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Strategies & Market Trends : China Warehouse- More Than Crockery -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RealMuLan who wrote (4764)	5/2/2005 8:40:25 PM
From: RealMuLan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6370

Study touts benefits of modified rice for China By David Barboza The New York Times TUESDAY, MAY 3, 2005 SHANGHAI Genetically modified rice could bring huge benefits to Chinese farmers, lowering their costs, improving harvest yields and greatly reducing the use of pesticides, according to a report published in the journal Science last week. The study, conducted by American and Chinese scientists who have long backed the crops, comes as the Chinese government is deciding whether to approve the sale of genetically modified rice, which would make China the first country to adopt biotechnology crops in one of the world's leading food staples. It also comes just weeks after Greenpeace advocates said that a group of "rogue scientists" experimenting with genetically modified rice had illegally allowed the rice to seep into the food system. Backers of genetically modified crops - who insist that there is no scientific proof of health threats - hope that if China approves the altered rice, that endorsement might alleviate health and environmental concerns elsewhere. In China, genetically modified rice is approved for use only in designated experiments. Greenpeace advocates said two weeks ago that they had purchased bags of the rice in seed markets, and called on the government to stop the rice from spreading more widely into the food supply. Greenpeace said the rice could possibly be harmful, because its long-term effects are unknown. The Chinese government said it was investigating whether the rice entered the food supply in Hubei Province, a major rice-producing region. The Science study did not address whether genetically modified rice could be harmful to people if eaten. But it did say the rice was probably better for farmers: Genetically modified rice cut pesticide use by as much as 80 percent. The altered rice has a gene that acts as its own insecticide. Reduced pesticide use would allow farm incomes to rise, the study said, while consumers could benefit from a drop in the price of rice. "We estimate that if 90 percent of the farmers plant GM rice, then the annual agricultural income of China will increase by $4 billion," said Huang Jikun, an author of the paper and director of the Agriculture Policy Research Center at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. Some experts, however, say that the Chinese government might not approve genetically modified rice this year, as some had expected, because of safety concerns. "They are trying to be very thorough in their investigation," said Carl Pray, an author of the Science study and a professor of agricultural food and resource economics at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. SHANGHAI Genetically modified rice could bring huge benefits to Chinese farmers, lowering their costs, improving harvest yields and greatly reducing the use of pesticides, according to a report published in the journal Science last week. The study, conducted by American and Chinese scientists who have long backed the crops, comes as the Chinese government is deciding whether to approve the sale of genetically modified rice, which would make China the first country to adopt biotechnology crops in one of the world's leading food staples. It also comes just weeks after Greenpeace advocates said that a group of "rogue scientists" experimenting with genetically modified rice had illegally allowed the rice to seep into the food system. Backers of genetically modified crops - who insist that there is no scientific proof of health threats - hope that if China approves the altered rice, that endorsement might alleviate health and environmental concerns elsewhere. In China, genetically modified rice is approved for use only in designated experiments. Greenpeace advocates said two weeks ago that they had purchased bags of the rice in seed markets, and called on the government to stop the rice from spreading more widely into the food supply. Greenpeace said the rice could possibly be harmful, because its long-term effects are unknown. The Chinese government said it was investigating whether the rice entered the food supply in Hubei Province, a major rice-producing region. The Science study did not address whether genetically modified rice could be harmful to people if eaten. But it did say the rice was probably better for farmers: Genetically modified rice cut pesticide use by as much as 80 percent. The altered rice has a gene that acts as its own insecticide. Reduced pesticide use would allow farm incomes to rise, the study said, while consumers could benefit from a drop in the price of rice. "We estimate that if 90 percent of the farmers plant GM rice, then the annual agricultural income of China will increase by $4 billion," said Huang Jikun, an author of the paper and director of the Agriculture Policy Research Center at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. Some experts, however, say that the Chinese government might not approve genetically modified rice this year, as some had expected, because of safety concerns. "They are trying to be very thorough in their investigation," said Carl Pray, an author of the Science study and a professor of agricultural food and resource economics at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. iht.com