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GMO crops in the spotlight
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CHINA is to launch a nationwide investigation into the suspected illegal cultivation of genetically modified crops, the agriculture ministry said on its website.
It follows a report this week that GMO soybeans have been found in the country’s top growing area for the oilseed.
China is the world’s top buyer of GMO soybeans, but the government has not given the go-ahead for domestic cultivation of GMO crops, although it has spent billions on research.
However, some farmers in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province are growing GMO soy crops illegally to seek higher yields, the China Business Journal claimed.
Its report identified an area near the city of Suihua where GMO crops were being grown, it alleged, but did not give any further details.
The Heilongjiang agricultural commission said on its website that it would also investigate whether GMO crops are being grown in the province.
Opponents of genetically modified corps have long accused China’s agriculture ministry of poor supervision of GMO crops under trials, saying seeds had been sold to farmers for cultivation. Former CCTV anchor Cui Yongyuan told reporters last year that GMO rice was grown in some 20 Chinese provinces.
Heilongjiang, which produces about a third of the country’s total soybean output, is known for growing protein-rich non-GMO soy crops used to make food products, including tofu and soy sauce.
China exports about 200,000 tons of soybeans a year, mainly to South Korea, Japan and the United States.
Earlier this year, the ministry revised regulations to increase the supervision of biotech products under development amid heightened public concern over its ability to keep illegal GMO products out of the food chain.
Port authorities have also cracked down on illegal sales of cheap GMO varieties to food companies, especially in the eastern province of Shandong, the country’s largest distribution center for imported soy.
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