Genetically Modified Crops in India: The Bt Brinjal Controversy

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Case Details:

Case Code : BENV017
Case Length : 15 Pages
Period : 2006-2008
Pub Date : 2008
Teaching Note :Not Available
Organization : Monsanto Holdings P Ltd
Industry : Agricultural biotechnology
Countries : India

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Please note:

This case study was compiled from published sources, and is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion. It is not intended to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation. Nor is it a primary information source.

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"It's a known fact that most of these experts oppose this (Bt) new technology. A normal farmer sprays pesticide at least 50 to 80 times in the whole lifecycle of a brinjal crop so you can imagine how much pesticide a normal person who eats brinjal has to swallow. Bt brinjal is a new technology which only harms some pests and not humans by any means. The reality is that the farmers need Bt crops."¹

- MK Sharma, Managing Director, Mahyco-Monsanto Biotech², in June 2008

"Bt brinjal should not be launched in the country as the Bt toxin gene produces poison and when it can harm pests, where's the proof that it won't be harmful to humans? It should not be produced at the moment as we really don't have adequate testing material."³

- Suman Sahia, Convener, Gene Campaign⁴, in June 2008

Introduction

The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC)⁵ announced approval for large scale field trials for Bt brinjal⁶ in September 2007, and probably its commercialization by early 2009. It also cleared proposals for biosafety studies for other food crops such as okra (lady's finger), rice, and tomatoes.

In February 2008, the apex legislative body in India, the Supreme Court, revoked the ban it had earlier placed on the approval of large scale field trials of transgenic crops. Following this announcement, Bt brinjal became a hotly debated topic among activists, scientists, farmers and Multi National Companies (MNCs).

Genetically Modified Crops in India: The Bt Brinjal Controversy - Next Page>>

1] Eklavya Atray, "GM Brinjals: Boon or Curse?"www.dnaindia.com, June 10, 2008.

2] Mahyco-Monsanto Biotech is a 50:50 joint venture (JV) between Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company and Monsanto Holdings P Ltd, to market the 'Bollgard'Bt cotton seeds produced by the US-based multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation, Monsanto Company (Monsanto).

3] Eklavya Atray, "GM Brinjals: Boon or Curse?"www.dnaindia.com, June 10, 2008.

4] Gene-Campaign, based in Delhi, India, is a non-government organization (NGO) that is opposed to genetically modified organisms (GMO).

5] Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) is a regulatory body for approving GM crops in India.

6] Bt brinjal is inserted with the Cry1Ac gene from a bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis. This makes the plant resistant to the fruit and shoot borers and certain pests. Such plants that possess a gene or genes that have been transferred from a different species are called transgenic plants.

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