Thomas W. Griffiths
Caving to pressure from states and environmental groups, India has put the breaks on plans to allow genetically-modified eggplants to be grown commercially, the Wall Street Journal reported.
To create the modified veggie, scientists engineered eggplant (called brinjal in India) to be more resistant to pests than normal varieties by inserting a gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis.
A government committee approved the move to commercialize the eggplant -- named Bt Brinjal after its scientific modification -- in October, but the Indian government overturned that decision Tuesday.
Jairam Ramesh, the country's environment minister, said there is no clear consensus among scientists on the vegetable's safety, the Times of India reported.



Although no genetically modified plants have been approved for human consumption, more and more of these crops are being developed and acknowledged as potentially offering huge human health benefits. For instance, they have seen enhanced nutrition in the form of zeaxanthin in potatoes, omega-3 fatty acid in soybeans, and stearidonic acid (SDA) in canola.
Eighteen months ago, a woman bought a 9-acre organic farm on the big island of Hawaii. About a week ago, she called Greenpeace because she suspected that 












