China pushes ahead with GMO crops to safeguard food security

Soybean

Maize (Corn)

China

Published Jan 26, 2022

Tridge summary

By Joseph Maina As China moves to expand production of genetically modified crops, it’s taking steps to counter pockets of GMO opposition that have stymied adoption of the technology. Though China was the first country to grow GM crops commercially, starting with virus-resistant tobacco plants in 1988, it has lagged behind other nations in adopting new crops.

Original content

GM corn and rice varieties were granted biosafety certificates over a decade ago, but never achieved commercialization, partly due to consumer opposition. Cotton is the only GM crop that is widely grown. However, that appears to be changing. Xinhua news recently reported that China has embarked on an elaborate roadmap to bolster the country’s innovation capacity in agricultural science and technology to safeguard its food security. The move is in line with a five-year development guideline of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS). Given its geopolitical influence, and in particular its growing contribution to global food trade, China’s embrace of biotechnology has global economic and environmental significance. But even as government agencies move to approve new GM crops, China must still deal with vicious anti-GMO onslaughts that were propagated through social media, a campaign that greatly succeeded in swaying public sentiment and perceptions against GMOs. Research ...

Source: Agropages