China has been resistant to using GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) food crops for quite a while, but soaring food prices are forcing them to take another look at the broad adoption of Frankenfood for staple crops
When it comes to GM/GMO; the term “Frankenfood” is not an overstatement – imagine the rice you’re eating having the genes of a daffodil and bacteria in it; or corn containing its own insecticide. If it sounds far fetched, it’s not and it’s already happening. If you’re living in the USA, you’re likely eating this sort of thing.
This isn’t about selective breeding – it’s the artificial manipulation of genetic material between organisms – plants to plants, plants to animals and vice versa. Aside from that, there’s issues of GMO’s getting out into the general environment and the fact that these GM species are *owned* by very powerful companies – they could potentially end up owning the world’s food supply.
On the flip side, GM crops can be made to be insect and drought resistant and are viewed by many to be the answer to the world’s food problems. To my way of thinking, the only food problems we have are related to poor basic farming practices, and distribution – and not production per se.
China is apparently trying to develop its own genetically modified corn, but work is progressing slowly and they may team up with “overseas institutions” (I read that as being “big business”) to speed up research.
This seems like an awfully slippery road China is embarking on.
Related:
The future of food
Heirloom and heritage seeds