Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | NXg | Friday Review | Cinema Plus | Young World | Property Plus | Quest |

Food for thought

The banner depicting a cartoon brinjal pretty much summed it up. It (he or she?) had one arm being pulled by a seed company and another arm by a scientist. This was one of the themes of the recent Brinjal Festival at Dilli Haat.

The festival was organised to celebrate the diversity of brinjal in India. With about 30 varieties on hand, it’s fair to say the goal was achieved. Purple, yellow, green, striped, white, long, round, spiny, and short were all there. Being represented was the Banamala, Lal Lurki, Lal Begun, and Mullu Badane. Placards detailed the time of transplantation, time of flowering and yield, soil and average size. If you were a brinjal and weren’t on hand someone forgot to send your invitation. Alright, with more than 2000 varieties of brinjals in India, it might have simply been lost in the mail.

Brinjal bites The festival also sought to create awareness about genetically modified vegetables

The festival wasn’t just about celebrating the brinjal. It was also about protecting it, specifically from the potential introduction of genetically modified versions of the vegetable.

Organised by the group, the ‘Coalition for a Genetically Modified Free India’ and operating under the campaign name, “I am no Lab Rat”, the festival was a means to highlight the potential loss of diversity, if brinjal is approved as the first genetically modified food crop in India.

“We’re here to raise public awareness,” said Selva Ganapathy, a chemical engineer and volunteer with the group. “In the next three years the government might approve brinjal as a genetically modified food and after that it could be onions and tomatoes. 184 countries have already banned the practice.”

What exactly are genetically modified foods? They are created by isolating a desirable gene in one organism and inserting it into the cells of the chosen plant. Opponents cite adverse health and environmental impact. Proponents argue these foods can lower pesticide usage and increase overall crop output. Regardless of which side you’re on it’s an argument that doesn’t seem to be subsiding anytime soon.

As the debate rages on, the cartoon picture of the brinjal doesn’t seem so funny anymore. It’s as if it wishes for a simpler time when all it had to do was be the “king of vegetables” or the centrepiece of a wedding feast.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail