:: OP-ED

The vegetable war

The Age Debate

GM crops will benefit farmers

Keats’ lament of "tears amid the alien corn" aptly sums up the debate on genetically-modified (GM) food. The latest to join this swirling controversy is the humble brinjal, with the government’s genetic engineering approval committee clearing its GM avatar, Bt brinjal. Bt (for Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria) makes toxins that are lethal to insects. GM crops use this to incorporate into plants a gene that helps produce a bacterial pesticide protein, which enables the plant to protect itself from pests. Almost 40 per cent of the brinjal produced in India is destroyed by the fruit and shoot borer (FSB). In spite of this India remains the world’s second-largest producer of brinjal.

Bt brinjal uses the Cry1Ac gene to express an insecticidal protein to make the crop resistant to FSB. This helps reduce waste considerably, and farmers could expect to rake in an additional Rs 4,000 crores annually.

But try telling this to the critics, whose concerns range from masked multinationals holding poor farmers to ransom to giant brinjal mutants devouring bewildered humans. It’s only natural for the introduction of any new crop strain to raise suspicion. One fear is that GM crops could limit biodiversity and eat into the country’s gene pool. But GM crops by themselves hardly limit biodiversity as much as conventional agriculture does! Even something like wheat that we all take for granted is actually a product of natural genetic engineering: it has seven additional chromosomes from a different species with which it crossbred before man even thought of agriculture!

There is enough sound science and experience backing agricultural biotechnology. And in any case, the insertion of a couple of genes is, in many respects, a much simpler genetic modification than is sometimes made in conventional breeding. Even the vitamin Riboflavin — used in most vitamin supplements — is now routinely synthesised using a gram-negative bacterium, and no one’s complaining.

There can be no denying that agriculture could do with a leg-up to meet the demands of an exploding population, and that this must involve agronomy, ways of controlling pests and diseases, and environment-friendly measures.

GM crops are the best bet yet for this, and it’s unfortunate that critics should blindly adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards a technology that has so much potential. So where does one draw the line? One way of going about it is to make the good, the bad and the ugly sides of research on GM crops available to the public so it can make informed choices. But dismissing GM crops as an outlandish idea would be doltish. For it could very well be that, as physicist Stephen Hawking once said, "People in 50 years’ time will wonder what the fuss about GM food was all about".

Prakash Chandra is a science writer

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Bt food neither safe nor viable

It would be the saddest day of our lives if the Centre approves the commercial cultivation of Bt brinjal. This would be an excuse for the government to allow genetically-modified food crops in India, which are facing stiff opposition in other parts of the world. How can the government think of allowing genetically-modified crops in the country when there is no scientific evidence to prove that they are safe for human consumption?

In India there is no labelling regime for genetically-modified (GM) foods which will give consumers a choice to make a decision whether they want to consume GM food or not. Till the time this is done, regulators should not have cleared any GM crops.

Are GM food crops the only solution to address food security concerns? Are we sure the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) decision to approve Bt brinjal was not affected by corporate interests, when many countries in Europe have refused to accept it? The GEAC decision has clearly overruled science. The decision was taken in an hour’s time. This is questionable. You are taking such an important decision and do not care to go into the scientific evidence? After its own regulatory body approves it, the Centre says it is in no hurry to approve Bt brinjal. What good will it do now for environment minister Jairam Ramesh to consult scientists, farmers’ organisations, consumer groups and NGOs, when he could not stop his subordinates from approving Bt brinjal?

How can one forget the suicides by farmers who were made to believe that another genetically-modified crop, Bt cotton, was good for their land, as well as economically viable?

Surveys have shown that there have been decreases in micro-organisms and beneficial soil enzymes

in the soil of Bt cotton fields.

And now we are getting into Bt brinjal. No one is considering the fact that this would destroy the rich varieties of brinjal in the country. India is known for organic farming and we know that organic farming produces more and brings more money to farmers.

India still needs to step up laboratories and the regulatory framework before anyone thinks of clearing Bt food crops.

It is also not possible to check the GM-content in food as there are no methods in the country to prove that these foods are safe for consumption.

There are so many unresolved issues surrounding the environmental release of the transgenic vegetable, as well as genuine concerns expressed over its safety for human consumption. But there is apparently no concern in government to address these.

Vandana Shiva is an environmental activist and founder of Navdanya Trust