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"Moderated conference on GMOs in the pipeline,
hosted by the FAO Biotechnology Forum"
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This is P. Ananda Kumar again. I pioneered the development and field testing of Bt brinjal in 1996.
Bt brinjal is absolutely essential to protect the health of human beings, other mammals, non-target organisms, soil, water, biodiversity and environment in general. Bt genes may escape from GM brinjal to normal brinjal in a natural way but it will not adversely affect the brinjal. The chances of gene transfer by natural inter-specific crossing are extremely negligible and are not a matter of great concern. "Contamination" refers to something that is harmful. Since Bt gene and its protein products are innocuous the phenomenon of gene transfer cannot be termed "contamination". The origin of Solanum melongena is a matter of controversy since 1930s. Recently, scientists have proposed African origin for S. melongena. India can only be termed as a centre of brinjal diversity. Bt brinjal will not affect brinjal diversity in any manner. There is a need to transfer Bt genes to as many traditional varieties as possible to reduce the use of pesticides thereby protecting human health. Bt has been under extensive use by organic farmers all over the world for several decades and hence Bt crops can very well fit into the concept of organic farming. Brinjal, which is part of our diet for several centuries, does not have any toxins harmful to human health. The internationally accepted protocols for food safety testing address the concerns of unintended effects of GM crops including Bt brinjal.
Dr P. Ananda Kumar
Principal Scientist
NRC on Plant Biotechnology
Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) Campus
New Delhi 110012, India
Phone: 091-11-25841787 X 240
Fax: 091-11-25843984
Email: polumetla (at) hotmail.com ; Kumarpa (at) nrcpb.org
Web: www.nrcpb.org
[To contribute to this conference, send your message to [log in to unmask] For further information on this FAO Biotechnology Forum, see http://www.fao.org/biotech/biotech-forum/]
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