Cropping out GM fears(3)

Consumers in the dark

As China strives to improve its tarnished food safety record, experts are particularly concerned about excessive GM grains entering the country.

"Companies with GM technology, such as Monsanto, would prefer for the GM debate to stretch on rather than come to a swift conclusion. Under such circumstances, more GM products will flood China," Jiang said.

China imported 5,838 tons of soybeans in 2012, most of which were GM varieties from the US, Argentina and Brazil. In the short term, China will continue importing GM grains to ensure food security, according to Chen Xiwen, director of the Rural Economy Research Department of the State Council and vice president of the Development Research Center of the State Council.

Chen made the remarks during the country's legislative and advisory two sessions in March 2013, noting that imported soybeans account for almost five times the amount of domestic production.

Imported soybeans are used for two main purposes: cooking oil production and livestock feed.

Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture announced on June 10 that China had given the green light for three varieties of GM soybeans, including the pest-resistant Intacta RR2 PRO, after a meeting of Chinese and Brazilian agriculture ministers in Beijing on June 11.

Currently, only papayas, tomatoes and bell peppers have received clearance for commercial GM production in China. Although GM rice production is illegal, the Bt63 strain developed by Zhang has circulated in China since 2005, business magazine Caixin reported in February.

Tasked with feeding the world's largest population, agricultural authorities regard China's food security as delicate despite grain production increases being posted for nine consecutive years.

The pivot to a GM-driven food economy overseas continues to build momentum among developing nations, which planted 52 percent of global GM crops in 2012, up from 50 percent a year earlier and above the 48 percent industrial countries grew last year, according to a report released in February by ISAAA.

The report found China grew 4 million hectares of GM cotton at an adoption rate of 80 percent, but neglected to mention GM staple grains.

"It is becoming widespread practice to use GM technology secretly. The worse thing is that the Chinese public has no knowledge of how much of their food is genetically modified. Without this knowledge, they have no right or option to choose," Jiang said.

A 2005 Greenpeace report found GM rice crops are common in Hubei and Guangdong provinces, while research by the environment group in 2012 revealed that 7.9 percent of rice and soybean products in Beijing and seven provinces tested positive for modified genes, according to Yu Jiangli, team leader of Greenpeace's East Asia Food and Agriculture Campaign.