Genetically modified rice produced in China has been approved to be exported to the U.S, even though China have not approved it to be sold in their own country.
The rice has been developed by a team at the Huazhong Agricultural University, but strong opposition to the crops in China has meant that it has been unable to be sold. But this hasn’t stopped it from being approved to be exported and sold by the FDA in the U.S, thanks to the close relationship the FDA have with China and other exporters of cheap, substandard food that meets the needs of the high-consumption of the American food market. GMO crops are dubious on terms of health
, many people do their best to steer clear from them and prefer to buy organic food that was grown in the ground and not created in a lab. The rice product, known as Huahui was developed by Lin Yongjun and his team. He told the Global Times that the product had not been approved to be sold in his own country because of public opposition. He said: “the country has not conducted regional trials nor provided guidelines to examine genetically engineered rice.” But Lin’s University received an email from the FDA on January 11th stating that they had approved the rice in the U.S. Lin’s confidence in his product is high and he believes the U.S had made the right choice in deciding to import it. He said: “This shows that the FDA recognizes the data and the experimental method used by Chinese agencies in assessing the safety and nutritional value of Huahui No.1, and that the FDA has confidence in the safety of Huahui No.1 as both food and fodder,” The genetically modified rice has been designed to be resistant to a range of insects, and thus would cut down on the number of pesticides needed in growing the crops, but the consumer is still left with a product that cannot boast that it is 100% natural.
China are taking their time when it comes to GMO food and their long term plan to approve various types of GM food is going to take more time than the U.S’s decision to quickly leap on board with the product. Luo Yunbo, an expert on GM products at China Agricultural University said: “The government wants to take its time on GM food for social stability reason. It has a three-step plan to gradually industrialize GM crops, first on inedible crops, then on vegetables and fruits and the last on staple food such as rice and wheat,” “There is still a long way to go before the public accepts GM rice in the market,” Via March Against Monsanto http://www.thelifeessence.com/fda-officially-approves-banned-gmo-chinese-rice-export-states/
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