###BASE_URL###

Bt eggplants (brinjal) in India

 

Since 1999 GENET collects and distributes information on various topics in the field of genetic engineering in agriculture, food production and health. With this "Special Topic: Bt Brinjal in India" GENET aims at providing an overview about the debate on development and approval of Bt brinjal in this country, based on our archives.

2010-02-17 |

Central Institute of Cotton Research (India) warns of problems with Bt cotton

Kranthi, acting director of the Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR) in Nagpur, has warned that poor management of the technology has spawned an abundance of predictable and unexpected problems. The rapid adoption of GM cotton by farmers across the country has coincided with the rise of hitherto unknown insect pests, increased pesticide applications by farmers, and declining cotton productivity over the past three years, he has told the government. [...] ”Cotton is a tricky crop — we should have been more careful,” Kranthi said. ”There are lessons to be learnt from this experience for future genetically modified crops, brinjal or anything else,”

2010-02-17 |

What an eggplant uproar says about India’s economy

One of the problems, as Minister Ramesh conceded this week, is that the country’s regulatory system lacks the expertise and autonomy required to put decisions beyond reproach. [...] Progress may be slow, but in India’s case, the best rate of growth may not turn out to be the absolute fastest, but the one that takes into account long-term environmental and human costs. A slow-cooked brinjal decision may taste best.

2010-02-17 |

Bt brinjal and the politics of knowledge

Eight years ago Bob Watson, the senior scientific advisor of the World Bank, found himself standing between two bitter opponents. [...] Watson responded to this tussle by joining hands with the United Nations Development Progam, World Health Organization and other UN agencies to set up a uniquely democratic multi-stakeholder process to study what agricultural technologies will enable every person on earth to be well fed.

2010-02-17 |

Third Indian war of independence averted trough Bt brinjal moratorium

Dr P M Bhargava, one of the most unrelenting opponents of the commercial cultivation of Bt brinjal in India, believes that last week’s decision of the Centre makes the third war of Independence by India unnecessary. ”The first war was in 1857 which we lost; the second one we won and got independence. We would have had to fight the third war of independence if Bt brinjal cultivation was given the go-ahead. We needn’t fight it now,” he said in an interview here.

2010-02-11 |

Agitation against Bt Brinjal was well-orchestrated says former Monsanto official

A former senior Monsanto official today said he wasn’t surprised by the government’s moratorium on commercial cultivation of Bt Brinjal, noting that the agitation against the genetically-modified variety of the vegetable was ”well-orchestrated, loud and united”. [...] ”The agitation against Bt Brinjal was so demonstrative, well-orchestrated, loud and united as compared to lacklustre and hesitant efforts by most of the protagonists,” [former head of Monsanto Research Centre TM Manjunath] said.

2010-02-11 |

Indian activists, scientists and NGOs support decision on Bt brinjal

Terming Jairam Ramesh’s step as a correct one, agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan said: ”This is a breathing spell to clear the apprehensions of public, states and scientists and develop a regulatory mechanism to inspire public confidence and remove fears about Bt brinjal.” He added that the ministry has not pushed it under the carpet. ”This breathing spell should be used to carefully look at the situation for everyone’s concern,” he said.

2010-02-11 |

Senior Indian scientists Swaminathan and Bhargava support Bt brinjal moratorium

Swaminathan had advised Ramesh to assess the chronic effects of the consumption of the brinjal through studies at the National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, and the Central Food Technology Research Institute, Mysore. His views appear to reflect concerns expressed by environmental groups and other scientists that the safety tests conducted on animals were entirely sponsored by the developers of the brinjal and not performed by independent laboratories.

2010-02-11 |

Legitimacy of safety tests cooks Bt brinjal’s fate

The main issue that seemed to have worked against granting clearance to Mahyco’s Bt brinjal was the tests undertaken for establishing its safety, both from the human consumption as well as the environment angle. In this case, the data as well as the tests were carried out by the developer itself and not in any independent laboratory. ”This does raise legitimate doubts on the reliability of the tests, doubts that I cannot ignore,” said the Union Minister for Environment Minister and Forests, Mr Jairam Ramesh

2010-02-09 |

India places indefinite moratorium on the commercial release of Bt Brinjal

Placing an indefinite moratorium on the commercial release of Bt Brinjal, which would otherwise have been the first genetically modified food crop in India, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh Tuesday said he took the ”precautionary approach” as there was no clear consensus on the subject among Indian scientists. ”Impose a moratorium on the release of Bt Brinjal till such time that independent scientific studies establish satisfaction of both public and professionals, the safety of the product from the point of view of long-term impact on human health and environment,” Ramesh said at a press conference here.

2010-02-09 |

India awaits go-ahead on first GM crop despite scientists’ warnings

India will decide tomorrow whether to approve its first genetically modified (GM) food crop. It is a move that supporters argue will help to avert a global food crisis but which critics say is being rushed through recklessly. The new vegetable, an aubergine — or brinjal in Hindi — contains a toxic gene that poisons insect pests and will boost yields while reducing dependence on pesticides, its champions say. It would also open up the world’s second most-populous nation to at least 56 other GM crops that are in the final stages of development.

Go to page: ... 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 ...

Home: GENET