By Frank Krishner
India is regarded as the original home of the Brinjal or Eggplant. Brinjal has been cultivated in India for the past 4000 years. It is grown all over the country, year-round and is one of our most popular vegetables. The area under cultivation is around 5 lakh hectares. The production stands at around 82 lakh metric tonnes. It is mainly grown in small plots. The average yields of Brinjal in India are reported to be around 200 to 350 quintals per hectare. The main growing areas are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.There are many brinjal varieties in India, in addition to improved varieties and hybrids. Some improved varieties include Pusa Kranthi, Pusa Purple Cluster, Syamala etc. Hybrids include Arka Navneet, Pusa Hybrid 6, Utkarsha, Pusa Hybrid 5 and so on.
The Shoot & Fruit Borer in brinjal [which has been the major pest for the past two decades or so] causes from 50 to 70% damage, and in economic terms, it is estimated to be around $221 millions. It is to lend tolerance to this pest primarily that the Bt Brinjal has been developed.
However, most people seem to agree that the BT Brinjal is a bd idea.
Several studies on Bt crops in particular and GM crops in general show that there are many potential health hazards in bio-engineered foods . GM-fed animals in various studies have shown problems with growth, organ development and damage, immune responsiveness and so on. With Bt crops, a recent study from Madhya Pradesh shows adverse human health impacts in farm and factory workers with allergies caused by Bt Cotton. Itching skin, eruptions on the body, swollen faces etc., were also reported, correlated with levels of exposure to Bt Cotton.
A study from Phillippines shows that people living next to Bt Corn crop fields had developed many mysterious symptoms, especially during pollination time.
Studies elsewhere show that genes inserted into GM food survive digestive processes and are transferred into the human body. They have transferred themselves into intestinal bacteria too. Bt toxin had caused powerful immune responses and abnormal cell growth in mice.
I plan to share some of my favourite Brinjal, eggpant, aubergine recipes with you soon.
Baigan
ReplyDeleteBaygon
Bay-gun
Begone
And you've only Just Begun
this new blog.
Knowong what an excellent cook you are, I hope you'll post some of your cooking secrets here.
“Brinjal” – d vegetable I would prefer the least. I wonder, whether there are ‘actually’ so many varieties of brinjal, because I guess all look similar. And definitely I don’t wanna die a dog’s death by the injected toxins and pests in the vegetables. Thus, the only option is to be a hardcore non-vegetarian (according to Me... Hehehe). Eagerly waiting for the delicious Brinjal recipes…
ReplyDeleteBrinjal is powerful. The great brinjal boy Jairam Babu defers decision on BT; Brinjal wins, BT loses.
ReplyDeleteBRIJAL is one of my favourite vegetable and I am really surprised, to know about Bt. Brinjal and the varities. It is the result of biotecnology which revolutionised food production. But this bio-engineered food has inhibtory effect on our health as per the information and thus the brinjal lover would surely think atleast 10 times before eating it.
ReplyDeleteI too get tensed. But I think I won't control myself if it would come infront of me!!! I hope I'll get to hear positive points of Brinjal's recipes...