Cropping out GM fears (2)

Safety controversy

The thorniest issue in China's GM debate surrounds safety, with the scientific community divided over whether the country should expand its 4 million hectares of domestic GM crops or scale back biotech farming and imports.

But while scientists are at odds, Chinese consumers remain overwhelmingly wary of GM foods.

"Our customers come to the field to see how grains are growing and check certificates of seeds that we jointly develop with a local agriculture university. They are doing their best to ensure that our products are healthy and not genetically modified," a general manager, surnamed Wang, at an organic grain farm in Lingbi county, Anhui Province, told the Global Times.

"GM seeds are certainly more productive, but their safety is hotly debated. Consumers who are savvy about leading a healthy lifestyle and don't mind spending a little more are saying no to GM products, but we are trying to increase awareness about the importance of healthy [organic] food," Wang said.

In a landmark decision in November 2009, the Ministry of Agriculture issued production safety certificates for two varieties of GM rice and one of GM corn.

The move, which reignited debate about the safety of GM foods and their impact on the environment, made China the first country to allow GM technology of major grains, said Zhang Qifa, director of the National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement at Huazhong Agriculture University in Wuhan, Hubei Province, and a GM rice certificate holder.

In its latest move, the Ministry of Agriculture approved three varieties of GM soybeans to be imported as processing materials on Thursday. The government's decision to import some GM grains to China has been met by an online backlash from Web users, who commonly say they refuse to be "guinea pigs" in trials of GM products by circulating anti-GM articles and videos.

Fang Zhouzi, an anti-fraud crusader and expert in chemical biology, welcomed the government's push to increase GM food production, writing a blog entry that dismissed concerns about its safety.

However, scientific studies revealing dangers of GM foods continue to sow seeds of doubt among consumers. A French study released in September 2012 proved that rats fed a lifelong diet of one of the best-selling strains of GM corn owned by US GM seeds giant Monsanto suffered from tumors as well as liver and kidney damage.

Such findings increase apprehension in China about importing biotech foods.

"GM grains definitely pose a danger to the ecosystem. Glyphosate (herbicide used to kill weeds) is proven to be harmful to the reproductive system. If GM grains are plagued by more evolved pests, more herbicides will be needed. Currently, it's uncertain how many herbicides of this kind have flooded our food chain," Jiang said.

But GM food advocate groups contest such claims, with the non-profit International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) arguing expansion of GM grains between 1996 and 2006 prevented 224,000 tons of pesticides from being sprayed on crops globally.