1.India allows first large trials of GM food crop
2.GEAC breaking its own rules by allowing large scale trials of Bt Brinjal
EXTRACT: The GEAC is... aiding a company which has not even bothered to follow the conditions imposed on it by the regulators in previous permissions... [Monsanto-]Mahyco has repeatedly violated the conditional permissions given for trials... (item 2)
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1.India allows first large trials of GM food crop
Reuters, Aug 16 2007 http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2007-08-16T160619Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_India-290067-1.xml
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has allowed the first large-scale field trial of a genetically modified food crop, a senior government official told Reuters on Thursday.
A new hybrid variety of brinjal will be tested in the latest GM trials to be held in the country.
"We have allowed large-scale field trials of Bt brinjal," an official at the environment ministry, who could not be named, said.
India has allowed commercial cultivation in genetically modified cotton since 2002.
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2.GEAC breaking its own rules by allowing large scale trials of Bt Brinjal
Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, PRESS RELEASE
Hyderabad, August 16th, 2007: Reacting to the news that Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) had allowed large scale trials of Bt Brinjal, Centre for Sustainable Agriculture accused GEAC of breaking its own rules which state that large scale trials will not be allowed unless the complete biosafety data has been generated. Bt Brinjal clearly does not fall in this category as there have been numerous questions on biosafety of Bt Brinjal, the protocols of tests conducted or commissioned by Mahyco, the data analysis and conclusions drawn. In fact, some of the prescribed tests like foliar feeding studies (which have been mandated after reports of animal mortality and morbidity after open grazing on Bt Cotton fields) have not been completed on Bt Brinjal, as evident from the perusal of GEAC minutes and the fact that no findings have been made public.
Reacting to GEAC's move, Dr G V Ramanjaneyulu, Executive Director, Centre for Sustainable Agriculture said, "Without biosafety having been cleared and without making the data public, it is unfortunate that the GEAC has allowed large scale trials of Bt Brinjal; in the process, it is breaking its own rules which were reiterated in its June 2007 meeting. The GEAC is short-circuiting the processes and aiding a company which had not even bothered to follow the conditions imposed on it by the regulators in the previous permissions. Recent information shared by the GEAC under the Right To Information Act showed once again that Mahyco has repeatedly violated the conditional permissions given for trials, including by taking up trials in locations where they were not permitted".
It is reported that these large scale trials have been allowed in 13 different locations, to be led and coordinated by the Indian Vegetable Research Institute in Varanasi and that all trials would take place inside NARS campuses (not in farmers' fields).
"It is inappropriate for GEAC to have called for feedback from the public on the so-called biosafety data put up by Mahyco and not to share the 'expert committee's' findings in a similar manner on its website, before taking a decision on this matter", said Kavitha Kuruganti of Centre for Sustainable Agriculture. Meanwhile, it is interesting to note that the Independent Expert Committee on Bt Brinjal set up by Centre for Sustainable Agriculture and Thanal, which went through the AICRP (All India Coordinated Research Project) on Vegetable Cultivation report for 2005-06 on Bt Brinjal trials, noted that from the ICAR-supervised trials, there is not much promise for Bt Brinjal. "It is therefore not clear what else will the agronomic trials are expected to prove", said Kavitha.
For more information, contact:
1. Kavitha Kuruganti, +91-9393001550
2. G V Ramanjaneyulu, +91-9391359702
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