BT Brinjal

Owing to intense opposition from within and outside, Indian government on February 9, 2010 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 .

“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 this 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.

“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 29th May 2009, he had not met representative of any company involved in genetically-modified crops though as Commerce Minister he had met them.

Majority of the state governments in India said no to Bt brinjal. Stating 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.

Many scientists have been opposing it, arguing that the genes were toxic and would affect the health of the consumers.

Bacillus Thuringiensis Brinjal, popularly known as Bt brinjal, is at the centre of a major controversy in India.

Bt brinjal, a genetically modified strain created by India’s number one seeds company Mahyco (Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company) in collaboration with American multinational Monsanto, claims to improve yields and help the agriculture sector.

However, the debate over the safety of Bt brinjal continues with mixed views from scientists working for the government, farmers and environment activists.

Environment activists says the effect of GM (genetically modified) crops on rats have shown to be fatal for lungs and kidneys. It is dangerous to introduce these experimental foods into the market without proper research,

A study by French scientist Gilles-Eric Seralini says the tests conducted by Mahyco (, the company producing Bt brinjal, were simply not valid and raised serious health concerns.

Besides the environment hazards, activists allege that the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee has shown a bias towards companies like the Monsanto.

This would be a big threat to India’s agriculture with MNCs charging Indian farmers for their seeds. The supply of seeds will be regulated and thus costlier. Indian farmers would have to depend on MNCs for seeds.

Bt cotton has already been declared a farce with crop failures and mass suicides of farmers in India.