CHINA’S GMO SOLUTION: GENETICALLY MODIFIED RICE TO BE CULTIVATED IN THE NEAR FUTURE. GREENPEACE: “RISK OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHE”

When the Chinese magazine Caijing came out in May with the cover title asking whether China was ready for the cultivation of genetically modified rice, the environmental organization, Greenpeace, responded immediately “No”. But now, the Chinese government has just passed a program – of which full details are yet to be released - for the development of genetically modified crops with the goal of “increasing sustainable agriculture, promoting technological innovation, improving quality of life in rural areas and competitiveness for the agricultural sector”.
According to Greenpeace, China should be blocking the commercialization of genetically modified rice in order to “to avoid an economic and environmental catastrophe”.

According to Luo Yuannan, director of Greenpeace’s food and agriculture program, the technologies that are the key to this type of experimentation, in particular that of the three species of genetically modified rice that China wants to cultivate, are the property of the biggest chemical multinational industries like American DuPont and Monsanto, French Rhone Poulenc Agrochimie, British Agricultural Genetics, and German Bayer CropScience. And if the government gives the go ahead for large scale cultivation of these crops, the market would automatically pass under the control of these foreign colossals with obvious repercussions for agriculture.

Genetically modifying organisms has been the object of studies by Chinese research entities since the early 1980’s. The cultivation of genetically modified cotton (in collaboration with Monsanto) is already largely widespread.
Last year, China produced 4.83 million tons (69% of total production) of GM cotton, together with smaller percentages of genetically modified potato, tomato, papaya, and bell pepper crops.
From 2002 to 2007, China has authorized experiments on 2,361 GM seeds from a vast variety of plants, and has approved 1,109 of them. But the go ahead for GM rice cultivation – China is the largest rice producer in the world – has still not been given even though authorities have completed controls on experimental crops located mostly in the southern provinces of Hubei, Hunan, and Fujian.
As well, due to the appeal made by Greenpeace, the Chinese government has promised to conduct more in-depth studies. But, according to the Chinese daily Hong Kong South China Morning Post, the increase in investments and programs is most probably a signal of rapid development favoring the use of these crops.

The program has been passed just before the meeting of national commission for food safety that is set for the end of July. China’s goal is to increase grain production to over 540 million tons per year in order to cover 95% of national demand. But because arable land continues to decrease in the face of industrialization, the country claims it has no other option than recourse to genetically modified organisms.
Another in important factor for the move towards GMO are the recent increases in food prices.

Since 2001 the Chinese government has adopted measures to control GMO, creating a system that categorizes both foods and seeds. Seeds are put into categories based on the seriousness of their potential impact on the environment and health. For example, Chinese researchers have already demonstrated that the pollen from transgenic rice can arrive up to one hundred meters away, resulting in the potential to contaminate nearby traditional rice crops with their modified genes.

Source: ANSA