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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Gazette notification adds to outrage against Bt brinjal by Sharath S. Srivatsa

Gazette notification adds to outrage against Bt brinjal by Sharath S. Srivatsa

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published Published on Feb 6, 2010   modified Modified on Feb 6, 2010

The nationwide public consultations on commercialisation of Bt brinjal concluded here on Saturday amid chaos and deep divisions among stakeholders over the acceptability of genetically modified food crops. Disclosure of details of a gazette notification that has kept 190 plant species, including brinjal, out of the purview of the Biological Diversity Act added to the controversy.

The exercise, which witnessed frequent disruptions by both pro and anti-GM technology groups, saw tempers rising when Karnataka Organic Farming Mission chairman S. Ananda displayed a copy of the October 26, 2009 notification of the Union Ministry of Forests and Environment, and charged that the consultation could be eyewash.

There were a few moments of exchange of words between Mr. Ananda and Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh, who chaired the consultation. Clarifying that the notification was issued to facilitate exports, the Minister said it had nothing to do with the Bt brinjal issue.

Earlier, the former Monsanto managing director, T.V. Jagadeeshan, said: “We do not need Bt brinjal, as there are already 2,400 varieties in India. The companies have a record of making governmental agencies go by their data. The companies also cook up their data.”

Joining the anti-GM group, Jnanpith award winner U.R. Ananthamurthy said the farmers with their traditional knowledge were in the best position to decide.

The former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda, urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to approve cultivation of Bt brinjal and said farmers should not be made scapegoats under pressure from multinationals.

Kerala Biodiversity Board Chairman V.S. Vijayan said: “There are many traditional ways of combating the pest, and our concern is the contamination of biodiversity; cross-pollination can cause irreversible damage. Why should Indians be subjected to the first GM vegetable in the world?”

While the pro and anti-Bt brinjal voices among farmers were almost equal, among scientists those who opposed the technology were far more than the supporters.

During the nearly three-and-half-hour consultation at the Jnana Jyothi Auditorium, Mr. Ramesh patiently heard more than 70 speakers from a cross-section of farmers, consumer groups, NGOs, scientists and others, many of whom came from Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Goa.

The Minister walked into the venue through the rear gate almost an hour before the consultation began, even as hundreds of protesters had been waiting for him at the front entrance.


The Hindu, 7 February, 2010, http://www.hindu.com/2010/02/07/stories/2010020760530900.htm
 

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