five million farmers in China accepted Bt cotton since 1994. We have heard no end of how biotechnology can help small and marginal farmers earn better. International development agencies, such as the un Development Program, have put their multilateral weight behid biotechnologies. Agrobusiness giants and thier public relations agencies have lost no opportunity to dismiss protests against biotechnology in developing countries. They've all used the example of China, and how small and marginal farmers were benefitting from the use of biotechnology.

It must not be forgotten here that a lot of the protest against biotechnology is a result of ideological positions of social groups. They often condemn biotechnology summarily only because it is dominated by transnational corporations. The discussion over biotechnology has hence been highly polarised. Those without a clear position in this debate have had a very tough time. Very seldom is this debate informed with common sense. When that happens, it is worth getting up and taking notice.

A study released by Cornell University in the us