Editorial: GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS

Food crops with modified characteristics through insertion of desirable genes have entered the coun-try in the midst of large scale protests from environmentalists and farmers. These bio-technologically  modified food crops have opened the proverbial Pandora's box of debates with one section arguing that such food crops cause new diseases in those who consume them and the other contending that they are the new world's answer to poverty.

Amidst such controversy, Bt brinjal seeds will be entering the Indian market shortly, that is, if approved by the Centre's regulatory body, the Genetic Engineering Approval Commission (GEAC). The vegetable would be the first genetically modified food crop to be consumed directly by Indians. Researchers say the vegetable, one of the most commonly used in the country, has the inserted gene Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) to save the crop from Fruit and Shoot Borer, a destructive insect pest. Its insertion into brinjal is said to give the crop the 'built-in' resistance to the insect, reducing the usage of pesticides. Brinjal is grown in 5, 50,000 hectares in the country with a yield of 30 tonnes per hectare. Around 40 to 65 per cent of the crop is destroyed due to pests. The scientists say that growing Bt brinjal needs 70 percent less pesticide usage and a 116 per cent increase in crop yield. But the same argument was once presented during the introduction of controversial Bt cotton in the country. 

 Research on soil fertility demonstrated that Bt cotton cultivation definitely affects soil health, especially beneficial microorganisms and enzymes. The shocking revelation was, for three years after Bt cotton was grown, no other crop could be grown in the area due to soil infertility. Producing better yield and thus getting a higher profit seems to be the aim of the researchers more than making the food crop edible and beneficial to the consumers. What about sustained soil fertility?

Golden rice, yet another 'hope for the poor souls of Third World countries,' was banned for some months in India because of the argument that genetically modified foods were bad for human health. The golden rice, genetically enginee-red to be rich in beta carotene which the human body converts into vitamin A, is still not available in Indian markets.

It must be ensured that the insertion of beneficial genes do not alter the basic characteristics of food crops thus making them harmful. It must also not render the soil useless to grow other crops. The field trials of Bt brinjal were however harmful to the rats which suffered from loss of weight, diarrhoea and increased water consumption. It is yet to be seen if the trials on humans prove beneficial or harmful.