Keep my food safe

The government has now said it will take a decision on the issue of commercial cultivation of controversial Bt brinjal only after holding a series of consultations with scientists, farmers, consumer groups and NGOs early next year.

The Environment Ministry has also sought public opinion in the matter till the end of the year.

Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said he proposes to have consultations with scientists, agricultural experts, farmers' organisation, consumer groups and NGOs in January and February.

"The decision will be made only after the consultation process is completed and all stakeholders are satisfied that they have been heard to their satisfaction," he said, a day after the government's biotech regulator gave nod for the commercialisation of the Genetically Modified vegetable whose suitability for human consumption has sparked a raging debate.

Except two, all the members of the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), after going through the recommendations of two expert panels set up to access the data on the transgenic vegetable, had approved its environmental release.

Sources said P M Bhargava and Ramesh Soni, members of GEAC, disapproved of its release. However, the government has reserved its decision amid dissenting voices from various quarters including civil society groups, NGOs and food experts.

Bt brinjal is a transgenic vegetable which carries a gene called "Bt" from a bacterium which releases toxin to kill fruit and shoot borer insects.

However, GM food is claimed to be more pest-resistant and high-yielding.

If approved, Bt brinjal will be the first GM food in the country being developed by Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company, (Mahyco) a subsidiary of the US multinational Monsanto.

"The GEAC has given an independent decision in the matter. I will take a final call in the matter after the process of consultation is complete and all stakeholders are satisfied," Ramesh said.

The Environment Ministry has sought public opinion in the matter till the end of the year.

The NGOs and a section of experts have strongly condemned GEAC's decision alleging the approval for Bt brinjal was given without taking in account the scientists' opinion.

"The government should not clear any genetically modified food crop till the time we have strict provisions for labelling. Bt brinjal will be one of the few crops which are used for human consumption directly and not processed into bread," prominent NGO Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said.

"Clearance of such a crop requires the authorities to practise extreme caution. Currently, in India there is no labelling regime for GM foods which will give consumers a choice to make a decision whether they want to consume GM food or not.

"Till this time this is done, regulators should not clear edible GM crops," said Sunita Narain, Director of CSE.

She said labelling of GM foods requires "a strengthened laboratory and regulatory framework."

Condemning the approval of Bt brinjal by GEAC, Coalition for a GM-Free India said "it is a shame that regulators in this country have put the interests of corporations over the interests of ordinary citizens."

"We are yet to see the expert committee report. But prima facie, it appears that the committee has not responded to all the issues raised about the safety of Bt brinjal adequately.

"More importantly, it appears that no satisfactory answers have been yet preferred about the very need for this Bt brinjal when safer, sustainable and affordable alternatives exist," the members of the coalition said in a statement here.