal, has been
contending that Bt gene produces poison and "when it can harm
pests, where's the proof that it won't be harmful to humans?"
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