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India doesn`t need Bt Brinjal: PM Bhargava

He is the person who coined the term genetic engineering & was part of the GEAC on Bt Brinjal. PM Bhargava is against the GM crop & tells us why.

He is the person, who coined the term ‘genetic engineering’ back in the 1970s. Dr Pushpa Mittra Bhargava, India’s most globally cited scientist in genetic research, was the only independent observer appointed by the Supreme Court to the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee that said yes to Bt Brinjal, despite his reservations.
In an exclusive chat with Shashank Chouhan of Zeenews.com, scientist, writer, thinker, institution builder, administrator, Founder Director of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology and a Padma Bhushan awardee, Bhargava expresses satisfaction at the rejection of Bt Brinjal and alleges there is a conspiracy to introduce Bt crops in India. Jairam Ramesh has said no to Bt Brinjal for now and has said that your recommendations will be accepted… I am very happy. Jairam is a friend and he has done a courageous thing. I think it is unprecedented in India what he has done today. Credit also goes to media’s campaign of awareness. I had expressed my dissatisfaction with the Bt Brinjal to Jairam a number of times in personal capacity as a friend. And now what should the government do? I wanted a moratorium on all GM crops for the next 5-8 years till the time there is reliable scientific data from the Indian scientific community – so that has happened. Now a network of indigenous labs should be set up where the technology should be tested on our home conditions. We should also revamp the approval system, including the GEAC and have those highly acclaimed scientists, who are publicly trusted on the panel. The terms of reference of this committee should be clearly defined like examining whether we really need Bt crop, alternatives available to it, what tests need to be conducted etc. A similar re-evaluation of Bt Cotton is also expressly required. On what basis did the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee call the Bt Brinjal as safe to consume? They have absolutely no scientific basis on which they said ‘yes’ to Bt Brinjal. The trials conducted are inadequate. The tests and research referred to by the GEAC are done by the companies Monsanto and Mahyco (Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company) - the entities which are bringing the crop to India. There are 30 tests that need to be done before approving genetically modified plants, but these have not been conducted. Bad interpretation of the data given by these companies led to the initial yes to Bt Brinjal. What were your objections to the observations? The first objection was that we don’t need Bt Brinjal in India at all; we are the biggest producer of the crop! There are other alternatives available which are tried and tested. There are bio pesticides, bio farming methods etc by which we can protect the Brinjal. The report even said there is going to be a change in taste of the Bt Brinjal. Then, there are no labeling laws in India like in the countries which have introduced some modified eatables. I must know what I am eating and I ought to have a choice in this matter. There are no liability laws in this country. For example, if a farm is growing Bt Brinjal and the field beside it is producing organic Brinjal, then who will take responsibility of mutation of the natural Brinjal? The whole approach is quite absurd, unscientific and unplanned. We have been using in our own country techniques like proteomics and transcriptonics, but the government was giving flimsy excuses, such as high expenses involved. What did you say at the GEAC meeting and what was the reaction of the members? I got the invitation on Feb 9 last year for the Feb 14 meeting. The report that was sent by the GEAC was a lengthy one and I couldn’t have pored over it thoroughly in such a short time. To tell you the truth, such a lengthy report couldn’t have been written by the committee in such a short time - it looked like a rush job by the Monsanto PR chief. I asked that the meeting be postponed, but the request was rejected. I pointed out at the meet that there were inconsistencies in the report that I could make out from an initial reading. I pointed out various mistakes, but the members just gave some or the other excuse. In fact within two meetings of a little over two hours each, they approved Bt Brinjal. But countries like the US have successfully introduced Bt Maize, Bt Corn and other modified vegetable oils? So what? And I wouldn’t say ‘successfully’. If you take a look at the health records, problems have increased in the US in the past few years - be it obesity, cancer and other diseases. It is very much possible that mutated food crops are responsible for this. Longer study of this aspect is needed but we will come to know about the impact in future. Moreover, tests on animals have not proved that Bt is not safe- so why not rely on them and take time? What’s the hurry? Do we really need Bt Brinjal? Not at all! As I said, we are the largest producer of Brinjal. There are so many alternatives available to Bt technology like I mentioned earlier. There are a whole range of pest management techniques, organic farming methods and Indian scientists have time and again proven their usefulness. You can catch a direct flight to Kanpur from Delhi or take a via-flight. The Bt Brinjal is that via flight with increased cost to all stake-holders and profit to some. It seems there is a nexus between the bureaucrats, government and industrialists to introduce Bt Brinjal. It would have been a sell-out to the US. They have invested and partnered in our various agricultural programmes and there is pressure from that country to bring in the technology of their MNC Monsanto, which was found to be bribing 140 Indonesian officers for introduction of Bt Cotton in their country. And we are no less corrupt, so it is best to avoid this crop. You have alleged a nexus, but those on the other side can allege the same against you- that you are in nexus with pesticide companies which will go out of work since Bt Brinjal doesn’t need pesticides. But my point is that we do not need pesticides in huge quantities if various measures are taken. There is infact a collusion between GM companies and pesticide companies. For example, some varieties of paddy in the pipeline are so modified that they will need only a particular pesticide. So the nexus indeed exists, but between these companies. But won’t farmers stand to gain as their productivity will increase? And what gain will it be? Farmers of Punjab, who are growing Bt Cotton are having health problems already. The soil continuously used to grow Bt Cotton will become useless after sometime. Farms in Andhra Pradesh are growing organic crops on over 2 million hectares and it is giving better yield - why hasn’t that experiment been emulated elsewhere, I fail to understand.