'Agitation against Bt Brinjal was loud, well-orchestrated'

Bangalore: A former senior Monsanto official today said he wasn't surprised by the Government's moratorium on commercial cultivation of Bt Brinjal, noting that the agitation against the genetically-modified variety of the vegetable was "well-orchestrated, loud and united".

"I am not surprised by the decision of the Environment Minister," former head of the city-based Monsanto Research Centre, Mr T.M. Manjunath said.

"The agitation against Bt Brinjal was so demonstrative, well-orchestrated, loud and united as compared to lacklustre and hesitant efforts by most of the protagonists," he said.

A US-based multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation, Monsanto is the leading producer of genetically engineered (GE) seed. It introduced genetically modified cotton in India in 2002.

Mr Manjunath said that if the industry and scientists had put in more efforts towards creating awareness about the safety and benefits of the biotech products, the impact would have been different.

According to him, the Bt gene, cryIAC, that has been deployed in Bt Brinjal is almost the same as in Bt cotton that had earlier undergone and satisfied extensive biosafety tests as per international standards in several countries such as the USA, Argentina, Australia, China as well as India.

"Bt cotton has been under commercial cultivation on millions of acres year after year since its regulatory approval in the USA and other countries since 1996 and in India since 2002," he said.