How Can GMO and Non-GMO Products Compete Fairly

In recent years, the safety of genetically modified food has attracted much public attention. As a new biotechnology, the development path of genetic modification in China has been full of twists and turns. Online, word wars over GMOs erupt one after another, and all kinds of rumors about GM food fill the air. In such an environment of public opinion, some companies, exploiting some consumers' lack of understanding of GM technology and their anxiety, have disregarded market rules in pursuit of their own interests and hyped “non-GMO” as a selling point. In response, Bi Meijia, chief economist and spokesperson of the Ministry of Agriculture, held that this practice violates the Advertising Law and other relevant regulations, and that its result is not only disorderly competition in the industry but also an intensified public panic over GM technology.

To clear the fog from the market and regulate the market environment, industrial and commercial authorities have recently strengthened supervision and management of non-GMO advertising, and China Central Television took the lead in issuing the “Notice on Review Requirements for 'Non-GMO Product' Advertisements,” prohibiting advertisements from claiming that non-GMO products are healthier and safer. Bi Meijia said this move will have a positive demonstration effect on regulating market behavior, correctly guiding consumption, and shaping a fair competition environment. For some time now, advertisements for some agricultural products on the media have claimed that their products are non-GMO, but the claimed non-GMO effect lacks the support of experimental data and scientific argumentation and is essentially a form of commercial packaging. What is more, some processed products of crops that are not commercially grown as GMOs in China (such as peanut oil) carry non-GMO labels, which misleads consumers while also intensifying vicious competition in the industry. It can be said that the ever-fermenting non-GMO business opportunity in the eyes of merchants has become a crisis that undermines the market “rules of the game” and is also an act that violates advertising regulations.

⟦NL> Bi Meijia believes that behind the commercial battle between GMO and non-GMO is a contest of corporate interests, with no essential connection to the safety of GM food. But such a commercial battle has come at a bitter cost——it has broken the market environment of fair competition among industries, fueled the spread of all kinds of rumors “demonizing” GMOs, and set up layer upon layer of obstacles for the research, development and application of GM technology.

Bi Meijia told reporters that currently there is no research in the world scientific community showing that GM food is harmful to human health. In fact, in China, the safety of GM food is also a settled conclusion. In June this year, the Office of the Inter-Ministerial Joint Conference on the Safety Management of Agricultural GMOs, together with the Science Popularization Department of the China Association for Science and Technology, compiled and printed the popular science reader “Viewing GMOs Rationally,” which points out that “international organizations, developed countries and China have carried out a large amount of scientific research, all of which consider that GM food on the market is as safe as traditional food.” That is to say, any GM food that has passed GMO safety evaluation, obtained a safety certificate, and entered the market is safe.

Bi Meijia said that genetic modification, as a new biotechnology for breeding, has broad development prospects. Especially for a major agricultural production and consumption country like China, to properly address the issues of food security and sustainable agricultural development, accelerating biotechnology research and development is an inevitable choice. At present, the state is actively and steadily promoting the implementation of the major special project for breeding new varieties of GMOs. However, for GM technology to keep advancing through innovation, it cannot do without a scientific and healthy environment of public opinion. This requires not only that the public have a rational understanding of GM technology and products, but also tests the social responsibility and commitment of enterprises.

At present, mainstream media such as CCTV regulating non-GMO advertising wording helps dispel public worries and anxiety. Bi Meijia stated that next the Ministry of Agriculture will work closely with relevant departments to further strengthen supervision over the research, development and production of GM agricultural products. When producing agricultural GMOs and GM food, enterprises must label them in accordance with relevant regulations so that consumers can make their own choices.