Gene-altered brinjal may sneak in: Greenpeace

V Gangadharan

First Published : 07 Nov 2008 03:23:00 AM IST

Last Updated : 07 Nov 2008 09:26:38 AM IST

CHENNAI: Genetically Modified vegetables, carrying with them health hazards, could soon make it to markets if the Union Government does not intervene, the Greenpeace warned on Thursday. GM Brinjal could be the first to sneak in. Practitioners of Indian and allopathic medicines, biotechnologists and representatives of farmers' and traders' bodies spoke on the threat of GM food crops at a press meet here. Jai Krishna, campaigner for Sustainable Agriculture with Greenpeace, said GM brinjal was in the final leg of field trial. "If there is no government intervention now, the variety may hit the market quietly within three months," he said. Brinjal has passed large-scale field trial stage and though the biosafety of the crop has not been independently verified, the government hopes to go ahead with the commercialisation of Bt Brinjal. Greenpeace warned that Rice, Mustard, Potato, Groundnut, Cabbage, Pigeon pea, Okra, Tomato and Cauliflower were in various stages of trials and all these could be out in the market if the government did not step in now. GM crops remain mired in controversy. An assessment by UN and the World Bank released this year acknowledges that genetically engineered crops are highly controversial and do not address key problems of climate change and biodiversity. Globally, GM food has been banned or restricted in the EU, Japan, S Korea and many countries in Africa. In Tamil Nadu, the TN Agricultural University has been conducting field trials for Monsanto- Mahyco for the past one year.

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