Martin said he expected Bt corn to be commercially available in China, Indonesia and the Philippines within the next two years. Monsanto, in a joint venture with an Indian firm, is also currently making field tests on genetically altered cotton in India, he said. Martin said China has been working with biotechnology for about 12 years and that genetically modified cotton has been planted on 1,50,000 hectares of land in China. Martin said worries that GM crops may harm the environment or may not be safe to health have no scientific basis. The debate over the safety of genetically modified foods has grown increasingly fierce, with some firms like Monsanto saying that biotechnology offers better and hardier crops.
Critics counter that the long-term effects are far from clear.
This entire edition is compiled in Mumbai by The Indian Express Online Media Limited, a division of The Indian Express Group of Newspapers. Managed by The Indian Express Online Media Limited and hosted by CerfNet.