India Says No to Bt Brinjal, for Now

New Delhi, Feb 9 – There will be no approval for the commercial release of Bt Brinjal in India till independent tests are carried out, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh declared here Tuesday.

‘Impose a moratorium on the release of Bt Brinjal till such time that independent scientific studies establish satisfaction of both public and professionals, the safety of the product from the point of view of long-term impact on human health and environment,’ Ramesh said at a press conference.

He pointed to the opposition to the genetically modified vegetable from 11 state governments, green activists and farmers during his public hearings over the issue at a number of cities around the country.

Ramesh clarified that the moratorium in no way implied a ‘conditional acceptance’ of Bt Brinjal.

Posted by Vamban on Feb 9, 2010 @ 5:25 PM Filed under Business, National, Top Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry