What is the latest development on genetically modified soybeans?

Genetically modified soybeans can resist the herbicide glyphosate (a glyphosate-based mixture); glyphosate will kill ordinary soybean plants along with weeds, whereas applying the glyphosate herbicide in fields of genetically modified soybeans will not affect soybean yield, but the toxicity and safety concerns of genetically modified soybeans have long been controversial. Now let us take a look together at what genetically modified soybeans are all about!

What are genetically modified soybeans?

Genetically modified soybeans were developed to work together with the use of the glyphosate herbicide. Herbicides can be selective or non-selective, and glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide. Glyphosate-resistant genetically modified crops are currently the genetically modified crops with the largest sown area in the world. The principle by which glyphosate kills plants lies in destroying EPSPS in the plant's chloroplasts or plastids. Through genetic modification methods, plants are made to produce more EPSPS enzyme, which enables them to resist glyphosate, so that the crops are not killed by the glyphosate herbicide. With such genetically modified soybeans, farmers no longer need to use multiple herbicides as in the past; only one herbicide, glyphosate, is needed to kill various weeds.

Methods for identifying genetically modified soybeans

1. Shape: Non-genetically modified soybeans are oval in shape and somewhat flat. Genetically modified soybeans are round in shape, perfectly round.

2. Color: The “navel” of non-genetically modified soybeans is light brown. The “navel” of genetically modified soybeans is yellow or yellowish-brown.

3. Size: Non-genetically modified soybeans vary somewhat in size. Genetically modified soybeans are all about the same size.

4. Soy milk: Soy milk made from non-genetically modified soybeans is milky white. Soy milk made from genetically modified soybeans is somewhat yellow.

5. Bean sprouts: Soak soybeans in water for three days. Genetically modified soybeans will not sprout; they will only swell in size, whereas non-genetically modified soybeans will basically show sprouts growing out.

6. Insect damage: Genetically modified soybeans have had insect-resistant and pesticide-resistant genes introduced, so genetically modified soybeans usually have a neat appearance, and almost no traces of insect damage can be seen. Non-genetically modified soybeans, if not stored properly, are prone to insect infestation.

What are the common genetically modified foods?

1. Tomato: I believe many people like to eat tomatoes, and precisely because most people around the world like this vegetable, scientists have studied tomatoes more deeply, and found that tomato genes are relatively easy to transfer, so the tomatoes eaten today are also gradually moving onto the path of genetic modification, and there is even a trend toward starting commercial production.

2. Sweet pepper: In 1998, with approval from the Ministry of Agriculture, genetically modified colored peppers were once allowed for commercial cultivation, but genetically modified colored peppers seem not to have received much welcome from the public in our country, and today genetically modified colored peppers are basically no longer produced, but it cannot be ruled out that some merchants violate government regulations and privately grow genetically modified colored peppers.

3. Corn: Genetically modified corn uses modern molecular biotechnology to introduce genes from useful plants that are very distantly related taxonomically into the genetic material of corn that needs improvement, and to make their offspring exhibit the stable inherited traits that people seek. At present, imports from the United States have already been allowed in our country.

4. Rapeseed: Rapeseed can be used to produce oil, so many people who study agriculture focus their research on it. At present, genetically modified rapeseed still faces various controversies among governments of various countries; in the final analysis, it is still concern about toxicity and allergy issues. Although the cultivation of genetically modified rapeseed has not yet begun to be promoted in our country, genetically modified rapeseed seeds are imported.

5. Soybeans: When we go to buy cooking oil, we often find that some cooking oils are labeled “genetically modified soybeans”. In fact, genetically modified soybeans have already begun to enter the Chinese market on a large scale, and are mainly used for processing cooking oil. As for whether genetically modified soybeans are being sold on the market, it is unknown.