Genetically modified brinjal

[3] It was approved for commercialization in India in 2009, but - after an apparent public outcry and rounds of debates in which representatives from Mahyco, the scientific community, and NGO's spoke on the topic - the then Indian Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh, facilitated a moratorium on its release until further, unspecified, tests were conducted.

[10] An irregularity[11] was also brought to the notice of the Karnataka Biodiversity Board by Environment Support Group, a charitable trust in Bengaluru, in February 2010.

[22] Several other trials have produced similarly positive results, and a few in areas with high pest pressure achieved multiplication of yield several times without the need for further insecticide inputs.

[25] Scientists from the University of the Philippines Los Baños-Institute of Plant Breeding (UPLB-IPB) are currently developing a version of GM Brinjal.

[29] On 17 April 2024, the Court of Appeals in the Philippines issued a cease-and-desist order on the commercial propagation of two genetically modified crops, golden rice and Bt eggplant, citing a lack of "full scientific certainty" regarding their health and environmental impact.

The decision was in response to a petition filed by groups including Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa Pag-unlad Agrikultura (Masipag) and Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

The brinjal is an important food crop for India, and the potential commercialization of a genetically modified variety has drawn support and criticism.

Field trials conducted on research-managed farms carried out by Mahyco and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research suggested a 42% pesticide reduction and a doubling of the yield was possible.

[32][33] A French scientist notable for his anti-GM perspective,[34] Gilles-Eric Seralini, raised concerns about some of the differences between feeding trials using the genetically modified and unmodified brinjal, and criticized some of the testing protocols.

[35] The EC-II responded to the concerns raised by Seralini and other scientists in their report,[7] New Zealand epidemiologist Lou Gallagher also criticised the feeding trials saying that the raw data indicated toxic effects were associated with rats that were fed Bt Brinjal.

[36] Concerns have also been raised about a possible conflict of interest, with some of the scientists appointed to the GEAC being involved in developing their own GM products, that the decision by the EC-II was not unanimous, and about the reliability of safety data originating from Mahcyo run trials.

[37] The imposed moratorium has been criticized by some scientists as not being based on any compelling scientific evidence and potentially setting Indian biotechnology back decades.

[38] Others feel the critical issue is not the safety of the GM technology, but its corporatization[39] and there are claims that India's crop protection industry was a major player in preventing the commercialization of Bt brinjal.

[41] The Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture on 9 August 2012 asked the Government to stop all field trials and sought a ban on GM food crops like Bt brinjal.

A photograph showing a variety of brinjal cultivars
Many cultivars of eggplants displayed by protesters on the steps during the Feb. 2010 listening tour by India's environmental minister relating to BT Brinjal, in Bangalore, India