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 …
The ladybird beetle, Coleomegilla maculata (DeGeer), is a common and abundant predator in many cropping systems. Its larvae and adults are predaceous, feeding on aphids, thrips, lepidopteran larvae and plant tissues, such as pollen. Therefore, this species is exposed to insecticidal proteins expressed in insect-resistant, genetically engineered cotton expressing Cry …
Biotechnology offers many benefits, but only nineteen developing countries have commercially approved the planting of genetically engineered crops. Outreach and educational programmes could help prepare stakeholders in developing countries to influence biotechnology policies. Faculty at Michigan State University (MSU) developed a two-week course that was taught 14 times from 2002 …
This paper assesses the global economic implications of the proposed strict documentation requirements on traded shipments of potentially genetically modified (GM) commodities under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. More specifically, evaluate the trade diversion, price, and welfare effects of requiring all shipments to bear a list of specific GM events …
Entomopathogenic bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and its toxins have been extensively used for pest control in agriculture and forestry and in public health programmes since the 1930s. At the core of such application are protein crystals that get synthesised when Bt cells develop spores. The proteins called Cry (from Crystal) …
Or why Bt cotton was introduced in the fields while Bt brinjal was embargoed The fate of the controversial Bt brinjal is blowing in the wind! At a meeting of the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), the apex body for transgenic crops in India, several experts favoured a
Centre approves field trials of 14 GM crops. But some states refuse trials, saying safety regulations are too lax. With politicians joining activists, the issue is likely to take a politically volatile turn. This special report in DTE uncovers the mess in GM crops. As India gets ready to unleash …
AT daybreak on March 11, there was a burst of activity at Litchi Lawn, a corner plot on the sprawling campus of the Pusa Institute in Bihar’s Samastipur district. Workers were uprooting the maize growing in a small patch of land close to the office, intent on finishing their work …
How do you propose to deal with conflict of interest in GEAC? Around three months ago a document called Declaration of Independence was prepared. Scientists who are members of GEAC were asked to sign it. The declaration states that a scientist can take decisions independently. If a GEAC member is …
IT is just a 12-member body but the Agricultural Group (AG) of the Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE-Ag) must be about the most powerful lobby groups in India. Among the dozen companies are the world’s largest biotech companies— Bayer BioScience, Dow AgroSciences, Monsanto, PHI Seeds—and a clutch of rising …
The Asia-Pacific Consortium on Agricultural Biotechnology (APCoAB) and Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences (TAAS) organized a “Stakeholders’ Interface on GM Food Crops” on 19 May 2011 at National Agricultural Science Complex, New Delhi to deliberate on issues related to adoption of GM food crops in India. The event was …
If numbers were enough, the case of Organic Seed Growers & Trade Association, et al versus Monsanto would already be won. On March 29, family farmers—in America, this essentially means small farmers; in India it would be redundancy— along with seed dealers and international organic farming organisations, filed an unusual …
The report by an Expert Committee (EC–II) and approval of Bt brinjal by the Genetic Engineering Approval (now Appraisal) Committee (GEAC) in October 2009 led to considerable public outcry and an ongoing debate.
The public should be properly consulted ahead of any release of experimental insects. But what do they need to know, and whose job is it to ensure the message gets across? (Editorial)
THREE months after the country’s top science academies released their controversial report backing genetically modified (GM) crops and hastily withdrew it after it was panned by the scientific community, they are back with an updated report—and the verdict is that it is worse than the original. The Inter-Academy Report on …
A recent article in Current Science for a unified academy of sciences in India begins with a reference to the uproar caused by the inter-academy report on genetically modified (GM) crops. While the case for a unified academy is most welcome, increased participation of scientists would be of help in …
KERALA has challenged the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee’s (GEAC) decision to allow open field trials of genetically modified (GM) rubber in the state. GEAC, the country’s apex body that approves release of GM crops, had given a go-ahead to the Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII) to carry out the …
Scientists have both the right and a moral duty to be "stewards of God" by genetically modifying crops to help the world's poor, scientific advisers to the Vatican said.
The report reviews the decision by the Indian regulatory authority to stall the commercial release of transgenic crops containing the reporter gene GUS because of environmental implications, though scientists have concluded it safe. This decision will impact many crops, including those developed for drought and salt tolerance.
