How China and US ‘Secretly Tested Genetically Modified Golden Rice on Children’

Published on September 12, 2012 by admin   ·   No Comments

 UKDailyMail

China’s health authorities are investigating allegations that genetically modified rice has been tested on Chinese children as part of a research project.

A recent scientific publication suggested that researchers, backed by the US Department of Agriculture, fed experimental genetically engineered golden rice to 24 children in China aged between six and eight years old.

The environmental group Greenpeace is demanding a stop to field trials of the genetically enriched rice, which has been proposed as a solution to vitamin A deficiency, as it says the rice carries environmental and health risks.

China is the world’s largest grower of genetically modified (GMO) cotton and the top importer of GMO soybeans but, while Beijing has already approved home-grown strains of GMO rice, it remains cautious about introducing the technology on a commercial basis amid widespread public concern about food safety.

The Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention investigation came after a report last month by environmental group Greenpeace claimed that a U.S. Department of Agriculture-backed study used 24 Chinese children aged between six and eight to test genetically modified ‘golden rice’.