Student: Jacob Weiss
Graduation date: May 2016
Capstone type: Thesis
Capstone project:
Investigating the Pro’s, Con’s and Tradeoff’s of GMO’s
Capstone file(s): Show file | Show file
Released in 2002, Bt cotton is genetically modified through the insertion of one or more genes from a common soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis (Stewart, 2007) in order to control for the pink bollworm pest. I hope to compile lessons learned from the development and use of Bt cotton (known commercially as Bollgard) in order to present the ways that other biotechnology crops can improve food security and provide positive ecological benefits in India. In order to answer these questions, I will begin by historicizing cotton’s role in India as a way of understanding its ubiquity within India. Then, I will examine Bt cotton’s effect on local ecology and farmer incomes in India today. In doing so I hope to gain an understanding of what the short and long term effects of using Bt cotton are in India. I will then propose new ways that local communities can be systematically included in research and public policy surrounding development of other biotechnology crops in India. I conclude by proposing the main considerations that should effect how research, policy, and public advocacy are approached in biotechnology to best serve farmers in India.