NEWS: China Close to Production of Genetic Crop

China is poised to begin the world's first large-scale planting of a major 'transgenic' crop. They may do a massive planting of a domesticated rice crop that has been mixed with a gene from a wild rice species. This gives it resistant to types of destructive fungus. Thus, the crop can result in much greater yeilds.
Previously, an attempt at large scale bioengineered plantings resulted in a large public outrcry against it. The Party stopped the plantings, and hasn't actually said that it is planning on planting this crop. However many scientists in China are saying that this indeed is being considered.
Also, Monsanto recently halted a program to begin similar large scale plantings of modified wheat crops in Canada and the US.



This has lots of implications, if it goes thru. Ultimately, someone is going to have to do something like this. This might be a decent case, since the danger is that one might get hybridization between this modified rice and other domesticated and wild rices. In other words, the gene that might potentially be spread is a gene that can already by spread and exists in the rice world.
It might also serve as a useful case-study, because there are already strains of non-engineered domesticated rice that are resistant to similar, if not the same, moulds. This can therefore show what are some of the minimal benefits to make such plantings worth it.
Even more so, the Chinese government is the entity that obtained the seeds; from the University at California at Davis. They hold the patent and allow it to be freely distributed for research and Third World Usage. On top of that, the governement distibutes the seeds to the famers, and allows them to keep the next generation of seeds and replant them, so it can be done in a theoretical one time dispersal.
In many ways then, this is a real test for GMO technology.

Related News Links:
www.whybiotech.com
pubs.acs.org
www.medieval-life.net
www.agry.purdue.edu

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Debate Tournament:Stumpy v Skadi:GM Crops.

This same story was just posted by someone on ATS a few days ago. Should be easy to find.

Searches on

china crop

china gmo

chines crop

transgenic planting

transgenic chinese

Turn up no relevant results.

Hybreds are here and as scary as they are, before long, we won't know were eating them. The only thing about this I like is that Monsanto will never be able to protect their patents, while they continue poisioning the world with their chemicals.

What's wrong with planting plants that have a "wild" genetic trait?

It's nothing different then selecting race horses, cept one takes much longer to do.

There's alot of ignorance about genetic engineering, biotechnology, and bioinformatics. In the end, it's all about improving the world.

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Disclaimer: Yes, i'am studying in the bio field, namely bioinformatics.

There's alot of ignorance about genetic engineering, biotechnology, and bioinformatics. In the end, it's all about improving the world.

Tell that to Monsanto. There is a huge potential for abuse and already Abuse has happened(Roundup and Roundup ready seeds hmm ). I applaud China for not taking the Monsanto rout for GMOs.