There are more and more disputes about genetically modified crops and foods in the society, and there is no clear policy for the application of genetically modified commercial products at the government level.

"It is imperative to establish a safety legislation for genetically modified products," said a reporter from the China Business News, a genetically modified expert from the Ministry of Science and Technology. It is said that the Ministry of Science and Technology will be responsible for the early initiation of the GM legislation.

The reporter learned that a recent domestic GM research institute has started drafting proposals and is preparing to submit to higher authorities. Its main content is to propose the establishment of "non-transgenic regions in China." Informed sources disclosed to reporters.

Genetically modified markers are the focus

“The most controversial issue in genetically modified legislation is the issue of identification of genetically modified foods.” One person involved in the legislative discussion disclosed to reporters that issues related to genetically modified legislation had been discussed by experts at the end of November last year. The discussion is very intense and the final result is still determined by the highest decision-making body in the country."

It is understood that the major issues involved in the legislative discussions on transgenes are whether the downstream products of transgenic crop production should be marked with genetically modified markers.

"What we need to do now is to establish a strict management system," a deputy director of the Ministry of Commerce told reporters. "Especially the issue of labeling genetically modified foods must be marked."

At present, the problem of harmful or non-hazardous genetically modified agricultural products is very serious. The debate in the society is very fierce. The opinions of social groups, experts, and those who support genetic modification are reversed. "Because we can't determine whether GM foods are harmful, what we can do is to strengthen management and label it to distinguish between genetically modified and non-transgenic." The above-mentioned sources said, "If GM and non-GM products are mixed together, it will be difficult to separate them. "It is understood that the Ministry of Commerce is also one of the ministries involved in legislating and administering GM.

Monsanto, the world's largest genetically modified company, believes that the special labeling of genetically modified and non-transgenic products will confuse consumers.

In an interview with a reporter, Dr. Wang Chunling of Monsanto China stated that the labeling of GM foods in the United States allows non-standard or voluntary decisions by food companies, and the US’s management approach believes that if food labels are produced on companies, they say “non-genetically modified foods”. Or the fact that “no genetically modified food” information actually implies that non-genetically modified foods are superior and superior to genetically modified foods, which is not allowed because they may cause misunderstandings to consumers.

"A lot of downstream products of genetically modified crops cannot be tested by us. For example, genetically modified soybean oil cannot be detected at all. Therefore, the logo is very important." Professor Ji Ping of the College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering at China Agricultural University disclosed to reporters: "Ordinary consumption Those who have already begun to consume genetically modified foods, such as yeasts and enzymes used in cakes, are genetically modified, and vitamin E in health supplements are mostly extracted from genetically modified crops."

Unknown seeds

According to informed sources, "a group of experts have given lectures on genetic modification to senior leaders of the country. High-level officials have attached great importance to genetic modification."

“The question of whether or not genetic modification is harmful is still difficult to comment on.” A national ministry official revealed to reporters, “We have had contact with experts from the Ministry of Agriculture and most people oppose genetic modification, but there are also a few supporters.”

Although it is not yet conclusive, management issues have become a top priority.

“A lot of peasants didn’t know that they had planted the seeds of genetic modification before they were planted. They only knew that something was coming from abroad.” An international genetically modified company’s source disclosed to reporters, “Anti-insect pests and high yield are their most promising.”

The seeds of genetic modification, "can be brought into the country through a backpack." The above person said.

The reporter consulted with the Ministry of Agriculture's genetically modified management department on relevant issues. The relevant sources acknowledged the existence of this phenomenon. He said that the GM seeds illegally brought into China belong to illegal seeds. "Some problems with genetically modified plants are similar to obtaining seeds. Try to plant something."

The ideas of the farmers are very different from those of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Heilongjiang peasants warmly planted a lifetime of domestic soybeans. “We are all waiting for genetically modified soybeans because of the high yield of genetically modified soybeans. The cost of domestically produced soybeans is too high, and the cheap genetically modified soybeans currently make the prices of domestic soybeans unacceptable. We cannot earn any money for a year.”

The sturdy idea represents the mentality of many farmers. He believes that the reason why GM soybeans have not yet been planted is that "We are still lagging behind and good things have not been passed on." He did not know that the cultivation of genetically modified food crops was in violation of regulations.

Regulatory "strict" and "sparse" paradox

It is generally believed that China is a country with stricter supervision over genetically modified crops.

According to Professor Yang Xiaoguang, deputy chairman of the National Agricultural Genetically Modified Organism Safety Committee, “There are mainly three genetically modified products abroad, genetically modified corn, genetically modified soybeans, and genetically modified rapeseed oil. Our country’s regulation of genetically modified crops is first to obtain foreign listings abroad. After obtaining the certificate, we must also evaluate it according to the criteria evaluated by our country."

The reporter called the grain processing plant under the China Food Rice Industry Co., Ltd. and the staff member told the reporter that “Each batch of rice is tested in the laboratory, including genetically modified tests. No transgenic rice has been found yet.”

"Everyone is involved in the monitoring of food safety and will be a major boost to food safety." A government official revealed to reporters. Dr. Kadia, president of Life Technologies Greater China, said that although researchers are working in this direction, monitoring equipment is not cheap enough.

Although China has not released GM companies such as Monsanto to sell genetically modified seeds in China, Gimping believes that the scope of “pollution” of genetically modified foods is already very wide. “The work of genetically modified identification is very complicated now.” Soybean oil products contain only a small amount of genetically modified substances, and it is difficult to measure the fragments of the transgenic plants. It is imperative that "it is to establish a non-transgenic region in China, in which all production processes from the field to the table do not use any Genetically modified products."

“In other words, we can still start the non-GMO certification work immediately.” Kiping is the only non-GMO product certification expert authorized by U.S. and EU agencies. “Now, non-GM products can sell higher abroad. Price, but there is no domestic non-genetically modified certification body."

More comprehensive legislation on GM will take time. "Legislative work has not yet basically started," an GM expert closely linked with the Ministry of Science and Technology told reporters. "The main challenge now is a pre-legislation extensive investigation. The amount of research work will be very large."

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