Biotech Updates

Media Workshop on GMO in Beijing

November 20, 2009

The Crop Biotechnology media workshop organized by China Biotechnology Information Center of ISAAA (CHINABIC) was held on November 14, 2009 at the China Science and Technology Museum in Beijing. China's top experts from the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and China Agricultural University participated in the workshop. Prof. Huang Dafang, director of CHINA BIC, vice president of Chinese Society of Biotechnology (CSBT) and former director of Biotechnology Research Institute of CAAS, and Prof. Luo Yunbo, dean of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering College of China Agricultural University, gave their insights on biotechnology and biosafety.

Huang Dafang said "consumers' worry over the GMOs safety is mainly because of the absence of knowledge about them. The whole process of GMO development and adoption can be monitored and it includes strict management and a lot of scientific experiments with predictable results and guaranteed security". Prof. Luo Yunbo highlighted the safety of GMO products in the market, and governments conduct rigorous assessments and tests on the GM foods before its commercialization, using stricter standards than any other food products. More than twenty internal mainstream media reporters such as XinHua news agency, People's Daily online attended the workshop and had in depth communication with GM experts.

To expand the workshop impact and increase public understanding of biotechnology, a large-scale science popularization activities named "GMOs enter the homes of ordinary people" was also held at the China Science and Technology Museum by CSBT, China Science and Technology Museum, CAAS, Chinese Society of Agricultural Biotechnology and Croplife China Biotech committee on November 14 to 22, 2009. The science popularization activities included graphic display boards with information on genetics and biotechnology, GM cotton and maize show, transgenic experiments demonstration, to name a few.

For more information, contact Prof. Zhang Hongxiang at zhanghx@mail.las.ac.cn or Dr. Yue Tongqing at yuetq@mail.las.ac.cn