Technology at the cost of disturbing the nature...

As a management student though there are lot of other management issues that I would like to discuss later on but at present the issue regarding Bt Brinjal is undoubtedly a matter that I would like to share with , as it has created a major chaos all over the nation where by we find the balance between technology and nature is getting disrupted .So if a question arises what is common between tomatoes , potatoes ,chilli , brinjal ? Then the answer would be , they all belong to a plant family called Solanaceae . Solanaceae species are quite rich in complex chemicals known as alkaloids and contain some of the most poisonous plants known to mankind. For example , when potatoes are exposed to light , a chemical is produced which appears as a green tinge and can cause damage to an unborn foetus when consumed .Hence farmers have been working for years to domesticate wild plants like those which has toxic elements or the ones which produce alkaloids in their roots in order to make them safe for eating. Even scientists have tried to clean up the crop varieties which had good qualities but contained toxins. But now brinjal has been genetically engineered to produce a toxin to protect itself against a particular pest. This has resulted into a process which is working reverse of the years of efforts being put on by the farmers , scientists who have been trying to detoxify natural plants to make them fit for human consumption.

Though Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) have given the approval for the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) Bt Brinjal but the decision had caused concern among NGOs like Greenpeace , Centre for Science and Environment who had taken a strong stand against the introduction of GM food products. It is found that biotechnology companies rely on the concept of substantial equivalence where by the genetically engineered (GE) food is compared to an equivalent conventional food and if there is no significant difference between the two then the GE crop is considered to be safe. Though The Mahyco seed company has tested Bt Brinjal and declared it to be safe but it has been rejected by most countries. Apart from the critical safety issues ,there is no system in place for labelling these foods.It is very difficult in the Indian situation to label a vegetable that will be sold from the farmer's fields,laden into trucks and taken to wholesale market. Many rural consumers are not aware of GE food so in such case labelling would be meaningless.

Despite these big hurdles GEAC has approved Mahyco's Bt Brinjal for production. Moreover the Bt variety of GM crop had been marketed by big corporations for its pest Resistance so it can be major concern because this would result in the monopolisation of GM crop techniques by large private corporations.Rather than producing Bt Brinjal more important features of crops that need to be targeted for Indian conditions of farming are drought and salinity Resistance ,and cold or heat tolerance.This issue regarding Bt Brinjal has brought in Minister of State for Environment and Forests -Jairam Ramesh and Minister of state for Agriculture -K .V Thomas to discuss the issue and come to a conclusion. The issue is still pending and its expected to be declared on 10th February.

So in this whole chaos its mainly the farmers who are going to suffer the most. It has to be said that enough has not been done to protect interests of farmers against the threat of monopolisation of seed sale. Moreover it is also found that its consumption might result in cancer. Therefore I firmly believe that commercialization of Bt Brinjal should not be permitted because by this the farmers will be at loss. Apart from the farmers the small-scale vegetable sellers and general public might have to face adverse effects.