Bt Brinjal: Poison in your stomach.

[Guest guest]

Poison in Your StomachSep 01, 2008 By Devinder Sharma

Devinder Sharma's ZSpace Page / ZSpace

 

 

 

After the rats, goats, sheep and cows,

it is now the turn of Indians. In a few months from now, if the Genetic

Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) of India has its way, the first

genetically modified food crop - Bt Brinjal - will be on your table.

 

 

 

Whether it is the laboratory rats or

the higher mammals, the animals have been more discerning. Probably

they have the sixth instinct, which the humans sadly lack. There is

otherwise no explanation why the laboratory rats, for instance, should

always be spurning the GM foods. And when force fed, rats have

invariably developed tumours, develop deformed body organs, including

kidneys and liver, and led to several serious diseases and ailments.

 

 

 

We have heard repeatedly of the death

of sheep and goats when left to graze in the Bt cotton fields. First it

was reported from Andhra Pradesh and now newspaper reports point to

Orissa. Not much is however public about how the cattle react. Several

farmers in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana have told me that cows

avoid the Bt cotton fields when left to openly graze. 

 

 

 

The Bt gene that has been infused in

Bt cotton (or Bt corn on which most of the laboratory rats studies have

been conducted) is no different from the same gene drawn from a soil

bacterium - scientifically called Bt - that is now being incorporated

in Brinjal. This gene releases a toxin within the plant that kills

fruit-and-shoot borer insects. The Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company

(Mahyco), which is spearheading research on Bt Brinjal, claims that the

genetically-modified Brinjal is safe for human consumption.

 

 

 

I have never been overawed by the

safety claims made by the companies. For several decades now, we were

told that cigarette smoking wasn't harmful to human health, chemical

pesticides were completely safe, and white sugar poses no danger to

human body. These are not the only products that received the safety

certificate. The list is endless. And yet, decades later, and after

inflicting a heavy human cost world over, most of these products are

being banned or phased out. The way sugar-based food products have hit

the market, and all are vouched safe, diabetes has suddenly assumed

epidemic proportions.

 

 

 

Talking about diabetes, and realising

that the disease is growing at an alarming scale, the disappearance of

the traditionally-cultivated Brinjal from the market, will surely take

away one of the simple home remedies and widely-practiced dietary

solution to combat the Type-2 diabetes. I too suffer from Type-2

diabetes, and therefore find it appalling to see as to why no

scientific organisation, including the GEAC, is coming clean on what

the genetically modified Brinjal will mean to people like me.

 

 

 

What about diabetic mommies? Pregnant

women are increasingly becoming prone to Gestational diabetes -- a

temporary form of diabetes. In recent years, the number of  affected

women who have crossed-over to full-blown diabetes is increasing -

almost 25 per cent get Type-2 diabetes within 15 years. Whatever be the

safety claims, the fact remains that no medical studies have been

conducted to show that the therapeutic properties in a normal Brinjal

will not change when the fruit is genetically modified.

 

 

 

Even if you are not a diabetic don't

think you are safe. So far you have been made to believe that by proper

washing of the Brinjal veggies you could get rid of the harmful

pesticide residues. That may not hold true anymore. You will not be

able to wash the toxins once the Bt Brinjal arrives in your kitchen.

No, I am not talking of the pesticide coating on the outer skin. The

toxin will now be within the Bt Brinjal. 

 

 

 

And if you don't believe me, let us

listen to Prof Dave Schubert of the Salk Institute for Biological

Studies in California: " The Bt toxin is 1000 times more concentrated

than in Bt sprays, which do not themselves have a history of safe use. "

In simple words, what Dr Schubert says is that genetically modified Bt

plants, and that includes Bt Brinjal, carry a toxin that is a thousand

times more potent than what is used to kill insects. Strains of Bt have

been used as sprays to control harmful insets. Spine chilling, isn't

it?

 

 

 

The problem is that once Bt Brinjal

enters the market, there is no way you can distinguish it from the

normal ones. Your vegetable vendor will never be able to sell you the

normal Brinjal that you are so used to buying. Moreover, once the genie

is out, there is no way to call it back. To make matters worse, the

GEAC has given permission to conduct multi-location trials on

Karnataka's famed traditional Brinjal varieties - Udupi Gulla.

Cultivated for its special taste and unique flavour in the Udupi

district of Karnataka, these strains are tied in such strong

socio-cultural traditions that even today the Gulla Brinjal variety is

offered to Lord Krishna on festive paryaya ceremonies.� 

 

 

 

Tracing out the antiquity of the

cultivation and use of Brinjal in India, Ramesh Bhat of the Centre for

Science, Society and Culture, Hyderabad, writes in a detailed paper in

the journal Asian Agri-History that Gulla varieties (especially Mattu

Gulla) are a perfect example of 'plant-God-science' relationship. " The

example of Mattu Gulla shows how local farmers can choose a variety

that meets their local needs and preferences, and is best suited to

their specific local ecosystems. The practices adopted by farmers of

Udupi have a scientific basis - both traditional and modern. "

 

 

 

Realising the uniqueness of the Mattu

Gulla Brinjal, the Karnataka State Department of Horticulture is trying

to preserve the genetic wealth by seeking a geographical indication on

the Gulla strains. Ironically, the same variety for which GI is being

sought by the Karnataka government is now ready for genetic plunder.

The GVK University of Agricultural Science and Technology, Bangalore,

is trying to introduce a Bt gene into the Gulla strains thereby

contaminating the genetic make-up of the traditional variety. The

uniqueness of the Gulla varieties, preserved for over four thousand

years by local farmers, awaits erosion at the hands of agricultural

biotechnologists.

 

 

 

Why worry about this Bt Brinjal, some

might say. Isn't it necessary for improving production and

productivity, some of you might argue. First of all, let me assure you

that there is no shortage of Brinjal. Nor do the Bt Brinjal increases

productivity and production. But what Bt Brinjal does for sure is to

bring India's first genetically altered food crop onto your dining

table. It is time you woke up before it is too late.

 

 

 

Z Net - The Spirit Of Resistance Lives

URL: http://www.zcommunications.org/zspace/commentaries/3606

 

" It is now 30 years since I have been confining myself to the treatment

ofchronic diseases. During those 30 years I have run against so many histories

of littlechildren who had never seen a sick day until they were vaccinated and

who, in the severalyears that have followed, have never seen a well day since. I

couldn't put my finger onthe disease they have. They just weren't strong. Their

resistance was gone. They wereperfectly well before they were vaccinated. They

have never been well since. " ---Dr. William Howard Hay

 

 

Download prohibited? No problem. CHAT from any browser, without download.

Go to http://in.webmessenger./