Greenpeace activists, with assistance from chefs of Le Meridien and students of the International Institute of Hotel Management, today prepared 342.5 kg of organic baingan bharta (eggplant dish), t
Eminent city scientists on Tuesday made a plea to the Prime Minister to lift the moratorium on commercial production of Bt Brinjal and called it absolutely safe for human consumption.
“Bt. Brinjal, the first GM crop that came up for commercialisation, was put under an indefinite moratorium last year due to opposition by scientists, farmers, consumers, political parties, as well as environmentalists. Brinjal has thus become a national symbol when it comes to opposition to GM crops and this event only resonates that cause,'' he added.
The diversity of opinions that debates about Bt brinjal have generated over the last year (for example, see refs 1–8) has contributed to the haziness of the future of the variety. This note attempts to collate the opinions of various scientists in the hope that some clarity may emerge if the different argu-
ments are presented in one place.
The probability of crop-to-wild gene flow depends on the geographic distribution of crops and their wild relatives. In this context, caution has been advised in relation to the release of transgenic crops into their centres of origin, i.e. the geographical regions in which they were domesticated, and where wild relatives and/or weedy forms persist. In countries with high plant biodiversity like India, where almost 400 species of crop wild
relatives are found, this is a relevant approach. (Correspondence)
The development of Bt brinjal was a case of bio-piracy, according to the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA). According to sources, the NBA has finally concluded its year-long investigation and recommended action against the U.S. agri-business giant Monsanto and its Indian collaborators who developed and promoted the controversial, genetically modified vegetable.
