The long road to commercialization of bt brinjal eggplant. The genetically modified brinjal is a suite of transgenic brinjals created by inserting a crystal. Bt brinjal the debate around bt brinjal has only grown louder after jairam rameshs recent decision to hold back its commercial release. Seeds for gm crops have to be bought from mahyco and their franchisees, at the price set by them, which is a threat to the seed sovereignty of indian farmers. Biotechnology law report, mary ann liebert, 2012, 31 2, pp.
More than eight months after bangladesh began bt brinjal cultivation the government and antigm activists are locked in a war of words. Bt eggplant figure 4 expresses bt gene, enabling it to produce the same protein that. Bt brinjal is a transgenic brinjal created out of inserting a gene cry 1ac from the soil bacterium bacillus thuringiensis into brinjal. A landmark in india indias first transgenic crop 24. Geac assessed the recommendations of a special committee that had accumulated data for over nine years to study the biosafety of bt brinjal. Indias biotechnology regulator genetic engineering appraisal committee geac on wednesday gave thumbs up bt brinjal in the backdrop of the controversy surrounding gm crops. Should the bt brinjal controversy concern healthcare professionals. Pdf should the bt brinjal controversy concern healthcare. Bt crops bt cotton, bt brinjal, bt corn definition methods of cultivation benifits and disadvantages. Your donation will ensure that information remains available for free to. Should the bt brinjal controversy concern healthcare professionals and bioethicists. In the philippines, eggplant is known as talong and is the number one. Bt brinjal is created by inserting a crystal protein gene from the soil bacterium bacillus thuringiensis. Bangladesh is the first developing country to release a commercial genetically engineered ge food crop.
Bt brinjal, a genetically modified strain created by indias seeds. National consultations on bt brinjal a primer on concerns, issues and prospects national consultations on bt brinjal a primer on concerns, issues and prospects contents 1. Fsbresistant brinjal or bt brinjal was developed using a transformation process similar to the one used in the development of bt cotton, a biotech crop that was planted on 7. The first legal action against monsanto and its indian. Bacillus thuringiensis brinjal, popularly known as bt brinjal, was at the centre of a major controversy in india recently.
In this article, we discuss the development and adoption of bt brinjal in bangladesh from initial distribution to 20 farmers in 2014 to cultivation by more than 27,000 farmers in 2018. The bt brinjal controversy has elicited a very polarised and emotional debate between those for and those against the technology. Bt brinjal unfit for human consumption science in society. This transfer of technology was apparently free ofcost, with the public sector institutes allowed to develop, breed and distribute their own bt brinjal varieties on a costtocost basis. When fed to animals, effects were observed on blood chemistry with significant differences according to the sex of the animal or period of measurement. Indian environment minister jairam ramesh said that there is no overriding urgency to introduce bt brinjal in india. Locating publics in the bt brinjal controversy on 9th february, 2010, the indian minister of state for environment and forests mosef, jairam ramesh, imposed a moratorium on the agricultural production of bt brinjal after organizing a set of public consultations on the issue. Bt brinjal in bangladesh the true story mark lynas. The expert committee had on it mathura rai and ananda kumar, bt brinjal growers, so theres bound to be conflict of interest, kanchi kohli of ngo kalpavriksha, said. Bt brinjal, concept issue and future prospects authorstream.
Many controversies surround the development and release of genetically modified foods. Most notably, bt toxins are insecticidal to the larvae of moths and butterflies, beetles, cotton bollworms and ghtu flies but are harmless to other forms of life. What is the controversy regarding bt brinjal in india. As i mentioned above, this will certainly be in one of the nonbt control plants nonspecialists visiting the site trying to paint a negative picture cannot of. The data showed that yield of bt brinjal hybrids was consistently higher than that of nonbt hybrids and the gain by bt hybrids was 37. Bt brinjal splits indian cabinet nature biotechnology. At present, brinjal is cultivated in 2,00,000 hectares while bt brinjal is produced in only 10 hectares. This was a different bt brinjal from the one developed by the indian company, mahyco, in which monsanto has a 26% stake.
A comment discusses some major concerns regarding this decision and calls for experts and the public to engage in the public consultations currently underway. The bt brinjal is a suite of transgenic brinjals also known as an eggplant or aubergine created by inserting a crystal protein gene cry1ac from the soil bacterium bacillus thuringiensis into the genome of various brinjal cultivars. Bt brinjal was developed by transforming the brinjal proprietary line of mahyco, which will therefore own all bt brinjal seeds. The company is awaiting a patent for its technology. On september 29, 20, responding to a public interest litigation, the high court had directed the government to hold back the release of bt brinjal in the absence of an indepth assessment of possible health risks. Some scientists have been opposing it, arguing that the genes were toxic and would affect the health of the consumers. In technical terms bt brinjal is a transgenic brinjal created by inserting a gene cry 1ac from the soil bacterium bacillus thuringiensis and hence the name bt into brinjal.
Padmanaban emeritus professor and former director, indian institute of science, bangalore there is no reason to delay the release of btbrinjal that has gone through extensive trials. Like bt cotton, bt brinjal carries an additional gene that provides inbuilt insect protection against fruit and shoot borer fsb. Bt brinjal, a genetically modified strain created by indias seeds company mahyco in collaboration with american multinational monsanto, claims to improve yields and help the agriculture sector. Bari set to release three bt brinjal varieties this year. Agribiotechnology and the regulatory debates around it could be studied through the case studies of bt cotton, bt brinjal, and the brai bill, for which a decision is still pending. The insertion of the gene into the brinjal cell in young cotyledons has been done through an agrobacteriummediated vector, along with other genes like promoters, markers etc. Solanum melongena an overview sciencedirect topics. Bt brinjal was found to be effective against fsb, with 98% insect mortality in bt brinjal shoots and 100% in fruits compared to less than 30% mortality in nonbt counterparts. Tamil nadu agriculture university as a royaltyfree license to. Strains of the bacterium bacillus thuringiensis produce over 200 different bt toxins, each harmful to different insects. Bt brinjal debate goes to people india news times of india. Although approved by indias biosafety authority, a moratorium was imposed by the then minister of environment. This once again is regressive, given that the bt brinjal controversy saw express supreme court orders to the regulators asking them to put out all the biosafety data in the public domain this and the cic orders earlier to that have more than established the principle that no biosafety data can be confidential commercial information and such.
Bt brinjal is genetically modified variety of brinjal which gives more resistant to brinjal plant against insects. The bt brinjal has been developed to give resistance against lepidopteron insects, in particular. Bt brinjal is a genetically modified plant in which a gene from the soil bacterium. From anonymous biologist, on bt toxin and on whether insect cells spodoptera frugiperda are humanlike or nonhuman like, with an accompanying scientific paper. While bt cotton controversies opened up the meaning of risks to include vulnerabilities, values, and socioeconomic impacts, the bt brinjal controversy led to the. Bt brinjal appears to have 15 percent less calories and different alkaloid content compared to nongm brinjal. Pdf the genetic engineering approval committees approval of bt brinjal, the. Regulator gives thumbs up to bt brinjal ground report. Farmers benefited at multiple levelsthey could save on quantity of insecticide used, the cost of insecticides, and labor used in insecticide spraying.
The demo version can be accessed by free registration. Note that bt brinjal will be just as susceptible to bacterial wilt and other pests not controlled by bt as any other brinjal. The genetic engineering approval committees approval of bt brinjal, the first genetically modified crop for human consumption in india, has sparked off protests across the country. Editorial analysis serious concerns over bt brinjal. Bt eggplant, known as bt talong in the philippines, bt brinjal in india and bt begun in bangladesh, has been subject to political controversy elsewhere in asia. Cry 1ac from the soil bacterium bacillus thuringiensis into brinjal. Bt brinjal incorporates the cry1ac gene expressing insecticidal protein to. Should the bt brinjal controversy concern healthcare. The approval of transgenic bt brinjal as the first genetically modified crop for human consumption in india is expected to result in benefits observed for other bt crops seetharam, 2010. Bt brinjal latest breaking news, pictures, videos, and special reports from the economic times. On february 9, 2010, the minister of environment and forests moef, government of india, following a sevencity public consultation process, put on hold the october 14, 2009 recommendation of the genetic engineering approval committee geac for commercial release of bt brinjal, and declared a moratorium of an unspecified period on bt brinjal. The multilocation research trials mlrts confirmed that bt brinjal required, on average, 77% less insecticides than nonbt counterparts for control of fsb, and 42% less. It is available free online for readers to download. Bt brinjal is a genetically modified vegetable which is infused with cry1ac gene from a bacterium bacillus thuringiensis to make the plant resistant to the fruit and shoot borers and certain pests.
For example, bt brinjal or eggplant solanum melongena, the first locally. Bt brinjal and nonbt brinjal, in st udies such as a cute oral toxic ity, subchronic oral toxicit y in rats and a llergenicit y of protein to rats, germi nation, weediness a nd aggre ssiveness. The gene coding for bt toxin has been inserted into cotton as a transgene, causing it to produce. The insertion of the gene into the brinjal cell in young cotyledons has been done through an agro bacteriummediated vector, along with other genes like promoters, markers etc. Bt brinjal is a transgenic brinjal created by inserting a gene from the soil bacterium bacillus thuringiensis into brinjal. There is evidence for decreased pesticide use and increased marketable yields. Brinjal article about brinjal by the free dictionary. Despite the successful release of bt cotton crops, there remain hurdles to the deployment of gm food crops in india. Bt brinjal, a genetically modified strain created by indias seeds company mahyco in collaboration with american multinational monsanto, claims. The department of biotechnology dbt, the main funding agency for transgenic research, has stayed out of the controversy. Crossability of bt brinjal with solanum incanum female parent male parent buds pollinated fruit setting fruits with viable seed percent fruit setting mhb80 bt w4 s. Pdf brinjal occupies the major proportion amongst all vegetable crops in india and is.
The insertion of the gene, along with other genetic elements such as promoters, terminators and an antibiotic resistance marker gene into the brinjal plant is. Concerns related to bt brinjal need to be addressed context bt brinjal genetically modified gm to resist the brinjal fruit and shoot borer an insect, was found growing illegally in haryana. Bt brinjal scientists speak out r indiaenvironmentportal. Sahai s and rahman s, performance of bt cotton, data from first commercial crop. Bt brinjal incorporates the cry1ac gene expressing insecticidal. Sridevi seetharam, should the bt brinjal controversy concern healthcare professionals and bioethicists. The activists representing the coalition for a gmfree india cgfi have alleged that bt brinjal is being cultivated illegally in haryana bacillus thuringiensis brinjal, popularly known as bt brinjal, has been at the centre of controversy in india. Jairam ramesh has an important responsibility to ensure a fair process in the consultations, including issuing advertisements, making documents available to the public for commenting and holding hearings in an. The same technology was replicated in brinjal and developed bt brinjal which is one of the most important vegetable in india both for export and internal consumption. Bt brinjal was developed to combat brinjal fruit and shoot borer that has an advantage minimizing use of chemical pesticides. The first legal action against monsanto and its indian collaborators for biopiracy walid abdelgawad to cite this version.
Bt brinjal is indias first locally developed gm food crop and was created by mahyco, a jalnabased maharashtra hybrid seeds company in a joint. The bt brinjal only really existed in india although it never actually made it there so the most common name for this variety was brinjal, even in english publications. Gm free karnataka genetically modification of crops is. Bacillus thuringiensis brinjal, popularly known as bt brinjal, has been at the centre of controversy in india. In this context, caution has been advised in relation to the release of transgenic crops into their centres of origin, i. The activists representing the coalition for a gmfree india cgfi have alleged that bt brinjal is being cultivated illegally in haryana. Dr sridevi seetharam, on should the bt brinjal controversy concern healthcare professionals and bioethicists, in.