The cultivation of genetically modified, or GM BT brinjal poses risks to the environment and possibly to human health, said speakers at a view exchange meeting on Saturday in the capital.They said, the occurrence of wild, weedy and also cultivated relatives presents a likelihood that the GE BT gene will spread to these relatives but, so far, this has largely been overlooked in the risk assessments for GE BT brinjal.
They were speaking at the meeting organised by People’s Coalition against GMOs in Bangladesh at the National Press Club.
Dr Mesbah Uddin Ahmed, Professor of Child-health, presided over the function, while Dr ZN Tahmida Begum, Professor of Botany Department of Dhaka University, Aminur
Rasul Babul, Member Secretary of Unnayan Dhara Trust, Mostafa Kamal Majumder, Editor of Greenwatch Dhaka, Farida Akter, Executive Director of UBINIG, Firoza Begum
and Rabiul Islam Chunnu, among others, spoke on the occasion.
Dr Mesbah Uddin said the only three countries in South Asia like India, Pakistan and Myanmar grow only one GM crop that is cotton. If BT brinjal is approved for release,
Bangladesh will be the first in the region to grow a GM food crop.
The release of Bt Brinjal was stalled in India amid outcry from green groups while antiGM activists damaged the GM crop in experimental areas in the Philippines. But none
of the two countries slapped ban on Bt Brinjal, he said.
Dr Mesbah further said India imposed a temporary moratorium on its release while research on the GM crop reached an advanced stage in the Philippines.
Bangladesh is going to a dumping area for all unhealthy and poisonous cultivated production and our traditional production system is being spoiled by corrupt businessman, he added.
Speakers said if natural production system is take out from the farmers’ then unhealthy production will be spread out in the whole market.
Farida Akhter said release of GM brinjal would create “biological pollution” and damage local varieties. She was also highly critical of what she said was maintaining secrecy in seeking GM crop approval.
GM crops are derived from traditional plant varieties by altering their genetic make-up in laboratories for faster growth, resistance to pests, production of extra nutrients, or any other beneficial purpose. This is usually done by adding one or more genes to a plant’s genome using genetic engineering techniques.
Once the crop is released, Bangladesh will join a group of 28 countries that grow GM crops. Though it will be the country’s first home-grown GM crop, consumers have long been exposed to GM food through consumption of imported GM soybean oil.
Bari scientists had earlier developed Bt Brinjal by inserting a crystal protein gene (Cry1Ac) taken from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, known as BT, into the traditional homegrown brinjal cultivars.
They claimed Bt Brinjal is effective to fight the Fruit and Shoot Borer (FSB), considered the most devastating pest in South and Southeast Asia that ravages brinjal fields and can cause loss of the crop by as much as 70 percent unless a heavy dose of pesticide is used.
Of all vegetables produced in the country, brinjal tops the list in terms of pesticide use.
Farmers are found to apply pesticides for up to 50 times in a cropping season of brinjal against a recommended dose of 25 times, making the vegetable highly toxic.
On the other hand, many Environmentalists said the spread of the GE BT gene could result in the brinjal becoming an aggressive and problematic weed, speakers suggests, while impressing upon the governments the need to employ the precautionary principle and not permit any authorisation of the outdoor cultivation of GE BT brinjal, including field trials.
One of the least known aspects of the GE Bt brinjal is its ability to cross with wild relatives or cultivated varieties. This is because there are no recent reviews in the scientific literature concerning species related to brinjal, and where they grow across Asia, they said.
They further said this information is vital when addressing concerns regarding cultivation of GE BT brinjal, because insect-resistance gives a selective advantage to the plant, increasing its ability to survive and reproduce. – Staff Reporter
