加载中…【英文】中国暂缓转基因大米和小麦的商业化
(2011-10-08 19:26:16)
标签：
中国暂缓转基因大米转基因小麦商品化教育 |
分类： 反转基因文集 |
【请转载翻译，并再接再励，围观就是力量。】
China suspends commercialisation of GM rice and wheat
Thursday, 06 October 2011 11:51
http://gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/13440-china-suspends-commercialisation-of-gm-rice-and-wheat
China
THIRD WORLD NETWORK BIOSAFETY INFORMATION SERVICE
Re: China Suspends Commercialisation of Genetically Engineered Rice and Wheat
Dear friends and colleagues,
After several years of scientific and public debates it is reported
that China will not commercialise genetically modified (GM) staple
food crops such as rice and wheat for the next 5 to 10 years. The
widely read Economic Observer, a financial weekly publication,
citing a source close to the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA)
confirmed this move in its
This seems to be in line with the increased caution over GM
technology that has reached the highest level of the government. At
the Fourth International Biosafety Workshop
in
Uncertainty about the viability of the current GM technology is
also raised as a key reason. The Economic Observer states that
according to public reports, the GM rice Bt Shanyou 63 can increase
yield by 8%. But the source person said that currently the GM seeds
bred by domestic experts do not have "yield-increasing genes".
Because the GM crop is pest resistant, the "increased yieldt" is in
fact the savings from pesticides cost counted as yield. It should
be noted that Shanyou 63 was first developed in 1981 by a team of
scientists at
the
The policy decision not to commercialise GM rice will be reflected
in the "Modern agricultural crop seed industry development Plan
(2011-2020)" to be released this year. The plan is based on
the
The exception that is under consideration for commercial planting
is GM corn, and according to the Economic Observer article this is
driven by the fact that corn imports are increasing rapidly and of
the two varieties most widely grown, one variety developed
domestically (not GM) may be facing new pests after several years
of "peaking" in its production. GM corn and soya are currently
imported for livestock feed and food processing but not approved
for commercial cultivation.
When production safety certificates were given
in
However such certification does not mean that commercial
cultivation is allowed. This is reiterated in the Global Times
article of
Meanwhile, Chen Xiaohua, a deputy MOA minister in a Global Times
report of 30 September pledged to ensure safety of GM crops amid
scientists' appeals for caution in commercializing such products
(see Item 2 below).
The same report quoted Yuan Longping, a famous agricultural
scientist in China known as the "father of hybrid rice," who has
repeatedly urged the government to proceed cautiously with any move
to commercialize GM crops. "One of the major features of GM crops
is their ability to resist insects, but even scientists do not know
whether such an ability in these crops will have any effect on
human beings," Yuan told Nanfang Daily on
Xue
The State Council's April report cited in the Economic Observer
article emphasizes the need to further standardize GM agricultural
crop safety evaluation.
The government's move to suspend commercialisation of major GM
staple food crops has been reported widely and is welcomed by
various groups in China. Greenpeace Food and Agriculture campaigner
Pan Wenjing said that, "This step is a milestone in the process to
end all GE (genetically engineered) rice commercialization in
China" adding that genetically engineered crops' long-term risks on
human health and the environmental are still unknown. Pan said that
it has also been found that many of the GE rice lines in China are
embedded with non-Chinese patents, which poses a huge risk on
China's food security should they become commercialized.
In its press release on
With best wishes,
Chee Yoke Ling
Third World Network
---
---
1.Commercialization of genetically modified staple food:
not to proceed for 5 years except for corn
Jiang Yunzhang
Economic Observer, 23 September 2011
http://news.hexun.com/2011-09-23/133683994.html?fromweb=share&llz=65f5da1d4b30ac6507f2b632
(The report below is a rough translation of the 23 September 2011
issue of the Economic Observer, a widely read financial weekly
publication in China.)
A source close to the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), told the
Economic Observer
The source said that there are two reasons for this delay in
commercialization of genetically modified (GM) staple food crops:
one is that there has been a lot of questioning about the safety of
genetic modification from various sides; the other is based on the
judgement that currently in China, GM staple food crop-related
research, promotion, regulations, even later-stage business
operation,etc. are not yet mature.
However, the same source also revealed that due to the drastic
increase of demand for corn, putting pressure on national
researves, corn breeding technology will be at a
historical
On 18 April the State Council released a report titled "Views on
accelerating the development of modern crop seed industry". In this
report GM was mentioned only in two places in a brief manner: one
is on the need to "push forward the implementation of the major
project on cultivation of GM new varieties"; the other is to
emphasize the need to further standardize "GM agricultural crop
safety evaluation and cross-regional introduction of different
varieties' seeds."
(Note: Approvals for planting under China's regulatory framework
are given for specific provinces and not nation-wide. See also the
article below from Global Times: "Ministry seeks to ease GM food
safety fears.)
Ma Shuping, deputy director of the MOA division on cultivation,
publicly said that according to the requirements made by the State
Council Report on the principles and orientation of the development
of China's seed industry, MOA will formulate and improve various
policy documents related to future seed industry development, among
which the most important one is to formulate a "modern agriculutral
crop seed industry development plan (2011-2020)". She furthered
said that the Plan is the concretization and detailing of the State
Council Report. In the plan, MOA will propose the main tasks and
goals in the next 10 years of development of the the seed industry
according to crop, variety, and region.
The Economic Observer learnt that since last year, MOA has been
organizing experts to formulate the Plan. Now after many rounds of
consultations and modifications, the Plan is basically finalized,
and will be released within this year. The previously-mentioned
source person close to the senior levels of MOA said to the
Economic Observer, that the Plan proposes the main tasks and goals
in the next 10 years' development of the seed industry according to
crop, variety, and region, but GM rice, wheat, corn, soybean,and
other grain crops are NOT included.
This source person said domestically some experts have been
involved in numerous controversies of the GM rice and corn
varieties that received MOA biosafety certifcates in 2009. The
focus of the controversy is that, many experts think these two GM
rice and corn varieties have shortcomings with respect to breeding
technology innovation based on which domestic companies will find
great difficulty in coming up with commercially-viable GM rice and
corn varieties within 5 years.
In the seminar on GM agricultural crops commercialization held by
the State Council in May, breeding expert Tongpinya of the China
Agricultural Science Insitute pointed out that Bt Shanyou 63,
developed by Prof. Zhangqifa of
According to some sources, Shanyou 63 (a hybrid rice variety) was
developed by the team led by breeding expert Xie HuaAn
in
According to public reports, Bt Shanyou 63 can increase yield by
8%. But this source person said that currently the GM seeds bred by
domestic experts do not have "yield-increasing genes". Because the
GM crop is pest resistant, the "increased yield" is in fact the
savings from pesticides cost counted as yield.
According to the predictions of agriculural departments, in the
next 10 years and even longer, China's rice, wheat and corn
production will steadily increase. Demand for rice and
wheat
(Note: The increase of soya bean imports is a matter of concern in
the country.)
~ According to statistics from the China Grain and Oil Information
Centre, last year on soya bean, China's reliance for imports was
78%. Also last year China became a net importer of corn, after
years of being a net exporter. Since corn is a staple food in many
countries, China's imports have cause for alarm around the
world.
~ According to the "National 12th five-year plan of the development
of cultivation industry" that MOA released
on
Senior analyst JIaoshanwei from China Grain net (www.cngrain.com) said there are only two
ways to acheive self-sufficiency of corn. One way is to greatly
increase planted area, and secondly is to increase yield. The
possibily of the first option basically can be ruled out judging
from the realistic situation currently in the country. In the short
term the possibility of breeding and promoting high-yield corn
variety is also slim.
According to the Economic Observer's investigation, currently the
two corn varieties that are planted the most in the country are
"Zhendan 958" and "Xianyu 335".
~ The source person also said there is another realistic reason for
GM corn commercialization to be possibly pushed foward rather fast
as it is
~The source person also said that relevant parties will further
strengthen research on GM corn technology, to come up with better
GM corn varieties as soon as possible.
---
---
2.Ministry seeks to ease GM food safety
fears
Liu Linlin
Global Times (China),
http://www.globaltimes.cn/NEWS/tabid/99/ID/677790/Ministry-seeks-to-ease-GM-food-safety-fears.aspx
The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA)
"We will develop GM technologies in strict accordance with relevant
regulations and ensure the safety of GM products," Chen Xiaohua, a
deputy MOA minister, told reporters on Thursday responding to
questions on the import of GM corn from the US.
"China will continue its development of GM crops because this is an
important strategic move for the whole nation," Chen said, adding
that the ministry is drawing up plans to expand corn production to
meet increasing domestic demand.
According to
In
The three main issues surrounding GM foods according to the World
Health Organization are their potential for provoking allergic
reactions, transferring harmful genes to the human body and
crossbreeding with other plants.
Yuan Longping, a famous agricultural scientist known as the "father
of hybrid rice," has repeatedly urged the government to proceed
cautiously with any move to commercialize GM crops.
"One of the major features of GM crops is their ability to resist
insects, but even scientists do not know whether such an ability in
these crops will have any effect on human beings," the Nanfang
Daily quoted Yuan as saying on Thursday.
"So far scientists have only conducted tests on animals, which does
not rule out risks for humans in the long term," he said, adding
that crops that have been genetically modified to increase
production might be safe.
However, Gu Xiulin, a professor
with
"Western studies found that in some cases, insects and weeds became
resistant to GM crops' ability to kill them, thus affecting
production. There are also reports that GM foods could cause
infertility in humans," Gu said.
"More alarming is that some GM foods or other commodities made from
GM products have already reached the domestic market. For example,
about 20 percent of corn grown in China is genetically modified,"
Gu said, adding that the government should adopt a more vigilant
attitude toward the technology.
A spokesperson with the MOA's GM product safety department told the
People's Daily in 2010 that just because GM products have received
a safety certificate does not mean they can be commercialized, and
strict regional and production tests are obligatory before products
reach the public.
The GM organisms, also known as 'transgenic' organisms, were
developed in the 1970s. At present, genetically modified crops are
grown on 134 million hectares of land worldwide.
US farmers adopted genetically engineered crops widely since their
commercial introduction in 1996, notwithstanding uncertainty about
consumer acceptance and economic and environmental impacts, the US
Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
Currently, commercialized GM crops in the US include soy, cotton,
canola, corn, Hawaiian papaya, zucchini and yellow squash, and
sugar beets.
In
The American Academy of Environmental Medicine reported in 2009
that several animal studies indicated serious health risks
associated with GM foods, including infertility, immune problems,
accelerated aging, faulty insulin regulation and changes in major
organs and the gastrointestinal system.
The academy asked physicians to advise patients to avoid GM
foods.
Xue
"It is true that the GM technology is crucial for China's
agricultural development, but compared with advances in the
technology, more needs to be done in terms of supervision and
management," Xue said.
Citing an MOA insider,
the
(Zhu Shanshan contributed to this story.)
喜欢
0
赠金笔