2019 Taiwan, Japan and South Korea Joint Statement Against Genetically Modified Potatoes
2019 Taiwan, Japan and South Korea Joint Statement Against GM Potatoes
Government must not approve, companies must not sell, people must not eat
In East Asia, Taiwan, China, Japan and South Korea all come under pressure from multinational corporations aggressively dumping GM food ingredients. In recent years, Simplot has launched the E12 genetically modified potato, developed using RNA interference (RNAi) technology with low acrylamide and reduced black spot traits, which has already passed safety reviews in Japan and South Korea. In Taiwan, China, the E12 GM potato was submitted for import approval in 2017 and remains under review to this day.
A growing body of academic research indicates that eating GM food may have negative effects on human health. Moreover, Dr. Caius Rommens, a developer of GM potatoes, reveals in his book "Pandora's Potatoes: The Worst GMOs" that the E12 GM potato did not undergo properly conducted risk assessment trials, and its unknown health risks are higher than those of other GM crops.
Civil society groups around the world concerned with local agriculture and consumer rights say that non-GM potato varieties with low acrylamide traits already exist in nature, and that the traits claimed for GM potatoes are merely commercial gimmicks that not only waste large amounts of money and manpower but also place people's health and the environment at unpredictable risk.
In view of concerns over the harms of GM potatoes, the Taiwan, Japan and South Korea Anti-GM Movement Network, founded in May 2018, jointly launched the "Anti-GM Potato" initiative this May, proposing a "three no's" action plan: "Government must not approve," "companies must not sell," and "people must not buy." It demands that governments adopt stricter review mechanisms, calls on companies to uphold conscience and social responsibility by refusing to sell, and at the same time mobilizes consumer power to refuse to buy and refuse to eat, working together to block GM from invading our lives.
May 18, 2019
