Chandra Mohan in his article “Bt brinjal and its discontents” (July 17) seems to be batting for the genetically modified (GM) crop industry. The article solely relies on opinions of Professor Ronald Herring of Cornell University, who has been vigorously promoting GM crops in India and has been a regular at numerous industry-sponsored conferences. I think the author is not aware of the studies by other national and international scientists questioning the bio-safety of Bt brinjal.
Before accepting the “all is great” story of Bt cotton, maybe it would be good to listen to various stakeholders and at least make an attempt at arriving at an objective conclusion. According to reports, the Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company’s year on year profits are 37 per cent, so obviously some people would like to hail the story of Bt cotton as successful.
Usha S, Thiruvananthapuram
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