Bt crops and the bio safety snare
Wednesday August 20 2008 06:16 IST Dr K P Prabhakaran Nair http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IE720080820061557&Page=7&Title=TheOped&Topic=0 IN comments with a direct resonance for India, Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, came out with the most scathing attack on genetically modified crops (GMOs genetically modified organisms) recently, and called it the "biggest disaster of all time." Not that India should be worrying about what the British monarch in the making says.
Nevertheless, there is cause for concern, in fact, great concern, if one critically examines what happens on the GM front in India. Ever since the first genetically modified cotton, Bt cotton, the term Bt derived from the gene of the soil bacterium Bacillus thurengiensis, which was introduced into the cotton cell by what is known as recombinant DNA technique, was commercially released in India, Indian agriculture has been dogged with controversies one after the other. "Bollgard", the first Bt cotton, brought out by Mahyco, (Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company) the Indian arm of the global agribusiness giant Monsanto of US in 2003, has had a very difficult run on the field with enthusiasts hailing it as a "breakthrough" in cotton production, while dissenters are coming up with as much ammunition to shoot the claim down.
Probably the most damaging was the verdict of Maharashtra Agriculture Minister, Balasaheb Thorat, who went on record to say that Bt cotton was a failure in Vidharbha district of Maharashra, the "cotton bowl" of India, by declaring that "The much-hyped Bt cotton seeds are only adding to the burden of the farmers." There is no need to catalogue here how many cotton farmers in Vidharba extinguished their life unable to pay back the loans, when their cotton crop failed.
Without sounding partisan, let us look at some incontrovertible facts which have surfaced recently. One of the most important parameters to test the safety of Bt crops is the heat stability. The heat stability studies carried out on Bt protein in Bt brinjal serve to highlight the very serious lapses on the part of the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), which is the watchdog of bio safety measurements of the genetically modified (GM) materials, of both plant and animal origin. Heat stability investigation is done to demonstrate whether or not the toxic Bt protein persists after cooking. The test is done to demonstrate the safety of GM food.
The seed company claims that once cooked, the Bt toxin gets destroyed. Yet, available facts prove the contrary. Look at these. Bt protein is present even in non- GM brinjal before cooking! Now, what can one surmise from this? Is it a serious slip on experimental procedure or is it because both Bt brinjal and non Bt brinjal have been grown in adjacent plots without the appropriate "refuge" or safety distance in place? Look at the other disturbing facts.
Mahyco conducted field trials on Bt brinjal in West Bengal in 2007. But the matter was never communicated to the state government.The apex state agricultural university of West Bengal observed that the university authorities were asked to inspect the field trials conducted by Mahyco on Bt rice and Bt okra at a very late stage when the crops were ready for harvest. No meaningful data can be collected from such field trials. Most distressingly, the farmer on whose field the Bt rice was grown was never told what it was. The same thing happened in Tamil Nadu more than two years ago when irate farmers burnt the Bt rice crop. It is a distressing fact that only in India such clandestine activities can go on in the "name of science." Yet, the most damaging fact that recently surfaced concerns the clinical data of the investigation carried out by the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), the apex research institute of the country situated in Izzatnagar, UP, on the question of both sheep and goat mortality on grazing Bt cotton leaves. For quite some time now, both farmers and civil societies, have been reporting cattle deaths in Warangal district and other parts of Andhra where Bt cotton was grown. The GEAC minutes of the 83rd meeting held in April is a bundle of speculations and unscientific conclusions.
For instance, it notes that "sheep death might be due to high nitrite or nitrate contents and not due to Bt toxin." Following strong representation by an NGO on the basis of Right to Information (RTI), the institute vested with the responsibility of testing for Bt toxin on test tissue samples of dead sheep has been shifting ground, at one stage saying that the samples taken were "not proper" and at another, saying that the institute "has the facility to test for Bt toxin." In all fairness, it must be asked, if the samples taken were "not proper," how come the institute tested for other parameters like nitrite and nitrate and left out only Bt toxin estimation? These are very disturbing, yet, very relevant questions.
It is not for nothing that some of the best scientific minds around the world, including in India, have questioned the usefulness of recombinant DNA technology, which is at the heart of GM crops. Equally disturbing is the National Biotechnology Regulatory Bill, which contains provisions that would prevent democratic control of genetic experiments and harm the cause of farmers and consumers in the long run. Though agriculture is a State subject, the Centre had not asked the views of states on the proposed legislation. Should India jump onto the GM bandwagon against all proven scientific facts, when even a small nation like Mexico, in the backyard of the US, had the courage to say an unambiguous "No" to GM maize technology, because, that country happens to be the place of origin of maize? I am not saying that GM technology has no place in India.What I am saying is, this is not the way to test the bio safety of GM crops, especially brinjal, rice, okra, etc.. They all are food crops. Are we being pushed onto the GM bandwagon? If so, by whom?
mavila_p@yahoo.com
The author is Chairman of an independent expert committee constituted to examine the suitability of Bt brinjal in India.
"It is now 30 years since I have been confining myself to the treatment ofchronic diseases. During those 30 years I have run against so many histories of littlechildren who had never seen a sick day until they were vaccinated and who, in the severalyears that have followed, have never seen a well day since. I couldn't put my finger onthe disease they have. They just weren't strong. Their resistance was gone. They wereperfectly well before they were vaccinated. They have never been well since. "---Dr. William Howard Hay |
