Op-Ed Contributors

GM foods need a sieve

By Wang Zhili (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-07 07:58

A review board of experts, transparent monitoring and accountability should be ready before crops land on our plates

In September 2009, the Ministry of Agriculture quietly issued bio-safety certificates for two strains of genetically modified (GM) rice and a GM corn strain, signs that China is expected to be the first country to commercialize GM rice planting.

For the first time, a major grain producer is endorsing the use of GM technology in a food staple, arousing great public concern and furious arguments among experts over its safety.

On the one hand, some agricultural experts and research centers have claimed that current studies do not prove that GM foods are harmful to the health and detrimental to national grain safety. On the other hand, some academics have argued that people have the right to know about the long-term risks of the technology.

There is no denying that the advancement of agricultural technology could impact traditional means of production and the varieties of grains. However, since food is the first necessity of people, the government should be scrupulous when it comes to the process of approving GM foods. Their decisions bear greatly on the health of the masses.

Though GM technology achieved great breakthroughs over the past five decades, its safety is still controversial. In fact, the United States, the homeland of GM rice, still has not issued bio-safety certificates guaranteeing GM rice. How then can some Chinese experts be so confident in justifying the safety of GM rice? How can they say there are no risks?

In 2008, France officially imposed a ban on a strain of GM corn produced by the US. The immune system of laboratory mice that ate the GM food was damaged, according to an article published in the Lancet, the world's leading independent medical journal.

It is extremely worrisome that only a team of experts has the lives of 1.3 billion people in their hands. The case is not a pure academic argument, but a controversy between huge business interests and academic conscience.

Therefore, the authorities should put more emphasis on food safety and establish stricter inspection on GM foods. They should also watch how GM foods are entering our food markets. When it comes to the safety of the nation and its people, the possible risks of widespread production of GM crops should be taken seriously.

First, under the leadership of the Leading Group of Product Quality and Food Safety with the State Council, the authorities should set up a review board to include experts from the fields of agriculture, medicine, law, environtology and food. This group should repeatedly conduct a systematic, scientific and rigorous verification over the commercial planting of GM crops. Medical tests on a large sample of GM foods should be conducted.

The potential risks of GM foods should be monitored over a long period of time. Even though right now there are no signs that prove GM foods are harmful to our health and to the environment, the promotion of GM crops should be limited. The proposal for a large-scale popularization of GM crops should be submitted to the National People's Congress for deliberation. Once they are in the market, GM foods should be clearly identified to show their safety uncertainty and remind consumers of their choices.

Second, the right to know the truth about GM foods and the right of choice should be respected and guaranteed. Before making a decision on major events concerning people's livelihoods, related information should be publicized in a comprehensive, accurate and factual way. Experts and officials should be held accountable for their recommendations or studies on GM foods. They should be punished if they make the wrong decisions that result in the loss of lives.

Third, strict management should be adopted by institutions and researchers engaging in GM food studies. Their scientific results should be examined and evaluated by the board of review set up by the State Council. A researcher who falsifies and doctors scientific experimentations or colludes with business groups to hide results from the public should be investigated according to the law.

The author is president of the Beijing Chaoyang Diabetes Hospital.