Brinjal is India’s second most consumed vegetable after potatoes.
Bt brinjal is created by inserting a crystal protein gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis.
The Bt brinjal has been developed to give resistance to the Brinjal Fruit and Shoot Borer (FSB).
Mahyco has developed the Bt brinjal variety.
Insecticide requirement for Bt brinjal is far less than its non-Bt counterpart for the control of FSB.
The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) cleared Bt brinjal for commercialization in 2009.
Following concerns raised by some scientists and anti-GMO activists, the GOI has imposed a moratorium on its commercial use (not a permanent ban).
Mahyco’s Bt brinjal is commercially grown in Bangladesh.
Golden rice
Golden rice is a variety of rice (Oryza sativa) produced to biosynthesize beta-carotene, a precursor of Vitamin A, in the edible parts of rice.
It is mostly consumed in areas with a shortage of dietary vitamin A.
Benefits of GMO
Crops
Enhanced taste and quality.
Reduced maturation time.
Increased nutrients, yields, and stress tolerance.
Improved resistance to disease, pests, and herbicides.
New products and growing techniques.
Animals
Increased resistance, productivity, hardness, and feed efficiency.
Better yields of meat, eggs, and milk.
Improved animal health and diagnostic methods.
Environment
“Friendly” bioherbicides and bioinsecticides.
Conservation of soil, water and energy.
Bioprocessing for forestry products.
Better natural waste management.
Society
Increased food security for growing population.
Issues Surrounding GMO
Safety
The adverse impacts of genetically modified food are not evident immediately.
Potential human health impact: allergens, transfer of antibiotic resistance markers, unknown effects.
Potential environmental impact: unintended transfer of transgenes through crosspollination, unknown effects on other organisms (e.g., soil microbes) and loss of flora and fauna biodiversity.
Criticism against Anti-GM lobby: Instead of evaluating the risks, costs and benefits of hybrids on a case-by-case basis, they propose a blanket ban on genetic modification.
Access and intellectual property
Domination of world food production by a few companies.
Increasing dependence on industrialized nations by developing countries.
Biopiracy — foreign exploitation of natural resources.
Ethics
Violation of natural organisms’ intrinsic values.
Tampering with nature by mixing genes among species.
Objections to transferring animal genes in plants and vice versa.
Labelling
Not mandatory in some countries (e.g. United States).
Mixing GM crops with non-GM confounds labelling attempts.
Research
The objectivity and authenticity of scientific research and publication.
Effectiveness
The ineffectiveness of BT cotton against whitefly attack in Punjab and Haryana has raised more questions.
Issues with banning GM crops
The ban on GM crops is also promoting an illegal market to flourish in India.
Bangladesh is reaping the benefits of Bt Brinjal while its cultivation is banned in India.
GMO have already entered the food chain
Cotton seed oil extracted from Bt cotton plants is being consumed in Gujarat and Maharashtra.
Soybean oil is extracted from imported seeds, which are produced from GM crops abroad.
Illegal cultivation (Farmer’s rights vs. Government Regulation)
A farmers’ group in Maharashtra, marked its protest against the government ban on genetically modified (GM) crops by planting Bt brinjal and HT cotton.
There is a grave danger of illegal genetically modified brinjal cultivation proliferating.