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The hyped case of “golden rice” placed the safety of genetically modified crops, especially genetically modified food, under the limelight once again.
What genetically modified crops are allowed to be planted massively and commercially in China? Has the commercialization of the genetically modified staple grains been approved? What about the safety of those genetically modified crops, whose importation is allowed? With those questions, journalists from CBF interviewed experts with authority at the Greenpeace and some research institutions in China. From their answers, we generally outlined the chart of the development and planting of genetically modified crops in China, as well as the attitude of regulatory departments to these transgenic things.
90% of papayas are genetically modified
We were told by Wang Jing, director of the Food and Agricultural Project at the Beijing Office of Greenpeace, said that the two major genetically modified crops massively planted in China were cotton with resistance to insects and papayas with resistance to virus.
A group of data from the Ministry of Agriculture shows that by now the Chinese government has given the certificate of safety to 7 kinds of genetically modified plants (the certificate is valid for five years and some of them have already got the new version of certificate), including the durable tomatoes and insect-resistant cotton (in 1997), color-modified petunia and diseaseresistant capsicum (in 1999), virus-resistant papayas (in 2006) and the insectresistant rice and phytase corn (in 2009). However, apart from the insect-resistant cotton and virus-resistant papayas, the other genetically modified plants are not massively planted. And the genetically modified rice and corns are not allowed to put into commercial use.
Prof. Lu Baorong at the Fudan University, and chairman of the International Biosafety Research Academy, said that the planting of genetically modified cotton was very successful in China, and the modified gene to resist insects played a very important role in fighting against cotton bollworms and achieved great results of economy and environment protection.
According to the data, 68% of the cotton land in China was planted with genetically modified cotton in 2009. The volume of used insect-resistant pesticide is reduced by 47 kilograms in each hectare of land where genetically modified cotton is planted. In terms of the whole country, the use of pesticide is reduced by 10-15 thousand tons, accounting for 7.5% of the pesticide produced in China. In addition, the cotton farmers have lighter burden and the number of cases that farmers are poisoned with pesticide reduced by 70%-80%. In 2011, the Chinese farmers planted genetically modified cotton in 3.9 million hectares of land, accounting for 71.5% of the total area of cotton land. Compared with the inedible cotton, papayas, which are tasty and made into delicious food in high-class hotels, were under heavier scrutiny when it comes to the gene modification. In January 2010, Prof. Li Huaping with the South China University of Agriculture, being the director of the only project of planting genetically modified papayas, said: “presently, 95% of papayas in Guangdong are genetically modified.”His “Huanong No. 1” genetically modified papaya is injected with the gene of papaya ringspot virus and thus is almost immune to the mosaic.
However, Greenpeace found in April 2009 that the genetically modified papayas were massively planted in Hainan though the Ministry of Agriculture only allowed them to be planted in Guangdong. A survey revealed that 90% of papayas sold in supermarkets nationwide are genetically modified.
Land crawling with transgenic rice
In November 2009, Prof. Zhang Qifa, an academician from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and dean of the Life Science and Technology School of the Central China University of Agriculture, led a group and developed “Huahui No. 1” and “Bt Shanyou 63”, two kinds of genetically modified rice that can resist the Lepidoptera insects. The rice was licensed with the certificate of safety by the US government, which are the first kinds of genetically modified food are officially recognized as being safe. This action was interpreted by outsiders that China was going to be the first country to approve the massive planting of genetically modified rice. But up to now, the Chinese government never said yes to the massive and commercial planting of transgenic staple food (rice, wheat and corn).
Prof. Lin Yongjun at the Central China University of Agriculture, said that the US certificate of safety was not a license for massive planting. In China, “the safety and the category selection are two different lines. Whether the rice can be planted or not need to be approved by relevant government departments and what are put into consideration includes the productivity and the stuff.”
However, even before the certificate was given, there were illegal deals of genetically modified rice in China. The Greenpeace found that many seed markets and agricultural technology stations in Hubei were selling the seeds of non-licensed transgenic rice in 2005, and the source was possible the development team led by Prof. Zhang Qifa. In another survey, the Greenpeace found that at least 950-1200 tons of transgenic rice flowed into Hubei’s retail market in 2004. In 2005, the number further increased. In addition, if the genetically modified rice was mixed with ordinary rice, the volume of “contaminated” rice is much more than the figure shows. The illegal deals of transgenic rice were still found in Hubei and Hunan in 2010. A third-party investigation shows that the specie of the genetically modified rice is Bt 63 – the one Prof. Zhang Qifa developed. Meanwhile, similar transgenic rice is found in 9 provinces in mainland China and Hong Kong.
The genetically modified rice was even found in the rice imported from China to the European Union. Only in this year, the EU has already sent out 19 warnings for the rice imported from China with transgenic stuff in it.
The similar case also occurred to the genetically modified corns, which are not allowed to be commercialized either. In December 2010, the Ministry of Agriculture published the notice of clearing out the registration of 27 kinds of corns, four of which are said to be through gene modification.
In is revealed that the genetically modified corns are illegally planted in Sichuan, Hunan, Guizhou, Liaoning and Jilin with a massive size – about hundreds of thousand acres. Transgenic rice is also widely planted in a dozen of southern provinces.
Prof. Lu Baorong said that it is harder to supervise the small and scattered farms in China than managing those big farms in foreign countries. The mix of transgenic and non-transgenic crops before the certificate of safety is a result of the insufficient supervision. Presently, the government is going to change that situation. For example, the Ministry of Agriculture united with other three departments to launch a co- investigation into the abuse of genetically modified plants.
Lin Yongjun agreed with the saying that “scientific research department should keep the genetically modified rice and its seeds from entering the market”. Meanwhile, he stressed that “since the certificate of safety is issued, the genetically modified rice should be theoretically safe and might not cause contamination.” Problematic imported soybeans
Though China has not officially approved the massive planting of staple crops in China, but the importation of genetically modified crops is allowed. According to the data, from 2004, the Ministry of Agriculture subsequently approved the certificates of imports safety for soybeans, corns, cotton, rapes and beets which can be used for raw materials.
Presently, the most common genetically modified food in the Chinese market is the oil made of transgenic soybeans. Most of the transgenic soybeans are imported from foreign countries and used by foreign-funded edible oil processing companies to produce oil. Some of the imported soybeans are processed into soy protein, soft phosphatide and so on. In addition, there might be corn flour made of transgenic corns and sugar made from genetically modified beets. The report from the China Investment Consultancy shows that China imports more and more soybeans in recent years. In 2011 the imports volume of soybeans amounted to 526.34 million tons, taking 80% of the total volume. The land where soybeans are planted in China is getting smaller. The main reason is that the imported soybeans are genetically modified. They are cheaper and can produce more oil per unit. Meanwhile, China has a low tariff rate over imported soybeans, which is only 3%.
Another report from ISAAA says that China 300 million hectares of land of corns, involving over 100 million farmers. The products could get connected with 400 million people. However, the corns cannot meet the demand of China. As the Chinese people’s living standard is improving, they have higher demand for meat, eggs and milk, which pushed up the demand for forages. In 2011, China imported 1.75 million tons of corns and the imports volume might increase to 3 million tons this year. Unsurprisingly, more of the imported corns are genetically modified.
According to Wang Jing from the Greenpeace, China needs to build a complete set of regulation methods for the planting of genetically modified crops in China and the importation of them from foreign countries. Presently, there are three rules related with this but problems still exist. For example, the stipulation that genetically modified crops should be identified if they are used as raw materials is not well implemented. In Wang Jing’s opinion, the case of imports soybeans is an error in decision and a lesson for the food safety and sovereignty of China. In the future, China should think of the influence of importing genetically modified crops on the domestic industry and the long-term food safety of consumers.
Change of decision-makers’attitudes
Undoubtedly, no scientific research can cause more discussions than genetically modified crops in China.
Jiang Gaoming is among the opposite party. He wrote in his blog, saying that the transgenic crops can only control bugs and are not a way of increasing the production of rice. The gene modification has at least three possible risks from the uncertain effect of chain effect of life structure, potential risk of the food chain and the uncertain contamination, breeding, spreading and elimination effect. He directly pointed out that the commercialization of genetically modified crops is based on profits. In the invisible profit chain, scientists, patent holders, seed companies, and enterprises of pesticide and chemical fertilizers for transgenic plants all focus on the huge profits brought by the commercialization. Wang Jing said that the genetically modified food has uncertain influence over men’s health and ecological environment. No confirmed results are available in the world. “Problems have occurred like the secondary insect pest to the insect-resistant cotton and the reduction of the output of transgenic cotton. Without knowing the potential risks, the results of gene modification research should not be put into produc- tion. It should be particularly cautious when it comes to rice, the main food for 1.3 billion Chinese people.”
Lin Yongjun is along with the advocators. In his opinion, the transgenic rice can improve the output by 6%-9% and more improvements wait in the future. “You cannot require anything to be perfect instantly. People have too strict requirements over the transgenic technologies.” He also said that all disputes about gene modification cannot stand on their feet. “Every country is developing the biotech-based agriculture and the commercialization of genetically modified crops is an unstoppable trend. China should take the leading place of this field.”
Lu Baorong agreed with Lin Yongjun. He stressed the “case by case”principle, saying that each case has its particularity. “When there are disputes, we should see which one is better. For example, the Bt 63 rice is safer than rice contaminated by pesticide in the food safety issue,” he said. But he said it is understandable to be cautious in the genetically modified plants, especially the rice.
Presently, the protesters represented by Greenpeace seemed to have the upper hand as the Chinese government has significantly changed its attitude. In July 2008, the State Council approved the investment of 20 billion yuan in developing new categories of genetically modified crops, which was further enhanced in 2010. However, in September 2011, a source close to the Ministry of Agriculture said that the government would promote the commercialization of the staple food like rice and wheat. The most indicative measure is the issuance of the Law of Food (Draft for Advices) on February 21, 2012. The 12th item of this law stipulates that “no units and individuals can apply the transgenic technologies into the main food without permission”.
What genetically modified crops are allowed to be planted massively and commercially in China? Has the commercialization of the genetically modified staple grains been approved? What about the safety of those genetically modified crops, whose importation is allowed? With those questions, journalists from CBF interviewed experts with authority at the Greenpeace and some research institutions in China. From their answers, we generally outlined the chart of the development and planting of genetically modified crops in China, as well as the attitude of regulatory departments to these transgenic things.
90% of papayas are genetically modified
We were told by Wang Jing, director of the Food and Agricultural Project at the Beijing Office of Greenpeace, said that the two major genetically modified crops massively planted in China were cotton with resistance to insects and papayas with resistance to virus.
A group of data from the Ministry of Agriculture shows that by now the Chinese government has given the certificate of safety to 7 kinds of genetically modified plants (the certificate is valid for five years and some of them have already got the new version of certificate), including the durable tomatoes and insect-resistant cotton (in 1997), color-modified petunia and diseaseresistant capsicum (in 1999), virus-resistant papayas (in 2006) and the insectresistant rice and phytase corn (in 2009). However, apart from the insect-resistant cotton and virus-resistant papayas, the other genetically modified plants are not massively planted. And the genetically modified rice and corns are not allowed to put into commercial use.
Prof. Lu Baorong at the Fudan University, and chairman of the International Biosafety Research Academy, said that the planting of genetically modified cotton was very successful in China, and the modified gene to resist insects played a very important role in fighting against cotton bollworms and achieved great results of economy and environment protection.
According to the data, 68% of the cotton land in China was planted with genetically modified cotton in 2009. The volume of used insect-resistant pesticide is reduced by 47 kilograms in each hectare of land where genetically modified cotton is planted. In terms of the whole country, the use of pesticide is reduced by 10-15 thousand tons, accounting for 7.5% of the pesticide produced in China. In addition, the cotton farmers have lighter burden and the number of cases that farmers are poisoned with pesticide reduced by 70%-80%. In 2011, the Chinese farmers planted genetically modified cotton in 3.9 million hectares of land, accounting for 71.5% of the total area of cotton land. Compared with the inedible cotton, papayas, which are tasty and made into delicious food in high-class hotels, were under heavier scrutiny when it comes to the gene modification. In January 2010, Prof. Li Huaping with the South China University of Agriculture, being the director of the only project of planting genetically modified papayas, said: “presently, 95% of papayas in Guangdong are genetically modified.”His “Huanong No. 1” genetically modified papaya is injected with the gene of papaya ringspot virus and thus is almost immune to the mosaic.
However, Greenpeace found in April 2009 that the genetically modified papayas were massively planted in Hainan though the Ministry of Agriculture only allowed them to be planted in Guangdong. A survey revealed that 90% of papayas sold in supermarkets nationwide are genetically modified.
Land crawling with transgenic rice
In November 2009, Prof. Zhang Qifa, an academician from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and dean of the Life Science and Technology School of the Central China University of Agriculture, led a group and developed “Huahui No. 1” and “Bt Shanyou 63”, two kinds of genetically modified rice that can resist the Lepidoptera insects. The rice was licensed with the certificate of safety by the US government, which are the first kinds of genetically modified food are officially recognized as being safe. This action was interpreted by outsiders that China was going to be the first country to approve the massive planting of genetically modified rice. But up to now, the Chinese government never said yes to the massive and commercial planting of transgenic staple food (rice, wheat and corn).
Prof. Lin Yongjun at the Central China University of Agriculture, said that the US certificate of safety was not a license for massive planting. In China, “the safety and the category selection are two different lines. Whether the rice can be planted or not need to be approved by relevant government departments and what are put into consideration includes the productivity and the stuff.”
However, even before the certificate was given, there were illegal deals of genetically modified rice in China. The Greenpeace found that many seed markets and agricultural technology stations in Hubei were selling the seeds of non-licensed transgenic rice in 2005, and the source was possible the development team led by Prof. Zhang Qifa. In another survey, the Greenpeace found that at least 950-1200 tons of transgenic rice flowed into Hubei’s retail market in 2004. In 2005, the number further increased. In addition, if the genetically modified rice was mixed with ordinary rice, the volume of “contaminated” rice is much more than the figure shows. The illegal deals of transgenic rice were still found in Hubei and Hunan in 2010. A third-party investigation shows that the specie of the genetically modified rice is Bt 63 – the one Prof. Zhang Qifa developed. Meanwhile, similar transgenic rice is found in 9 provinces in mainland China and Hong Kong.
The genetically modified rice was even found in the rice imported from China to the European Union. Only in this year, the EU has already sent out 19 warnings for the rice imported from China with transgenic stuff in it.
The similar case also occurred to the genetically modified corns, which are not allowed to be commercialized either. In December 2010, the Ministry of Agriculture published the notice of clearing out the registration of 27 kinds of corns, four of which are said to be through gene modification.
In is revealed that the genetically modified corns are illegally planted in Sichuan, Hunan, Guizhou, Liaoning and Jilin with a massive size – about hundreds of thousand acres. Transgenic rice is also widely planted in a dozen of southern provinces.
Prof. Lu Baorong said that it is harder to supervise the small and scattered farms in China than managing those big farms in foreign countries. The mix of transgenic and non-transgenic crops before the certificate of safety is a result of the insufficient supervision. Presently, the government is going to change that situation. For example, the Ministry of Agriculture united with other three departments to launch a co- investigation into the abuse of genetically modified plants.
Lin Yongjun agreed with the saying that “scientific research department should keep the genetically modified rice and its seeds from entering the market”. Meanwhile, he stressed that “since the certificate of safety is issued, the genetically modified rice should be theoretically safe and might not cause contamination.” Problematic imported soybeans
Though China has not officially approved the massive planting of staple crops in China, but the importation of genetically modified crops is allowed. According to the data, from 2004, the Ministry of Agriculture subsequently approved the certificates of imports safety for soybeans, corns, cotton, rapes and beets which can be used for raw materials.
Presently, the most common genetically modified food in the Chinese market is the oil made of transgenic soybeans. Most of the transgenic soybeans are imported from foreign countries and used by foreign-funded edible oil processing companies to produce oil. Some of the imported soybeans are processed into soy protein, soft phosphatide and so on. In addition, there might be corn flour made of transgenic corns and sugar made from genetically modified beets. The report from the China Investment Consultancy shows that China imports more and more soybeans in recent years. In 2011 the imports volume of soybeans amounted to 526.34 million tons, taking 80% of the total volume. The land where soybeans are planted in China is getting smaller. The main reason is that the imported soybeans are genetically modified. They are cheaper and can produce more oil per unit. Meanwhile, China has a low tariff rate over imported soybeans, which is only 3%.
Another report from ISAAA says that China 300 million hectares of land of corns, involving over 100 million farmers. The products could get connected with 400 million people. However, the corns cannot meet the demand of China. As the Chinese people’s living standard is improving, they have higher demand for meat, eggs and milk, which pushed up the demand for forages. In 2011, China imported 1.75 million tons of corns and the imports volume might increase to 3 million tons this year. Unsurprisingly, more of the imported corns are genetically modified.
According to Wang Jing from the Greenpeace, China needs to build a complete set of regulation methods for the planting of genetically modified crops in China and the importation of them from foreign countries. Presently, there are three rules related with this but problems still exist. For example, the stipulation that genetically modified crops should be identified if they are used as raw materials is not well implemented. In Wang Jing’s opinion, the case of imports soybeans is an error in decision and a lesson for the food safety and sovereignty of China. In the future, China should think of the influence of importing genetically modified crops on the domestic industry and the long-term food safety of consumers.
Change of decision-makers’attitudes
Undoubtedly, no scientific research can cause more discussions than genetically modified crops in China.
Jiang Gaoming is among the opposite party. He wrote in his blog, saying that the transgenic crops can only control bugs and are not a way of increasing the production of rice. The gene modification has at least three possible risks from the uncertain effect of chain effect of life structure, potential risk of the food chain and the uncertain contamination, breeding, spreading and elimination effect. He directly pointed out that the commercialization of genetically modified crops is based on profits. In the invisible profit chain, scientists, patent holders, seed companies, and enterprises of pesticide and chemical fertilizers for transgenic plants all focus on the huge profits brought by the commercialization. Wang Jing said that the genetically modified food has uncertain influence over men’s health and ecological environment. No confirmed results are available in the world. “Problems have occurred like the secondary insect pest to the insect-resistant cotton and the reduction of the output of transgenic cotton. Without knowing the potential risks, the results of gene modification research should not be put into produc- tion. It should be particularly cautious when it comes to rice, the main food for 1.3 billion Chinese people.”
Lin Yongjun is along with the advocators. In his opinion, the transgenic rice can improve the output by 6%-9% and more improvements wait in the future. “You cannot require anything to be perfect instantly. People have too strict requirements over the transgenic technologies.” He also said that all disputes about gene modification cannot stand on their feet. “Every country is developing the biotech-based agriculture and the commercialization of genetically modified crops is an unstoppable trend. China should take the leading place of this field.”
Lu Baorong agreed with Lin Yongjun. He stressed the “case by case”principle, saying that each case has its particularity. “When there are disputes, we should see which one is better. For example, the Bt 63 rice is safer than rice contaminated by pesticide in the food safety issue,” he said. But he said it is understandable to be cautious in the genetically modified plants, especially the rice.
Presently, the protesters represented by Greenpeace seemed to have the upper hand as the Chinese government has significantly changed its attitude. In July 2008, the State Council approved the investment of 20 billion yuan in developing new categories of genetically modified crops, which was further enhanced in 2010. However, in September 2011, a source close to the Ministry of Agriculture said that the government would promote the commercialization of the staple food like rice and wheat. The most indicative measure is the issuance of the Law of Food (Draft for Advices) on February 21, 2012. The 12th item of this law stipulates that “no units and individuals can apply the transgenic technologies into the main food without permission”.