Bt brinjal is likely to find its way to supermarkets around India before the end of the year 2009.Level of public awareness about Bt brinjal is low. Please pass this information to as many as you can.
Are mother’s concerned about our health?
1. Do we really need Bt brinjal?
2. Why should my mom cook BT brinjal when there is so much debate over it?
3. Is there any crisis in brinjal production in India? If no, why should we take a risk?
What is Bt brinjal?
Bt brinjal is a genetically modified (GM) brinjal created out of inserting a gene from a soil bacterium (Bacillus thuringiensis) into brinjal cell in young cotyledons through a vector called Agrobacterium.This gene is said to give brinjal plant resistance against a particular pest (Lepidopteran).
Why consumer groups want to expose Indian consumers to Bt brinjal?
They say
1. Bt brinjal will increase yield for farmers.
2. Reduces the need for pesticide use by 70%.Bt brinjal provides added tolerance to the pest.
3. Pose no health hazards.
Why are Anti GM groups against Bt brinjal?
1. Bt brinjal could pose risk to human health.
2. risk to environment.
3. Bt brinjal produces a protein that could induce resistance to the wildly used antibiotic kanamycin.
4. When goats are fed with Bt brinjal, the time taken to produce the hormone Prothrombin was modified.
5. In rabbits, a reduction of consumption of food was observed.
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