Escaped Chinese GM rice reaches Europe
Prevalence of genetically modified foods highlights risks of field trials.
It has been just one week since the European Union ordered the United States to certify its rice exports as transgenic-free, in an attempt to stem the influx of herbicide-tolerant rice across the ocean. Now comes a report that genetically modified (GM) rice from China is already on supermarket shelves in France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Read the story here.
Comments
The Chinese definition of 'field trials' must be different form any other country.
According to one western industry source 1 million acres of insect resistant GM rice was planted last year in China.
Chinas official policy to GM rice is one of wait and see but that doesn't stop the farmers from growing the rice.
And why wouldn't they since insect resistant rice has tangible public health and environmental benefits and it gives a better yield.
Posted by: Roger Kalla | September 6, 2006 03:35 AM
The headline makes it sound like the genes have reached the wild in Europe, as if they managed to travel from China. It's a little misleading, since they've actually "reached" Europe because products made from the GM rice are being shipped to Europe. Also, it's not as clear as it should be from the article that the genes are in the Chinese rice because Chinese farmers are illegally commercially cultivating bootleg GM rice. Some readers are likely to get the mistaken impression that the genes are in the rice because the field trial rice is pollinating outside rice.
That is, the headline and article suggest the issue is one of contamination from licit field trials, when in fact the issue is illicit rice cultivation.
Posted by: El Christador | September 6, 2006 11:55 PM
If the lab that did the testing wishes to remain anonymous then how about if the media agree to keep its name secret in return for talking to them and confirming that they really do exist and aren't just some PR stunt by Greenpeace.
Posted by: chiz | September 8, 2006 08:40 AM
A storm in a wok?
Posted by: Tim Roberts | September 10, 2006 04:27 PM