THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the wake of the furore over the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) clearance to the genetically modified (GM) Bt Brinjal in the country, the Kerala Biotechnology Commission (KBC) is bringing in experts from various fields to critically evaluate the safety aspects of GM food.
A seminar on ‘GM Crops and Food Security’ will be inaugurated by Law Minister M.Vijayakumar at Sastra Bhavan on November 17.
Genetically modified organisms have specific changes introduced into their DNA by genetic engineering to increase productivity, resist pests, tolerate drought and salinity, improve nutrient content and so on. Possibilities of GM crops introducing new allergens into foods and spreading of antibiotic resistance have been pointed out. Critics have objected to GM foods on several grounds, including safety issues and ecological concerns, creating a controversy over the merits and demerits of agricultural biotechnology.
KBC is organising the seminar, to be followed by an open house where the public can clear their doubts straight from the experts.
At the seminar, Dr K.P.Prabhakaran Nair, FAO consultant, and S.Faizi, ecologist and chairman of the Indian Biodiversity Forum are expected to take a critical look at the environmental issues surrounding GM crops.
K.P.Prabhakaran Nair is a world-renowned agronomist and soil scientist, having worked in Europe, Africa and Asia for over three decades. He is a former Rockefeller Fellow and a Senior Fellow of the world renowned Alexander von Humboldt Research Foundation of The Federal Republic of Germany and a visiting professor to several European Universities.
It may be recalled that the State Government, especially the Agriculture Department, and the State Biodiversity Board had categorically stated that Kerala would be a GM-Free State. However, in spite of several anti-GM campaigns, companies such as Monsanto and Mahyco have been repeatedly contesting that their products have come through stringent safety tests of various research labs and that they are safe even while failing to mention that most of these studies are funded by the companies themselves.
Dr K.K.Narayanan, currently CEO of Metahelix and formerly program lead for Crop Transformation and Functional Genomics at the Monsanto Research Centre, Bangalore, and KU Biotechnology Department head G.M.Nair are expected to present lectures that may be looked upon as pro-GM crops.
Narayanan is a plant molecular biologist and breeder, graduated with a PhD in Plant Breeding and Genetics from the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. He later on carried out post-doctoral research at the Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, under a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship. In 2001, he along with four other scientist colleagues founded Metahelix Life Sciences and has since been leading its operations.
The debate on November 17 will be moderated by agriculture expert R.Heli.
Those who wish to participate should register through e-mail on or before November 16 as the number of participants have been limited to 100. There will not be any registration fee for delegates.
For more details, contact over phone no. 0471-2543701 or e-mail at biotechkerala@gmail.com.
