Bt brinjal – genetically altered food

India is the largest producer of brinjal in the world. It also happens to be the country of origin for this vegetable with the national bureau of plant genetic resources alone having a recorded collection of 3951 varieties.

Bt brinjal is a Genetically Modified(GM) form of brinjal where a foreign gene Cry 1 Ac from the soil bacterium Bacillus Thuringiensis(Bt)has been inserted to confer on the brinjal plant resistance against lepidopteran insects such as the Brinjal Fruit and Shoot Borer(BFSB). Leucinodes Orbanalis and fruit borer Helicoverpa Armigera to make it poisonous to pests. It took nine years to develop.
The US-based Monsanto and India’s Mahyco have developed the genetically modified version of the vegetable in India. Fresh independent tests were undertaken to establish Bt brinjal’s safety, both from the human consumption as well as the environmental angle. Totally 13 states, including the three states(west Bengal, Orissa, and Bihar ) that grow 60 per cent of the country’s brinjal have opposed it.

Other GM foods under development in India are transgenic rice, transgenic tomato.

Bt cotton is the only gm crop in India.

GM foods abroad : US Corn, Soybean and super beet.
Canada: Corn and Sugar beet.
China: Rice, Soyabean and Potato.

The GEAC had approved commercial cultivation of Bt Cotton, the first and only transgenic crop ( in April 2002 ) in 6 states. They are: Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.