Health Hazards of BT Brinjal

Several studies on Bt crops in particular and GM crops in general show that there are many potential health hazards in foods bio-engineered in this manner. GM-fed animals in various studies have shown that there are problems with growth, organ development and damage, immune responsiveness and so on. With Bt crops, a recent study from Madhya Pradesh in India shows adverse human health impacts in farm and factory workers with allergies caused by Bt Cotton. Itching skin, eruptions on the body, swollen faces etc., were also reported, correlated with levels of exposure to Bt Cotton.
A study from Philippines shows that people living next to Bt Corn crop fields had developed many mysterious symptoms, especially during pollination time.It has also been shown from studies elsewhere that genes inserted into GM food survive digestive processes and are transferred into the human body. They are known to have transferred themselves into intestinal bacteria too. Bt toxin had caused powerful immune responses and abnormal cell growth in mice. It has also been shown that all the Cry proteins in Bt crops have amino acid sequence similar to known allergens and are hence potential allergens.

Potential Environmental Hazards

There have not been adequate tests done to assess the changes to the farm level ecology or stress intolerance of Bt Brinjal. In the case of Bt Cotton, however, it is now admitted in official records that Bt Cotton is more vulnerable to sucking pests than non-Bt counterparts, that it is more stress intolerant and so on. Disease incidence on Bt Cotton is also seen to be higher than on non-Bt Cotton.
In the case of Bt Cotton, it is only after a few years of commercial cultivation that recommendations related to some changed management practices are being made by the industry and the government.