Focus on genetically modified
There is consensus on the safety of genetically modified foods
Science and Technology Daily: At present, on the issue of the safety of genetically modified foods, has the international consensus reached?
Lin Min: At present, there is an indefinable statement on the safety of genetically modified organisms because it confuses the three concepts of genetically modified technology, R&D genetically modified products and specific genetically modified products that have passed safety assessment. As regards GM technology, there are potential security risks as well as other high technologies. As for GM products in R&D, like other new products, there are uncertainties in security, so we must strengthen supervision.
Regarding the safety of genetically modified foods, the European Union has spent 260 million pounds in the past 25 years, supporting more than 400 independent research groups to conduct risk assessments on more than 50 genetically modified safety projects and drawing official conclusions in the 2010 report of the European Commission. : First, there is no scientific evidence that GM crops pose higher risks to the environment and food and feed safety than traditional crops; second, GM crops may even be more traditional than traditional ones due to the adoption of more precise technologies and more stringent regulation. Crops and foods are safer. In addition, 59 countries that have at least China, including China, that have approved the import of genetically modified organisms have also demonstrated through scientific and standardized safety tests that the consumption of foods containing genetically modified crop components is not compared with the consumption of foods containing crop components cultivated by conventional breeding techniques. There is greater risk.
It is based on solid scientific evidence that international authoritative organizations such as the International Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Health Organization believe that any genetically modified food that is listed through safety evaluation is as safe as non-genetically modified food, and consumers can rest assured that they can eat it. The "2013-2021 Agriculture Outlook" recently released jointly by the OECD and the FAO indicates that in order to meet the growing demand for food, agricultural production capacity needs to increase by 60% in the next 40 years. As the global population grows, the demand for and pressure on land, water resources, and energy also increases, leading to food safety risks. In order to cope with the challenges, we must adopt new technologies and genetic modification is one of them. This year's "World Food Award" was issued to genetically modified plants, which fully affirmed the safety and contribution of genetically modified technology.
China adopts the most stringent genetically modified qualitative label, but the quantitative labeling is more scientific
Science and Technology Daily: It is questioned that China's genetically modified identification system is not strict. What do you think about this issue?
Lin Min: At present, the countries and regions that implement the labeling system for genetically modified products include the European Union and Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Switzerland, the United States, the Czech Republic, Israel, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Thailand, etc. . Among them, the United States, Canada, Argentina, and China’s Hong Kong SAR implement a voluntary labeling system for genetically modified products in accordance with the principle of substantial equivalence, and most countries and regions such as the European Union and China adopt a strict mandatory labeling system.
Mandatory identification is divided into two categories: quantitative identification and qualitative identification. Qualitative identification is the most stringent management system in all identification management. In 2001, China promulgated the "Administrative Measures on the Labeling of Agricultural Genetically Modified Organisms", requiring that all agricultural genetically modified organisms listed in the logo management catalog and used for marketing should be identified. China is the only country in the world that uses qualitative identification. The EU, which has the most stringent management of genetically modified foods, promulgated the “Regulations on New Food Regulations†in 1997, requiring the mandatory quantitative label management for all genetically modified products. The minimum limit for labeling is 1%, that is, when the transgene content in foods reaches 1%. Must be identified. In 2002, the European Union amended its management policy on genetically modified signs, and reduced the minimum number of labels to 0.9%.
Some reports misrecognized the system of genetically modified markers and even attributed consumers' doubts about genetic modification to the fact that China's current identity system is not perfect. It is entirely due to the lack of understanding of the global genetically modified labeling system. In contrast, China's qualitative labeling system, as long as it contains the genetically modified components must be labeled, far more than the EU's quantitative labeling policy, genetically modified components can be less than 0.9%, it can not mark more strictly. However, the current qualitative labeling system in China requires excessively high levels of genetic testing technology. When the genetically modified components are too low to be detected, it will cause difficulties in label management. However, the quantitative label management system adopted by countries such as the European Union considers detection. The detection limitations of technology are more scientific and reasonable.
Transgenic does not violate the laws of nature, and the nature of transgenic technology is the same as traditional breeding technology.
Science and Technology Daily: Some people think that genetic modification is contrary to natural laws, and traditional breeding techniques are more secure. What do you think about this issue?
Lin Min: The phenomenon of genetic transformation is not mysterious. In nature, there is a kind of prokaryotic microorganism known as Nodule agrimony. It is an innate genetic master who can transfer bacterial genes into higher plants to form crown gall tumors. As long as you pay attention, big trees Long and large packages can be seen everywhere. Therefore, the phenomenon of genetic transformation is common in nature, and transgenes do not violate the laws of nature. All species on Earth originate from the same ancestor. Their genetic material is DNA, which is genetically identical. This is the genetic basis of genetic transformation and the genetic basis of traditional crossbreeding. It also explains why bacterial genes are transferred to plant chromosomes and can be stably inherited and expressed because life comes from the same ancestor.
Traditional crossbreeding technology is also a kind of transgenic technology in a broad sense. The key to safety insecurity lies in what traits are selected. Traditional hybridization techniques have produced toxic crops with high biological toxins. Transgenic technology is a neutral technology. The key to safety insecurity lies in what genes are transferred. The 30 years of safe application practice of genetically modified technology has proven that the risk of genetically modified technology is controllable. The distant hybrid breeding technology and cytoplasmic fusion technology that emerged in the 30s and 50s of the last century have broken the reproductive isolation of species and cultivated new varieties of “unnatural†crops. The emergence of chemical or radiation-induced mutation breeding techniques after World War II induced genetic mutations in seeds and screened new "unnatural" crop varieties. Scientific analysis has repeatedly proved that the difference in nutrient composition between genetically modified crops and non-transgenic crops is far less than the difference between different varieties of the same crop, and even less than the difference in nutrient composition caused by cultivation of the same variety in different regions.
Almost all questions of genetic modification currently apply to traditional breeding techniques. Cultivating “unnatural breeds†does not begin with genetically modified technology but begins with the traditional breeding techniques that we have now widely applied. If you accept traditional breeding techniques, why do you have to reject genetically modified technology because of "unnatural"?
Organic food is neither equal to nutritional food nor safe food
Science and Technology Daily: Some people think that organic foods are safer than genetically modified foods. China should vigorously develop organic agriculture to ensure food security. What do you think about this issue?
Lin Min: Organic agriculture does not use chemically synthesized pesticides, chemical fertilizers, growth regulators, feed additives, etc. There is evidence that organic agriculture is not superior to modern agriculture in terms of product safety and environmental impact. In the same land area, true organic agricultural production is much lower than that of modern agriculture, even reducing production by 40% to 50%. %, the production cost is extremely high. Moreover, there is no research report at present that proves that organic foods are stronger than non-organic foods in improving nutrient composition. Organic food is not equal to nutritious food and it is not equal to safe food. It is only a lifestyle sought by a few people in modern society.
In addition, organic agriculture must use organic fertilizers, which are manure and human animal manures that are rendered harmless through fermentation. If the detoxification process is not thorough, the heavy metals in the excrement, pests, including parasite eggs, and pathogens Microorganisms etc. may enter our food chain.
So far, there have been no cases of illness or death due to eating genetically modified foods, but cases of death from eating organic food have occurred in various countries in the world. In 2011, German organic bean sprouts imported from Egypt were contaminated with E. coli, which may be from harmlessly disposed organic fertilizers, causing a public health catastrophe, resulting in 53 deaths and 3,500 people suffering from severe renal function. Failure. It is absolutely misleading to think that the food safety of China's 1.3 billion people can be solved by organic agriculture. Because organic agriculture cannot guarantee the food security of China’s 1.3 billion people, it cannot guarantee the food safety of China’s 1.3 billion people. (Reporter Ma Aiping)
"Science & Technology Daily" (2013-7-10 3rd edition)
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