Do you think the moratorium on Bt Brinjal has political motives behind it?

[Student]

Recently, The Environment minister Mr. Jairam ramesh put a moratorium on the use and production of Bt brinjal in India. There seems to be few allegations that his move was in response to the protests fueled by foreign NGOs. Nevertheless he claims that the moratorium was due to inadequate consensus and lack of proper safety tests. Do you think there is political motive behind this or is mr. ramesh being rational enough to consider the safety measures before launching this genetically modified product?

 

[IamanINDIAN]

I think the decision is aptly taken because bt brijal is believed to cause 33 side effects on human consumption (according to research reports). It was therefore banned in USA and UK, but India never put a ban on its use. Accordingly i think it is right step taken by the concerned minister to put the use of bt brinjals on hold because we need to consider its health implications prior to consumption.