[Investigative Report]GM Soybeans Caught by the Roadside - GM Seeds Taking Root Introduction

By Upstream and Downstream reporters Tsai Chia-shan and Chien Chia-ying

Last year Taiwan imported 2.61 million metric tons of GM soybeans and 4.18 million metric tons of GM corn. Countless large trucks carried these seeds, which could potentially sprout, racing back and forth along the highways between ports and oil-pressing and feed factories, with farmland often lying on both sides of the road.

What if a single imported GM seed leaked out through a gap in a truck and actually took root and flowered and set fruit? What if it was not just one seed but many, and not just soybeans but also feed corn? Could these fallen seeds contaminate our country's crops?

This is not groundless worry. Upstream and Downstream exclusively obtained data showing that last year Japanese expert Hatta Sumito came to Taiwan specifically to conduct an independent investigation, and near Kaohsiung Port and around the oil-pressing plant in Guantian, Tainan, respectively discovered GM soybean seeds scattered on the ground, as well as plants that had flowered and set pods!

Upstream and Downstream immediately went to the sites to investigate and found that besides GM soybeans, GM corn was also scattered in four places. And corn is a cross-pollinated crop, so the risk of pollen contamination is even greater than that of soybeans. Through trial planting experiments, it was proven that the germination rate of GM corn can reach over sixty percent, with extremely vigorous growth, further deepening our concern about GM contamination.

In Taiwan, where planting GM crops is prohibited, traces of GM crops can easily be found by the roadside. Does this indicate that GM contamination may already be ongoing?

But after interviewing all relevant agencies, it was found that Taiwan's authorities have no regulations at all regarding the transport and packaging of GM soybeans and corn, and the competent authorities also lack crisis awareness and action on this matter.

In contrast, neighboring Japan began monitoring this as early as 12 years ago, with the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and multiple civic groups all having regular fixed-point monitoring programs.

Cases of GM contamination around the world are also numerous and have attracted international attention. If both the Taiwanese public and government have already raised their guard on all the details of GM foods, then we have no reason to turn a deaf ear and stand by idly regarding the problem of trucks fully loaded with GM beans leaking everywhere.

Just on the eve of going to press, Upstream and Downstream asked the Agriculture and Food Agency about this year's GM monitoring results for domestic feed corn, and news unexpectedly came out that GM components had been detected! But the Agriculture and Food Agency said: it is still tracing the source and cause and cannot release details. Was it mixed in at harvest time, mistakenly planted by farmers, or contamination from GM volunteers? It is impossible to know.

Better safe than sorry. Once GM contamination occurs, it will tarnish the GM-free label that Taiwan has insisted on for many years, and will also cause the fledgling domestic coarse grains sector to face a massive crisis of confidence. Please see the joint Taiwan-Japan tracking series of reports by Upstream and Downstream

To read the "GM Soybeans Caught by the Roadside - Investigation Report on GM Seeds Taking Root," please click here.

(This article was sponsored by the Jianchen Environmental Education Foundation for personnel expenses as a special project, but it completely does not interfere with news topic selection or interview writing, ensuring news independence)