Foreign firms to show off GMO corn in  The Vietnamese government is set to allow US and Swiss firms to show off some of their genetically-modified (GM) corn varieties by planting them in small areas even as they wait for approval to sell the seeds in A source from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said the cultivation is planned on 1.5 to two hectares (3.4-4.4 acres) each in the northern provinces of Son La, Vinh Phuc, and Hung Yen, the Central Highlands’ Dak Lak, and the southern provinces of Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Dong Thap, Thoi Bao Kinh Te Saigon (Saigon Times) Online reported Monday. This would also provide platforms for sharing information and delivering technologies, the news site quoted the source as saying. The companies -- Syngenta of Switzerland, Dekald The seeds had been tested since 2011 in The test results are being examined by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment which has the final say on approving their sale in the country. Monsanto, the world’s leading producer of GM seeds, was also the main manufacturer of Agent Orange that left a devastating legacy in The global genetically modified organism (GMO) cultivation area has grown 100-fold since 1996 to 170 million hectares despite protests by environmental activists. Since GMOs have not been used long enough for scientists to accurately measure their impact on human health, and only now are they beginning to see some results that raise questions about diseases and aliments caused or linked to them, much more research is needed before GM-related products are used. Meanwhile, even as the safety of GMOs is still being debated, GM seeds have already been sold to Vietnamese farmers on the black market and started their invasion of the country’s food chain. Eradicating them will entail enormous effort and costs, experts say. But before it is too late Vietnamese authorities and scientists have to act to prevent the contamination from spreading further, they say. Thanh Nien News |
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