Experts claim that GM rice is on the table at the latest five years

The Zhenjiang Town in Gaozhou, Guangdong Province retains a large area of ​​wild rice. People are worried that genetically modified rice will cause genetic pollution to wild rice and other species.

China will open experts on commercial cultivation of genetically modified rice to the public at the latest five years

The newspaper recently interviewed the winner of the GM Rice Safety Permit

In the just-concluded two sessions of the country, as with hot topics such as house prices, prices, and medical reform, the safety of genetically modified rice has received much attention. Yuan Longping, father of hybrid rice, publicly stated: "If the genetically modified pest-resistant rice is to be tested by the human body, I will register first." According to reports, he will cooperate with authoritative Zhang Qifa academician in the field in China to strengthen the research of genetically modified rice.

There is no doubt that the safety of genetically modified products is still inconclusive. The further question is whether the commercialization of genetically modified products will cause monopolization of the international seed industry giants to the domestic seed industry market.

At the end of January this year, the Central No. 1 document on the industrialization of genetically modified varieties, plus the good news of China's approval of the first genetically modified rice safety certificate at the end of last year, the commercialization of genetically modified products, especially genetically modified rice, seems to have been in China. "The arrow has to be made."

So, what is the future of genetically modified rice that may become China's population grain? How is the taste? Is the price high or low? “People use food as their heaven”, and we urgently need answers to these questions. Text / Chart reporter Li Ying

Mysterious GM rice approval agency information puzzle

On January 31, the Central Document No. 1 “Some Opinions of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and the State Council on Strengthening the Coordination of Urban and Rural Development and Further Consolidating the Foundations of Agricultural and Rural Development” was issued, and the document specifically mentioned “to promote the industrialization of new transgenic varieties”. The trend of this policy is linked with another news that has received much attention, which makes people think about it.

At the end of last year, the genetically modified rice “Huahui 1” and “Bt Shanyou 63” developed by the Huazhong Agricultural University had just obtained a safety license, which was also the first certificate of safety of transgenic rice issued by China.

Mysterious transgenic rice

This decision by the Ministry of Agriculture was described by Zheng Fengtian, a professor at the Renmin University of China, as "a thrilling leaps to win the world's cold sweat." Because before this, no country has approved the staple food can be genetically grown. He said that neither GM products should be demonized, nor should they be left unchecked. Care should be taken with respect to the industrialization of genetically modified products of ration crops.

In early December of last year, Zheng Fengtian wrote “Do you dare to eat GM rice? One article, two months later, the article was widely reproduced on the Internet and GM rice became a hot topic before the Spring Festival.

Although researchers have used the mainstream media's position, "GM rice is not only safe to eat but also safe to the ecological environment." However, it is still difficult to understand people's concerns. A series of questions remain to be answered, such as: How is the approval procedure for security certificates? The laboratory can only prove short-term safety. Does long-term consumption have harm to the human body in the end? There is also a web forum to launch a signature campaign for "reversing genetic staples."

As early as 2008, more than 50% of the "genetically modified foods" survey conducted by Tianya Forum indicated that they were most concerned about GM rice, and they also worried about the safety of genetically modified foods.

“We have taken note of the recent public opinion and fully understand the concerns of the public. All information on the research and development of genetically modified rice, as long as it does not involve national scientific and technological secrets, will be publicly understood and understood by the public.” The National Laboratory for Crop Genetic Improvement of the Huazhong Agricultural University (hereinafter referred to as the "Huazhong Laboratory") of the China Agricultural University has received an exclusive interview with this reporter.

Approval agency member information puzzle

Fear and worry often come from the lack of information. In contrast to the embarrassing network, the official response is very low-key. In response to many queries, the Ministry of Agriculture has responded that the issuance of certificates is a five-year safety assessment that has passed through rigorous experimental studies, intermediate tests, environmental releases, production tests, and application for production and application safety certificates. It is based on national agricultural GMO safety. Decisions made by the committee (hereinafter referred to as 'transformation committee') evaluation results."

The problem is that the information about the composition of the transition committee has not been publicized and the authoritative information known to the outside world is very limited.

Even at the time of ratification of genetically modified rice, public opinion has been debated for a time. On October 22 last year, a list of “Safety Approval Certificates for the Second Batch of Agricultural Genetically Modified Organisms in 2009” appeared on the “China Biosafety Network”. However, people in the industry discovered that "there were no two types of genetically modified rice on the list. It was added on November 27 last year."

Huazhong Laboratories told this reporter that the date of issuance of the safety certificates for “Huahui No. 1” and “Bt Gaoyou 63” was August 17, 2009 and was valid for five years. The applicable site was Hubei.

Researchers "test rice with their bodies"

Is GM rice safe? This fear is widespread and not unfounded. It is widely used as arguments for several foreign research cases. It is understood that in 2007, French scientists confirmed that the world’s largest seed company, the GM corn produced by the US Monsanto Company, is toxic to the human liver and kidneys. In 2008, American scientists also confirmed that the immune system of mice fed with genetically modified corn for a long time was damaged. As for the long-term consumption of genetically modified rice is harmful to the human body, the scientific community has always been controversial.

Xue Dayuan, a professor at the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the Central University for Nationalities, is the chief expert on biodiversity research at the Ministry of Environmental Protection. He said: "The consumption of genetically modified rice is relatively safe." The so-called "relative" means that all current experiments and tests have proved its safety; but on the other hand, we are also constrained by the limitations of existing technologies. It must be able to detect all risks."

The R&D staff of the Central China Laboratory “test rice with their bodies” and “listen to the audience”. The Huazhong Laboratories responded to this reporter’s report: “In recent years, our researchers have been eating GM rice and they are in good health.” “Once the GM rice is approved for commercial planting, our researcher's Michangli must all be genetically modified. Rice."

"Rice is China's staple food. Scientists in China have put the issue of safety on the development of genetically modified rice from the very beginning. The country has also issued safety certificates for the two genetically modified rice lines of our school."

In addition to safety, people are also curious about the taste of rice. The R&D personnel who “tested rice with rice” told the reporter that the GM rice developed by the school is “no different from the ordinary rice. In fact, it is hybrid rice”. “The GM rice developed by our school has a good taste, and there is no obvious change in the appearance and texture after reheating, which meets the national standard for high-quality rice.”