The reported statement of KV Thomas, the minister of state for agriculture, that the agriculture ministry would not blindly oppose any new technology that helped increase food production and ensure food security, has kindled the hopes of Bt brinjal?s proponents, and fuelled opponents? passion.

Changing climate, increasing competition from insects and pests, and the need to feed more people are threatening food availability, affordability and security. Solutions provided by science to control pests, resist drought and be tolerant to high salinity or floods are becoming increasingly relevant.

In India only one food crop, brinjal, with plant-incorporated protectant against fruit and shoot borer pests, created with cry1Ac, a protein produced by a naturally occurring soil bacterium is ready for commercial release. It is also to be released in Bangladesh and Philippines, after the release in India.

Though ready for release, having obtained the approval from Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), the final order permitting commercial cultivation is to come from the government. Hence, the

importance of the minister?s statement. Until such approval, Bt brinjal will remain a laboratory piece.

All the opposition to the release of Bt brinjal is based on the premise that (1) the Bt protein used in brinjal is toxic to humans, animals and plants, and (2) with Bt, multinational hegemony will be established on this poor man?s vegetable cultivated all over India in all seasons. All other points of protest follow from these.

A close look at the studies done on the toxicity and allerginicity of Bt proteins will dissipate much of the dispute. The fact the Bt brinjal is placed in the public domain in India, Bangladesh and Philippines, and state institutions have full control over the seeds? production and distribution will dispel remaining fears of MNC control. Plus, unlike hybrids, Bt brinjals are developed with popular varieties in respective regions, and farmers will be able to save seeds for the next crop.

In the words of K Vijayaraghavan, regional co-coordinator, South Asia, Agriculture Biotechnology Support Project-II: ?A close look at the evolution of the Bt brinjal from the laboratory to the multi-locational and multi-institutional field trials and finally to the GEAC approval and at the story of the public sector institutional participation in its development with a pan-Asian perspective, will eliminate most of the doubts and oppositions which are baseless and unwarranted.?

One of the most reliable authorities on environmental issues, the US Environment Protection Agency (USEPA), stated in 2003: ?Bt crops pose no significant risk to the environment or to human health. For years, before the incorporation of Bt proteins to plants, it was used as a microbial pesticide spray on food crops.? The USEPA?s human health assessment report says: ?Bt plant-incorporated protectants are proteins. Commonly found in diets, proteins present little risk, except for a few well-described cases (such as food allergens, acute toxins and antinutrients). In addition, for the majority of Bt proteins currently registered (including cry1Ac), the source bacterium has been a registered microbial pesticide previously approved for use on food crops without specific restrictions. Because of their use as microbial pesticides, a long history of safe use is associated with many proteins found in these Bt products.?

Toxicological, allergenicity and biosafety studies have been conducted by various institutions in

India also. One such study of cotton seed samples genetically modified with cry1Ac, the same as in Bt brinjal, by the Shriram Institute for Industrial Research, New Delhi and several Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) institutions found them safe on rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, fish, goats and cows.

The scientists of the company that developed Bt brinjal, Mahyco, testify that since 2001, studies have been conducted on the various health and safety aspects of Bt proteins. According to Bharat Achar, lead researcher, Mahyco, ?Bt brinjal has been thoroughly tested for environmental safety and food & feed safety with about 25 different studies completed on these aspects. Environmental studies analysed aspects such as germination behaviour, weediness and aggressiveness. Over five years, 60+ field trials have been performed by the company, as well as ICAR and universities. Food and feed safety studies covered detailed compositional analysis, acute and sub-chronic oral toxicity and allergenicity. Established animal models were used in these studies, including fish, bird and mammalian models. All these studies, without exception, have indicated that Bt brinjal is no different from conventional brinjal in any way.? The Mahyco scientists also said that after cooking, there had been no trace of the Bt protein in Bt brinjals.

There is no question of any multinational control over the Bt brinjal seeds, says P Balasubramanian, director, Centre for Plant Molecular Biology, Tamil Nadu Agriculture University, Coimbatore?one of the universities that was a part of ABSP-II. He said Bt brinjal was first developed by Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco). The company donated the technology to public-sector institutions in India, Bangladesh and Philippines under the ABSP-II. The institutional network comprises Tamil Nadu Agriculture University (TNAU), University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) Dharwad, Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Lucknow, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) and East West Seeds Ltd, Bangladesh and the Institute of Plant Breeding, Philippines.

These institutions developed different open-pollinated Bt brinjal varieties popular in their respective regions. TNAU developed four varieties for Tamil Nadu, and UAS, Dharwad six for Karnataka, Goa and parts of Maharashtra.

The Bangla institutions have nine and Philippines is also working on promising brinjal lines for its farmers.

After the government approval, Bt brinjal seeds would be available from state agencies at a nominal cost. Farmers would be able to save the seeds, like the normal brinjals, for the next crop, Balasubramanian says, and denies any multinational control over the Bt brinjal seeds ?now or in the future.

Another fear expressed by farmer leaders and others is about the possibility of soil contamination by Bt. The USEPA study says that most of the Cry protein deposited into soil by Bt crops is degraded within a few days, although a residue may persist in a biologically active form for a much longer period. It also says that the available data does not indicate that Cry proteins have any measurable effect on microbial populations in the soil.

The net result of Bt brinjal is that over 14 lakh farmers in India, three lakh in Bangladesh and 30,000 in Philippines will get a dependable, cost-effective remedy to the fruit and shoot borer pest (FSB) that damages up to 60% of their crop, with no tangible harm to man, animal or soil, Balasubramanian says.

Through the ages, any new technology, especially in agriculture, has been received with scepticism. But humanity survives only with such technologies. Genetic engineering might be the way mankind would be able to create its food in future. For the sake of the future, Bt brinjal has to be given a chance to prove what its creators and the scientific studies claim.

Meanwhile, the country can establish a regulatory system that screens all new plant organisms for potential risks. There should also be an established system for the assessment of their sustainability, rather than a total ban or moratorium on scientifically established plants. Rejection of agricultural biotechnology, while readily accepting medical biotechnology products, should be considered a risky and unscientific approach in these changing times.