2 <strong>Bt</strong> <strong>Brinjal</strong>: <strong>The</strong> <strong>GEAC</strong> <strong>environmental</strong> <strong>risk</strong> <strong>assessment</strong><strong>Brinjal</strong> fruit <strong>and</strong> shoot borer (BFSB) causes significant economic damage to brinjal throughout India for all farmers, probablyaveraging about 30% yield loss (a comparison <strong>of</strong> yield with pest management versus no pest management). Its perceivedsignificance by farmers <strong>of</strong>ten lead <strong>the</strong>m to overestimate <strong>the</strong> loss to BFSB, precipitating an over-use <strong>of</strong> insecticides significantlybeyond that justified by <strong>the</strong> actual economic significance <strong>of</strong> BFSB. Real losses from BFSB are higher for large-scale commercialproducers than for small-scale resource-poor producers because <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> way damaged fruit can be used by <strong>the</strong> small-scale resourcepoorfarmers. EC-II vastly over-estimated losses to BFSB.Some management for BFSB is practiced by all brinjal farmers. Most farmers overuse syn<strong>the</strong>tic insecticides by a considerableamount. Insecticide use can be reduced substantially using integrated pest management (IPM). Useful alternative productionsystems for control <strong>of</strong> BFSB are being tested, actively used, <strong>and</strong> promoted in India. <strong>The</strong>se include IPM, traditional pestmanagement, organic production <strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r locally-derived methods that reduce costs associated with external inputs.Main Conclusion:Main Conclusion: <strong>The</strong> potential advantages <strong>of</strong> hybrid EE-1 <strong>Bt</strong> brinjal seem marginal <strong>and</strong> uncertain for most<strong>The</strong> Indian potential farmers, advantages <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>environmental</strong> hybrid EE-1 <strong>Bt</strong> brinjal <strong>risk</strong>s (including seem marginal socioeconomic <strong>and</strong> uncertain <strong>risk</strong>s) for to most Indian Indian farmers, <strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> consumers <strong>the</strong><strong>environmental</strong> remain very <strong>risk</strong>s uncertain, (including despite socioeconomic efforts by <strong>risk</strong>s) <strong>the</strong> EC-II to Indian to assess farmers <strong>the</strong>se <strong>and</strong> <strong>risk</strong>s. consumers <strong>The</strong> potential remain very advantages uncertain, can despite beefforts better by <strong>the</strong> estimated EC-II to by assess careful <strong>the</strong>se consideration <strong>risk</strong>s. <strong>The</strong> potential <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> advantages context <strong>of</strong> can different be better kinds estimated <strong>of</strong> brinjal by farmers careful consideration in India. Several <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>context significant <strong>of</strong> different <strong>environmental</strong> kinds <strong>of</strong> brinjal <strong>risk</strong>s have farmers not in been India. considered Several significant <strong>and</strong> nearly <strong>environmental</strong> all <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>risk</strong>s o<strong>the</strong>rs have have not been considered inadequately<strong>and</strong> considered. nearly all <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>The</strong>se o<strong>the</strong>rs can have be better been inadequately characterised, considered. eliminating <strong>The</strong>se <strong>the</strong> can excessive be better uncertainty, characterised, <strong>and</strong> eliminating most <strong>of</strong> this <strong>the</strong> canexcessive be done uncertainty, without releasing <strong>and</strong> most <strong>Bt</strong> <strong>of</strong> brinjal this can into be done <strong>the</strong> field. without Once releasing <strong>the</strong>se <strong>Bt</strong> <strong>risk</strong>s brinjal are better into <strong>the</strong> characterised, field. Once <strong>the</strong>se <strong>risk</strong> <strong>risk</strong>s management are bettercharacterised, measures may <strong>risk</strong> management be developed measures to address may be <strong>the</strong> developed remaining to address uncertainties. <strong>the</strong> remaining Until <strong>the</strong> uncertainties. <strong>risk</strong>s can be Until better <strong>the</strong> understood <strong>risk</strong>s can bebetter or managed, understood <strong>the</strong>re or managed, seems little <strong>the</strong>re reason seems little to approve reason to commercial approve commercial use <strong>of</strong> hybrid use <strong>of</strong> <strong>Bt</strong> hybrid brinjal <strong>Bt</strong> at brinjal this time. at this time.Transgene CharacterisationConclusion 1. <strong>The</strong> EE-1 <strong>Bt</strong> transgene needs to be characterised more fully 1) to demonstrate that <strong>the</strong>re isonly one transgene insert in <strong>Bt</strong> brinjal, 2) that <strong>the</strong> transgene expresses <strong>the</strong> intended Cry protein, 3) that it doesnot interrupt a functioning plant gene, 4) to provide expression levels in additional plant tissues, <strong>and</strong> 5) todemonstrate empirically that <strong>the</strong> marker genes are not expressed in <strong>Bt</strong> brinjal.<strong>The</strong> description <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> transgene in <strong>Bt</strong> brinjal EE-1 is inadequate to support <strong>environmental</strong> <strong>risk</strong> <strong>assessment</strong>. <strong>The</strong>re is at leastone transgene incorporated into EE-1 <strong>Bt</strong> brinjal. It is not known that <strong>the</strong>re is only one transgene incorporated into <strong>the</strong> brinjalgenome, that <strong>the</strong> one known inserted transgene expresses <strong>the</strong> intended gene product, or that <strong>the</strong> transgene does not interrupt afunctional plant gene. Additional transgenes, expression <strong>of</strong> an unintended product <strong>and</strong> interruption <strong>of</strong> a plant gene could createadditional <strong>environmental</strong> <strong>risk</strong>s that have not been considered or assessed.Adequate characterisation <strong>of</strong> expression <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> transgene is essential for effective <strong>environmental</strong> <strong>risk</strong> <strong>assessment</strong>. <strong>The</strong> description<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> chimeric Cry1A protein (Ccry1A) is inadequate for this purpose. <strong>The</strong> amino acid sequence <strong>of</strong> Ccry1A as expressed inbrinjal is needed. <strong>The</strong> expression level <strong>of</strong> Ccry1A in pollen <strong>of</strong> <strong>Bt</strong> brinjal EE-1 is needed. <strong>The</strong>re is no need to use Cry1Ac, aprotein that is not identical to Ccry1A, in any <strong>the</strong> experiments used to support <strong>risk</strong> <strong>assessment</strong>, as was done in EC-II <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>Dossier. <strong>The</strong> expression level <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> marker genes is assumed to be low. This should be demonstrated empirically.Conclusion 2. <strong>The</strong> EE-1 transgene may be a second-rate <strong>Bt</strong> brinjal product. EE-1 was probably produced in<strong>the</strong> late 1980s or early 1990s. More recently produced commercial transgenes have significant improvementsover EE-1. EE-1 has relatively low control <strong>of</strong> BFSB, <strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r Cry toxins might perform better.
Summary <strong>and</strong> Conclusion 3<strong>The</strong> EE-1 transgene does not kill nearly all young BFSB larvae. This is unlike o<strong>the</strong>r transgenes used to control o<strong>the</strong>rlepidopteran pests in <strong>the</strong> Crambidae, <strong>the</strong> same family as BFSB. Indeed all o<strong>the</strong>r target pests in <strong>the</strong> Crambidae are controlledby a <strong>Bt</strong> transgene with >99% mortality. Control <strong>of</strong> lepidopteran pests in o<strong>the</strong>r insect families is not as good, but it should bepossible to get much better control <strong>of</strong> BFSB if <strong>the</strong> proper transgene were used. EE-1 is a very old transgene, <strong>and</strong> while it maynot be exactly transgene dumping, India would do better to wait for a more efficacious transgene before seriously consideringapproval <strong>of</strong> <strong>Bt</strong> brinjal.Conclusion 3. <strong>The</strong> EC-II <strong>assessment</strong> does not comply with scientific aspects <strong>of</strong> transgene characterisationdescribed in <strong>the</strong> Guideline for <strong>the</strong> Conduct <strong>of</strong> Food Safety Assessment <strong>of</strong> Foods Derived from Recombinant-DNA Plants (Codex Alimentarius, 2003, CAC/GL 45-2003).<strong>The</strong> <strong>GEAC</strong> would like to conclude that <strong>the</strong> EC-II report is in compliance with India’s international obligations under allrelevant treaties, but especially <strong>the</strong> Codex Alimentarius. <strong>The</strong> Codex has a key role in <strong>the</strong> World Trade Organization (WTO),<strong>and</strong> compliance to Codex would mean that India is compliant with related obligations in <strong>the</strong> WTO. <strong>The</strong> lack <strong>of</strong> compliance <strong>of</strong>EC-II to Codex highlights a serious deficiency in <strong>the</strong> EC-II <strong>assessment</strong>.Environmental Risk AssessmentConclusion 4. Most <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> possible <strong>environmental</strong> <strong>risk</strong>s <strong>of</strong> <strong>Bt</strong> brinjal have not been adequately evaluated;this includes <strong>risk</strong>s to local varieties <strong>of</strong> brinjal <strong>and</strong> wild relatives, <strong>risk</strong>s to biological diversity, <strong>and</strong> <strong>risk</strong> <strong>of</strong> resistanceevolution in BFSB.This conclusion is supported by <strong>the</strong> following three conclusions. Briefly, EC-II relied on dubious scientific assumptions, did notfocus on realistic <strong>environmental</strong> concerns, inadequately evaluated some important <strong>environmental</strong> concerns, <strong>and</strong> ignored o<strong>the</strong>rreal <strong>environmental</strong> concerns.Conclusion 5. <strong>Brinjal</strong> has considerable valuable genetic diversity in India that could be threatened by geneflow. EC-II, <strong>the</strong> Dossier, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Supplemental Materials are inadequate for concluding that <strong>Bt</strong> brinjal has nosignificant effects on <strong>the</strong> biological diversity or weediness <strong>of</strong> brinjal or its wild relatives.EC-II <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Dossier argued that <strong>Bt</strong> brinjal does not outcross enough to create <strong>environmental</strong> <strong>risk</strong>s, but this is dubious. Itis highly likely that cultivated brinjal (Solanum melongena), including local varieties <strong>and</strong> l<strong>and</strong>races have crossed with feralpopulations <strong>of</strong> S. melongena, <strong>and</strong> it is possible that cultivated varieties can revert to wild phenotypes <strong>and</strong> establish feralpopulations. <strong>The</strong>refore, <strong>the</strong> possible effects <strong>of</strong> intraspecific gene flow from <strong>Bt</strong> brinjal to o<strong>the</strong>r varieties <strong>and</strong> populations <strong>of</strong> brinjalshould be examined. In addition, <strong>the</strong>re is likely to be natural crossing between <strong>Bt</strong> brinjal <strong>and</strong> wild species related to brinjal.Hybridisation with perhaps as many as 29 wild relative species needs to be evaluated carefully <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> consequences <strong>of</strong> anyhybridisation that occurs needs to be evaluated.<strong>The</strong>re is insufficient evidence that 1) wild or weedy relatives <strong>of</strong> brinjal would not obtain a fitness benefit from a <strong>Bt</strong> transgeneshould gene flow occur; 2) wild relatives <strong>of</strong> brinjal will not suffer reduced genetic diversity from <strong>the</strong> introgression <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Bt</strong>transgene; <strong>and</strong> 3) non-GM brinjal will remain uncontaminated by <strong>Bt</strong> brinjal. All <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se <strong>risk</strong>s need to be evaluated.