September 29, 2009
The facts of genetically-modified crop (1)
Recently, the words “genetically-modified crop” (GMO) is heard more often. However, most people do not fully understand what it means. Genetic modification is not improvement of a breed, but is combining genes to create a completely new species.
In 2007, seven crops were approved to be sold as GMO in Japan; these crops are soybean, corn, coleseed, potato, cotton, sugar beet and alfalfa sprouts. The area under cultivation for these genetically modified crops is about three times as big as Japan. They are produced in the USA (soybean and corn), Argentina (soybean), Canada (coleseed), Brazil (soybean) and China (cotton). They are not produced in Europe. Europeans believe that these crops might be harmful to humans. Therefore, the European government put strict legal regulations against the selling of them. The US government accuses these regulatory restrictions in the European markets of illegal action against WTO trading rules.
In Japan, we cultivate these crops for research only. We do not cultivate them for domestic sales, yet. Our import rule is very open to genetically modified foods. We consume the biggest share of them through importing from foreign countries.
