Genetic Engineering Approval Committee Okays Environmental Release; Food Experts Concerned Over Lack Of Bio-Safety Data
Our Political Bureau NEW DELHI| BANGALORE
NEW DELHI: Civil society groups have cautioned the government against introducing genetically modified crops in the food chain and questioned the credentials of a panel of experts to look into the biosafety of Bt Brinjal, which will come up before the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) on Wednesday.
The long wait for genetically modified (GM) brinjal to hit the market may be over this week as the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), the country
In 2006, Vikram Puri, CEO of Mahindra Shubhlabh, contracted farmers in Punjab to grow basmati rice for Rs 1,350 per quintal. Global demand, supply fluctuations and local speculative buying pushed the prices to Rs 1,400-1,500 per quintal and about 2,000 farmers in Jalandhar and Kapurthala reneged on their contracts, causing a loss of Rs 3.6 lakh in actuals and Rs 27 lakh in opportunity cost.
Yadvendra Ram Tripathi, of Sariyya village under the Khajni development block in Gorakhpur district, a graduate, spurned the offer of a government job and took up farming in his native village.
Ratlam: Tomato farmers in the country are suffering huge losses as bumper crop has sent prices crashing in this district this season.
Rate of potatoes plunged at such extreme level that cultivators in a dozen of villages found it difficult to get even its cost of transportation from farms to mandis.
The last three decades witnessed a cascade of scientific discoveries on plant molecular biology and biochemistry that served as foundation of current biotechnologies used in improving agricultural crops. Genes coding for important agricultural traits useful to farmers and consumers
Report of the Expert Committee (EC-II) to review findings of large scale trials and the related biosafety studies on Bt brinjal submitted to GEAC on Oct 8, 2009. Concludes that that development and safety assessment of Bt brinjal is fully compliant with the conditions stipulated by GEAC.
