Bt entreaty

The radical fringe in America calls it Frankenfood. Start growing genetically modified vegetables,they mean to imply,and you unleash on unsuspecting ecosystems and digestive tracts the veggie equivalent of Frankensteins monster: something dreamed in the lab by wild-eyed,mad scientists with a tenuous grasp on reality which will run amok when released. The argument over genetically modified food is one that,however,is actually being won by the scientists and,in the process,it is the protestors who are coming across as more than a little wild-eyed. In India,too,Environment Minister Jairam Rameshs consultation process over the introduction of Bt brinjal has served to demonstrate that the objections to the introduction of this,the first GM crop destined for Indian tables,are less rational and more emotional. (Most vividly on Saturday,when one activist had to be ejected from a public hearing with the minister.)

A certain visceral concern over GM food is understandable: after all,we will be expected to eat something that scientists have tinkered with. But that concern must,in the end,have to give way before solid facts. As one of Indias most distinguished biochemists points out on these pages today,Bt brinjal has been thoroughly and comprehensively tested; perhaps even more compellingly,the theoretical science that backs up arguments for its safety remain unchallenged. Nor should anti-capitalist conspiracy theorists,such as the activist who accused Ramesh of being an agent of biotech giant Monsanto,carry much weight with mainstream opinion: the long development and testing of Bt brinjal featured extensive collaboration between various government agencies,the private sector,and scientists.

In the United States,corn modified by the introduction of pest-resistant genetic strains from the bacteria Bacillus thuringensis Bt dominates the market,and has for years. Similarly modified soybeans and vegetable oils have also proved safe and cheap. In India,farmers have taken to Bt cotton in a big way and paranoid fears that giant foreign combines would seek to make rapacious profits by exploiting small Indian farmers have not materialised. After all,nobody is likely to force Indian farmers to adopt the new variety: it merely adds to their options,and to the options facing the Indian consumer. Some will always remain unconvinced,or call ad infinitum for more and better and longer tests. They should not be able to veto the introduction of GM food forever. This week the environment ministry is to decide on Bt brinjal. A cautionary desire to placate the panicked and paranoid must not be allowed to outweigh the evidence.