Bollgard Saves the Day!

Bollgard is a variety of genetically modified cotton, initially developed by Monsanto but marketed (and developed in India) by Mahyco. This variety has genetically incorporated a gene from a soil dwelling bacterium, bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), in order to engineer a genetically modified variety of cotton that has a "built in" pesticide. The gene creates a toxin known as Cry1Ac, which is lethal to the bollworm, a common cotton pest. Upon ingesting cotton with the Bt gene, the bollworm's digestive tract dries up, resulting in the bollworm's death. Suppliers of the seed assert that due to the genetic incorporation of a pesticide into the cotton plant, farmers no longer have to spray their crops with pesticide, thereby saving money.While this makes a lot of sense in many ways, the problem is that, in India, Bt Cotton has not always performed as promised. The seed costs four times as much as other cotton varieties, and farmers have borrowed money from private money lenders to afford it. But if the technology fails, indebted farmers are at the mercy of what are essentially loan sharks. In certain parts of India, farmers have resorted to suicide due to their inability to pay back their debts; since June 2005 alone, over 900 farmers in the state of Maharashtra have taken their own lives. http://ipsnews.net/columns.asp... http://artsci.wustl.edu/~anthr... http://soniafaleiro.blogspot.c... http://ranaghose.com/research/... note I did not make this video, it was a commercial aired on television in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India)

Channel: Howto & Style
Uploaded: November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am
Author: ranaghose

Length: 00:20
Rating: 4.80
Views: 3492

Tags: andhra  biosafety  biotech  bollgard  bt  cotton  geac  ghose  gmo  india  mahyco  monsanto  pradesh  rana  seeds  telegu  warangal  wto  

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