The scientific and policy debate on the potential benefits and risks of biotechnologies remains polarized. As more genetically modified crops, insects, and fish are developed, the 2000 Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity provides a forum to monitor developments and address risk assessment and risk management …
NO GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD Standing committee orders probe into Bt Brinjal row; says proper tests not conducted before introduction, ‘collusion of worst kind’ Aparliamentary panel has recommended a thorough probe into the controversy surrounding Bt Brinjal and indicated the approval committee was under tremendous pressure from the “industry and a …
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture has come down heavily against the use of genetically modified (GM) crops in the country. The Committee, which took almost three years to complete its report on the controversial issue, concluded that GM crops, particularly Bt cotton, had not helped farmers. The Committee, headed …
This exhaustive report by the Parliamentary standing committee on agriculture looks critically at various aspects of the impact of GM crops on health and environment & says that these were overlooked while giving a go-ahead for Bt Brinjal trials in India. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture tabled its exhaustive …
The Bt cotton in question is the Bikaneri Narma (BN) Bt (variety) and the Bt NHH-44 (Bt hybrid) touted as the “first indigenous public sector-bred GM crop in India” developed by the Central Institute for Cotton Research, Nagpur (CICR) and University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad (UAS) along with Indian Agricultural …
The widespread use of Bt crops reduces the outbreaks of certain targeted pests and the need for insecticide use, leading to enhanced biocontrol of other potential pest species in the Bt crops; neighbouring non-Bt crops may also benefit.
Pakistan is ranked fourth among the top five cotton-producing countries in the world. About 70–80% of the cultivated area is under Bt cotton in Pakistan. Bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) is the major pest of cotton. It causes 31.73– 36.45% yield losses and these are reduced by heavy pesticide application. There has …
Not to allow field trials of transgenic rice varieties The government on Monday asserted that it would not permit field trials of genetically modified (GM) crops in Kerala, even as research and advocacy groups came out against the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) for considering an application submitted by a …
A ban on the use of crops with transgenic traits is unscientific and India needs new technologies to raise farm yields Science and technology hold the key to developing low-input, high-output agriculture. The challenge is to use new technologies creatively and to make evidence-based decisions on the deployment of new …
The paper The Status and Impact of Biosafety Regulation in Developing Economies since Ratification of the Cartagena Protocol explores how the Cartagena Protocol to the convention on Biological Diversity, as well as other important drivers, have affected the regulation of genetically engineered (GE) crops in developing countries. It examines the …
The subject of the ‘mixed bag’, which proposes non-Bt-cotton seeds be mixed with Bt-cotton seeds in the same bag, has raised an interesting debate in this journal. It was flagged by Hanur, who recommended that the mixed bag should be allowed in India. He made this proposal pointing out that …
Given that the controversy over success and failure of Bt technology still exists, this paper discusses the available field studies that have addressed agro-economic questions of Bt cotton cultivation in India. Since a meta-analysis of studies can give only partial conclusions, owing to differences across study methodologies and coverage, this …
Imperfect global biosafety standards and a threat to researchers’ motivations from biosecurity concerns are among the significant risks in current flu research. (Editorial)
Transgenes encoding for insecticidal crystal (Cry) proteins from the soil-dwelling bacterium Bacillus Thuringiensis have been widely introduced into Genetically Modified (GM) crops to confer protection against insect pests. Concern that these transgenes may also harm beneficial or otherwise valued insects (so-called Non Target Organisms, NTOs) represents a major element of …
Bt-maize is a transgenic variety of maize expressing the Cry toxin from Bacillus turingiensis. The potential accumulation of the relative effect of the transgenic modification and the cry toxin on the rhizobacterial communities of Bt-maize has been monitored over a period of four years.
This report provides snapshots of frontline struggles against Monsanto & other biotech corporations pushing GM crops. It shows that small-holder and organic farmers, local communities and social movements around the world are resisting Monsanto and the agro-industrial model that it represents. This report provides snapshots of frontline struggles against Monsanto …
The Foundation for Biotechnology and Awareness (FBA) has urged the government to lift the moratorium on Bt brinjal and accept the recommendations of the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) which recommended its commercial release in 2009. FBA, which consists of leading biotechnologists, also demanded that permission from state governments for …
India has become the testing ground for a whole range of GM crops. These include paddy, wheat, maize, mustard, okra even as testing for the controversial Bt brinjal continues. Testing is being done by private universities, private crop developers and the National Agricultural Research System all of whom are testing …
Greenpeace India launched a legal assessment report of the the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI),bill 2011. The report `BRAI Bill: A threat to our food and farming’ analyses the various inadequacies within the bill that threatens the safety of our food, health and biodiversity. Neither the preamble to the …
