Even though China has not approved cultivation of GMO crops, environmental group Greenpeace says farmers in the northeastern part of the country are growing the crop illegally, said Reuters. “The Greenpeace report seems to confirm concerns that Beijing will be unable to supervise the planting of GMO crops once commercial cultivation is permitted, leading to widespread contamination of the food chain with GM varieties.” Greenpeace said that 93 percent of the corn samples taken from five counties in Liaoning province tested positive for GMOs. Samples from grain markets and from corn-based foods in local supermarkets also tested positive, said Reuters.
Greenpeace blamed an “extremely lax and disorganized” seed market management system for the production and sale of illegal seed varieties, said Reuters. “While Greenpeace said it was not clear how the GMO corn seeds got into the marketplace, it has long been alleged that GMO plants being tested in field trials have been illegally sold to farmers for commercial use.” Chinese consumers are skeptical of GMO foods.