Chattering Class Diaries

Your Honour:

 

As someone having deep misgivings on genetically modified crops entering our

food chain, I strongly commend your decision of February 9^th wherein you have

introduced a moratorium on the release of Bt brinjal in India.

 

This letter however is not about your decision but what you have written therein

about China. 

 

You have stated that you have discussed the genetic crop issue with your

Chinese counterpart (Hon. Zhou Shengxian I would presume).  I was amused

to learn that he informed you “to be extremely cautious when it comes to

introduction [of GM technology] in food crops”, since occurrences from the

middle of last year have revealed that nothing is further from the truth than his

statement. 

 

If you will check with your diplomatic corps in China, I believe they would

report to you that:

 

1.      China’s competent regulatory authority, its Ministry of Agriculture, secretly

approved two varieties of GM rice and one variety of GM corn (using the Bt

gene no less) in August 2009 for general planting.

 

2.        This fact came to light outside China in late November 2009 when Reuters

reported on the matter, and was subsequently confirmed in a communication

from the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture to The Wall Street Journal on 1

December 2009. 

 

3.        Internally, the Chinese Communist Party organ People’s Daily reported on

the approval of GM rice and corn only on 3 March 2010! 

 

4.        All this despite the fact that there are strong popular misgivings and caution

towards GM foods within China, as witnessed by examples such as:

 

4.1.       100 academicians sending an open letter to the National People’s

Congress now in session seeking extreme caution in GM food’s approval and

entry into the food chain, and

 

4.2.       World Food Prize awardee Prof Yuan Longping calling for a test of GM

food over two human generations to ensure its safety.

 

Your people in Beijing may also be able to report to you that in Guangxi

province, where illegal cultivation of GM corn is widespread, a recent study of

217 university students revealed that close to 60% were found to have sperm

abnormalities, leading many people to suspect the prevalence of GM corn in the

diet.  Results from scientific studies on this abnormality are pending.

 

It is my sincere hope that as an Indian statesman you will continue to defend

democratic dialogue and information disclosure on all matters, and use the

Chinese example as something that should not to be followed. 

 

 

Makoto Honjo