The controversial Bt brinjal is a GMO (genetically modified organism) brinjal plant created through the insertion of a specific gene from a soil bacterium into brinjal seeds.
The specific gene, technically known as 'Cry1Ac', imparts pest resistance to the crop. The resistance to the pests is produced via secretion of specific toxins by Bt brinjal. These toxins are said to inhibit the digestive systems of insects that feed on normal brinjal crop. In other words, Bt brinjal hits pests by poisoning their digestive systems.
The maker of Bt brinjal is Monsanto, a firm that specialises in genetically modified crops and is known to be a leading innovator in this field. Marketing for the seeds for Bt brinjal is being undertaken by an Indian firm called Mahyco. The details available in the public domain so far do not make for a thriller or the agro-apocalypse scenario that is getting people worked up from the Lok Sabha to the gram sabha level in India. So what is it about Bt brinjal that bothers the farmers, scientists, policy makers and the Bt crop producers alike? The one-word answer to that question is ''impact''.
The impact of introducing a genetically modified food crop in the agro-ecosystem has neither been independently quantified nor calibrated. The human and environmental hazards of a Bt food crop can be grave enough to warrant extreme caution. At the same time BT food crops have the potential to alleviate a number of traditional problems afflicting food crops such as pests, water shortage, low yield and short crop shelf-life by the use of modern technology.
However the devil, as they say, lies in the details. The Indian ministry of environment has constituted an apex body called GEAC (genetical engineering approval committee) for the regulation of the manufacture, import, export, use and storage of hazardous and genetically modified organisms. Before the Bt brinjal controversy brought it into the limelight, this apex body for regulation of genetically modified organisms had not approved large scale field trials of any genetically modified food crop in India notwithstanding the experience with BT Cotton.
Is Bt brinjal safe?
The danger with allowing field trials of a genetically modified food crop is of two types, ie health hazards and environmental hazards. When it comes to health hazards, it is worth referring to the conclusions of a French scientist Prof Seralini, who conducted an independent evaluation of the Monsanto-Mayhco dossier of toxicity tests on Bt brinjal provided to GEAC. According to Seralini, Bt brinjal is potentially unsafe for human consumption based upon the raw data submitted by Monsanto.
He suggests that ill effects uncovered from animal testing data include development of antibiotic resistance, damage to livers of animals, increased blood clotting time and changes to blood chemistry of animals fed on Bt brinjal. The environmental hazards of the crop Brinjal have not yet been fully assessed. Toxins secreted by Bt brinjal to eliminate the pests may end up progressing through the food chains and thus affect non-pest organisms. Given the lack of a comprehensive study into the impact on the food-chain which consists of even the pests of normal brinjal crop, it may not be wise to let loose a new biological entity into that system lest it may harm completely different organisms.
This however is only one side to the story. Proponents of Bt cotton argue that with a pest resistant variety, the availability/yield of the crop will increase and the cost of production would decrease. The two-fold benefits of a genetically resistant crop would reduce the food prices paid for by common man and also help the farmers by allowing them to produce a hardy crop that won't be high on maintenance.
The stance of the government and the GEAC is nuanced in that the government wants to encourage use of technology and innovation to solve problems associated with traditional food crops even as it is alive to potentially severe implications of genetically modified organisms on existing ecosystems. Given the high stakes involved for various stakeholders and the sketchy versions of various studies regarding Bt crops floating around, union environment minister Jairam Ramesh has now proposed a moratorium on introduction of Bt food crops including Bt brinjal. The moratorium may last until India sets up an independent bio-safety evaluation laboratory. This laboratory may take up to six years of time and an investment of Rs350 crore to come up.
According to a Supreme Court appointed member of GEAC, P M Bhargava, the safe release of a Bt food crop requires at least 30 safety tests prior to its release, out of which only six tests were carried out on Bt Brinjal. On top of that no long term toxicity tests were conducted for this product anywhere in the world before seeking permission to launch the product in India.
Experts also recommend an organic route towards food security and enhanced yield by the reduction of wastage of agricultural produce, better transport facilities, efficient irrigation, high yield non-Bt varieties of food crops and scientifically managed cultivation. Such an approach is felt to be decidedly safer and also easier to manage than genetically modified crops.
No call for haste
While the controversy may have disappeared from the headlines, the debate is far from over. In sum, we can say that although we may have the wherewithal to control the adverse health impact of a BT food crop, the fact remains that an active biological agent once introduced into the environment might prove impossible to control. Acts which cannot be undone should not be committed in haste and this is one issue where we cannot find fault with the stand of the government to go slow on the adoption process of the crop. Bt brinjal should not be introduced into India's fields till it is certified to be safe by the proposed independent bio-safety hazards evaluation lab.
The writer is associate director of the India Research Group, a think-tank of Indian policy professionals
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