China’s agricultural authority announced [August 9] that it has rejected the national legislature’s proposal to set aside special zones for the cultivation of non-GMO. . . soybeans, saying such a step would mislead the public about GMO products.
The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) said on its official website that it disagrees with lawmakers’ proposal to set up separate non-GMO reserves. . . .
However, an earlier statement released on the MOA’s website in June said the government would provide 5.6 million yuan ($840,659) in subsidies for the development of non-GMO soybeans in order to improve food quality and decrease costs.
“There is little difference between the cultivation of non-GMO and GMO soybeans, and they have the same quality. So reserves [for non-GMO] soybeans seem like a gimmick and are not necessary at all,” Lu Baorong, a biology professor at Fudan University, told the Global Times.
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Tan Zhijuan, a national legislator from North China’s Heilongjiang Province, called for creating a special GMO cultivation zone during the government’s 2016 two sessions, saying the measure would restore Heilongjian’s soybean acreage to its 2010 level of 4.3 million hectares. . . .
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: Agriculture ministry rejects non-GMO reserve proposal
