NEWS FROM CHINA
1.No GM grain seeds for mass cultivation: ministry
2.Top scientist cautious over GM food safety
3.Warnings of long-term risks arising from genetic engineering of rice
NOTE: These items seem to be responses in part to press reports generated by the claims of Clive James, head of the GM industry backed lobby group ISAAA, that China's given a green light to forge ahead with GM crops.
EXTRACTS: The Ministry of Agriculture denied it approved genetically modified seeds to be imported for domestic cultivation and insisted that there's no domestic cultivation of genetically modified crops in China. (item 1)
The authorities should be cautious in promoting GM foods across the country because scientists could hardly predict all possible threats such gene could pose to human beings, [Yuan Longping, the father of hybrid rice in China] said. It was still too soon to find out whether GM crops were a good idea. (item 2)
Zhang Hongliang, a professor at Minzu University of China, said if the Chinese commercialization of GM crops fails it could cause crucial damage and even if it succeeds, China's agriculture will be under the control of Western countries because of their ownership of IP rights. (item 3)
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1.No GM grain seeds for mass cultivation: ministry
Yin Hang
Global Times, March 4 2010 [SHORTENED]
http://china.globaltimes.cn/society/2010-03/509604.html
The Ministry of Agriculture denied it approved genetically modified seeds to be imported for domestic cultivation and insisted that there's no domestic cultivation of genetically modified crops in China.
In response to allegations that "the ministry had given green light to imports of genetically modified seeds and allowed massive-scale domestic cultivation," the ministry told the Xinhua News Agency on Tuesday that although it has already authorized the imports of four genetically modified crops of cotton, soybeans, corn and canola as raw materials for trial, the ministry has not yet ratified any genetically modified food crop seeds to be imported for cultivation.
The ministry's support last August for two strains of genetically-modified rice and a type of corn for field trials was the first time for China to grant safety certificates to modified staple foods. It provoked criticism from domestic green groups who believe the decision poses food safety risks.
In response to growing questions, the ministry explained that the safety certificates issued for the three crops are for small-scale trials, which is not the equivalent of commercialized production.
Any massive production would require further authorization, which could be subjected to tight supervision, the ministry said.
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2.Top scientist cautious over GM food safety
Wang Xiang
Shanghai Daily, 2010
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2010/201003/20100306/article_430355.htm#ixzz0hOTuHYOQ
CONCERNS over the safety of genetically modified rice are reasonable but people should keep an open mind on the subject, Yuan Longping, the father of hybrid rice in China, has said.
Yuan, winner of the first State Preeminent Science and Technology Award in 2000, was commenting on controversy over the Ministry of Agriculture's decision to grant safety certificates for two GM rice strains last November.
He said most genetically modified foods were safe, the People's Political Consultative Daily reported yesterday. Some foods, like rice and wheat, were genetically modified only to improve their photosynthesis ability and were harmless, Yuan told the newspaper.
But he said the fear of GM food was reasonable as some crops had been injected with a toxic protein gene to enhance insect resistance.
"People want to know how people could stay safe eating the rice that could kill insects, it is normal," Yuan said.
The authorities should be cautious in promoting GM foods across the country because scientists could hardly predict all possible threats such gene could pose to human beings, he said. It was still too soon to find out whether GM crops were a good idea.
Huang Dafang, director of the Biotechnology Research Institute at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said the rice was only engineered to resist certain insects and would be totally safe for humans.
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3.Safety Concerns
Warnings of long-term risks arising from genetic engineering of rice
By YIN PUMIN
Nation, MARCH 4 2010
http://www.bjreview.com.cn/nation/txt/2010-02/26/content_248967.htm
The approval of two types of genetically modified (GM) pest-resistant rice for widespread production in China has generated safety concerns among some experts.
On November 27, 2009, the Ministry of Agriculture issued biosafety certificates for GM rice strains Huahui 1 and Bt Shanyou 63, developed by Huazhong Agricultural University in Wuhan, Hubei Province.
"The issuing of biosafety certificates has complicated implications as it is the first time a major grain producer is endorsing the use of GM technology in a food staple," said Xue Dayuan, a professor of biotechnology with Minzu University of China based in Beijing.
Impact on health and environment
Fang Lifeng, spokesman of Greenpeace China's GM program, warns possible long-term risks of GM rice should be taken into consideration.
Fang said GM rice may potentially cause serious public health and environmental problems.
"Once the GM rice gets into the food chain on a large scale, it will have a very big impact on food safety, environmental safety and biological diversity," he said.
GM organisms contain genetic material that has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally. Genetic modification allows selected individual genes to be transferred from one organism to another, and also between non-related species, to create advantages, said Fang. Such methods are used to create genetically modified plants, which are then used to grow modified food crops.
Two major issues concerning the engineering of rice are a tendency to provoke allergic reactions and the uncertainty of gene transfers.
Fang outlined examples of the long-term risks of GM food since it first appeared on the market in 1994.
In 2008, the immune systems of laboratory mice that consumed GM corn were found to be abnormal.
These substances have never before been an integral part of human or animal diet and therefore their health consequences for consumers, especially over the long term, are currently unknown, according to an article published in the International Journal of Biological Sciences.
"If the substance is killing pests, will it hurt us if we eat it every day?" asked Jiang Gaoming, a professor with the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
"Scientists cannot predict all possible threats of harm GM technology may pose to human beings. It's probably too soon to really know if GM crops are a good idea," said Yuan Longping, who has been dubbed the Father of Hybrid Rice in China.
"Rice is the most important staple food for the Chinese people. We firmly oppose the technology being put into mass production, and its commercialization in a rush, as health risks have not yet been ruled out," Fang said.
"To ensure food supply, we have options with no potential health risks such as biological agriculture," he said.
Another concern is the potential environmental consequence of modified genes escaping from GM rice to unmodified crop counterparts through cross-pollination.
"GM organisms can spread through nature and interbreed with natural organisms, thereby contaminating non-GM environments and future generations in an unforeseeable and uncontrollable way. Their release is 'genetic pollution' and is a major threat because GM organisms cannot be recalled once released into the environment," Fang said.
Several escapes of seed have occurred around the world, including releases of unapproved GM crops such as rice and corn into human consumption streams. For example, in 2006, the European Union halted imports of U.S. rice when an unapproved strain was found in the food supply.
Other widely cited environment concerns include the susceptibility of non-target organisms to the gene product, and the potential capability of GM plants to introduce modified genes into wild populations, leading to a loss of biodiversity.
Lu Baorong, a biodiversity researcher with Fudan University in Shanghai, is concerned too about gene flow from GM rice to its wild or weedy relatives. Wild rice plants are non-domesticated strains, and weedy rice, which is characterized by its seed scattering and dormancy, is thought to originate from rice crops as a result of mutations. Lu's team and another group have shown that the rate of gene flow from GM strains to wild and weedy rice is 3-18 percent and 0.01-0.5 percent, respectively.
"What is most worrying is that such gene flow is cumulative," said Lu.
This could threaten the biodiversity of wild rice, which provides a valuable gene pool for rice breeders.
China possesses about 75,000 varieties of rice, making it the country with the richest genetic diversity of rice in the world. The introduction of GM rice could lead to the loss of wild species and also encourage more troublesome weeds.
"Biological diversity must be protected and respected as the global heritage of humankind, and one of the world's fundamental keys to survival," Fang said.
Exports and IP rights
Mass planting and commercialization of GM rice may affect Chinese exports of crops because of strict restrictions on GM crops in many other areas, including European Union countries, Xue said.
Since 2005, GM rice variety Bt Shanyou 63 has been the subject of controversy. The unapproved variety had been found to be illegally sold and planted in Hubei Province, contaminating Chinese rice products exported to Europe and Japan.
A controversy arose when the European Union's executive body, the European Commission, said in July 2009 that China needed to tighten export controls on rice products, such as baby food, because shipments might contain traces of the Bt 63 strain, which is not authorized in the European Union.
Others say GM crops are the intellectual property (IP) of the developers, which are almost exclusively large chemical corporations.
Although Chinese researchers involved in GM rice studies claim they own IP rights to GM rice breeds, Fang argues that China does not own full rights.
Fang said China did not own full rights for any of the eight GM rice strains for which applications are under way for commercial planting or being researched, in connection with at least 28 foreign patented technologies.
"These IP rights are mainly held by Monsanto, DuPont of the United States and Bayer of Germany, three large-scale transnational bio-corporations," he said.
At least 11 foreign patents are associated with the two GM rice lines that have been given biosafety certificates by China's Ministry of Agriculture.
China will be susceptible to huge IP costs when it starts mass commercialization of GM technology, Fang said.
Under IP rights, farmers are not allowed to plant their own leftover seed from GM crops but instead must purchase it from developers.
"This will lead to that most of the world's seed supply being under the control of a few business institutions," said Fang.
A 2008 Friends of the Earth report called Who Benefits From GM Crops says, "The majority of GM crops are not destined for hungry people in developing countries, but being used to feed animals, generate biofuel and produce highly processed food””mainly for consumption in rich countries. GM crops have not increased food security for the world's poor. None of the GM crops on the market is modified for increased yield potential and research continues to focus on new pesticide-promoting varieties that tolerate application of one or more herbicides."
Zhang Hongliang, a professor at Minzu University of China, said if the Chinese commercialization of GM crops fails it could cause crucial damage and even if it succeeds, China's agriculture will be under the control of Western countries because of their ownership of IP rights.