The research isn't unequivocal and hasn't been publicly-funded either - given the concerns, it's not worth the risk
Sunita Narain / New Delhi February 12, 2010, 0:40 IST
The Environment Support Group, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) has called the entire process of the clearance given for Bt brinjal by the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) illegal.
At a press conference here on 9 February, India's environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, announced a "moratorium" on commercial release of what would have been India's first genetically modified food crop: varieties of eggplant, called brinjal in India, equipped with a protein from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) that's toxic to insect pests.
Did the arrival of US diplomat Nina Fedoroff, science and technology adviser to secretary of state Hillary Clinton in New Delhi on Monday evening force Union minister of environment Jairam Ramesh prepone his decision to put a moratorium on Bt Brinjal by a day?
Scientists and activists have welcomed the decision of Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh to defer commercialisation of Bt brinjal. Even Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company (Mahyco), which created the genetically modified vegetable, said it respects the verdict.
NEW DELHI: Bt brinjal will not make it to your dinner table for now. On Tuesday, the Environment Ministry announced its decision to impose a moratorium on the release of the transgenic brinjal hybrid developed by Mahyco, a subsidiary of global seed giant Monsanto.
