Hong Kong, November, 1999 - Greenpeace China today revealed that it has found three popular local food products, which contain genetically modified (GM) ingredients. The items, among a batch of 10 products screened for GM components, are Vitasoy Fresh Soya Milk, Pak Fook Fresh Soya Milk and Pak Fook Beancurd Dessert. All three were found to contain genetically modified components called Roundup Ready-Soya. The soyabean, manufactured the by U.S mulitnational company Monsanto, is designed to be resistant to its own herbicide, which will guarantee its profits if the GM bean becomes widespread.
"The test results have highlighted a very scary situation, where consumers could be eating genetically modified food without knowing. Local consumers don't have a chance to say ' No' to GM foods, they are being left in the dark because currently there is no labelling system in place in the SAR," said Lo Sze Ping, Greenpeace China campaigner. He warned: "GM plants can breed, and even cross-breed, possibly endangering our environment. Once released, these new genetic materials are self-replicating and any harmful effect maybe irreversible. One thing is certain, this experiment with nature is a huge gamble that we can not afford. We are entering a highly dangerous uncharted territory."
"Greenpeace demands that in the long run, these 'Frankenstein' GM foods should be banned, while in the short term, consumers should be informed, and therefore, labelling is a must. The Hong Kong government should act with a sense of urgency and bring in a labelling system soon," stressed Lo.
At present, all 15 European Union countries have a labelling system in place while in Japan, the government has just decided there will be a labelling system for GM food products in future.
"Genetically modified foods can not improve or solve our food supply problems as their manufacturers have claimed. We should wake up to the fact that the only beneficiaries in this biotechnology gamble are the makers themselves. We don't want to see humans being used as guinea pigs any more. It is just not natural. We should not go against nature in the first place," said Lo.
