BEIJING // Standing behind her well-stocked stall in Beijing’s Sanyuanli market, vegetable seller Xia Fengke points out the items of which her customers are most wary.
Cherry tomatoes, small cucumbers and corn-on-the-cob are top of the list, she says. But red peppers, broad beans and courgettes also give cause for concern.
Food scares are an almost weekly occurrence in China. But Ms Xia’s customers are not worried about the levels of pesticide or heavy metals. What they really want to know is: “Is this genetically modified?”
China may have a long and impressive history of agricultural invention — Chinese archaeologists claim the wheelbarrow and the plough were invented here — but its people are passionately averse to transgenic technology.
For a long time so was the Chinese government which, apart from a few exceptions, largely bans the growth and human consumption of GM crops.
Now, however, with rice yields dropping and a growing economy pushing up demand for food, China’s Agriculture Ministry and its affiliated scientists are pushing for a change in attitudes and the law.
“The conflict between supply and demand does not allow us to put aside the development of GM technology any longer,” Wu Kongming, the vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, told China National Radio recently.
“China’s situation has determined that we cannot follow countries with very rich land resources by using traditional methods to satisfy our demands,” he added.
China — which is home to one sixth of the world’s population but only 10 per cent of its arable land — has seen food imports rise dramatically over the last decade, leaving many to question whether the country is technically food secure any longer.
Water shortages, the dominance of old farming methods and urban sprawl also keeps agricultural output down.
Scientists say that based on current yields China would need to acquire 40 per cent more farm land to grow the amount of food it currently imports.
The solution, say scientists like Dr Wu, is to allow for the development and growth of crops which have had genes from other organisms added to them, making them more resistant to drought or pests.
This would also have the benefit of reducing pesticide use, which is incredibly high in China, they say.
China’s current laws forbid the growth and direct consumption of any GM foods apart from papayas, cherry tomatoes and bell peppers — which were approved during a short-lived relaxation a few years ago.
The import of GM crops is also highly regulated, with only a dozen or so strains of soy, corn, rapeseed and cotton — which are imported in huge amounts — having received approval.
These rules are relatively well enforced at China’s borders, but inside the country it is thought to be a different matter.
Environmentalists and food safety officials say drought-resistant GM rice is spreading by stealth because many small-scale farmers are planting and selling it illegally.
All of which adds to the fears of shoppers in markets like Sanyuanli.
“We should know if we are eating GM,” said one woman at Sanyuanli market, who accused farmers who grow such rice of “treating the public as guinea pigs”.
For others, it is the safety of the county that’s at stake.
In one conspiracy theory propagated by China’s nationalists, GM foods are an American weapon devised to weaken the Chinese economy and its people.
“America is mobilising its strategic resources to promote GM food vigorously,” a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) training video leaked on the internet last month said.
It went on to add: “This is a means of controlling the world by controlling the world’s food production.”
A few months earlier a former major general in the PLA, Peng Guangqian, wrote a column in the popular Global Times newspaper saying GM foods were a plot by America to “conquer” China’s people.
“We must not be naive … GM crops will could become weapons and the consequences could be far worse than the Opium War,” he warned, referencing Britain’s attempt to prise China open in the 1800’s by getting Chinese hooked on the opiate.
His fear, which to a certain degree is shared by many around the world, is that by adopting GM products, farmers are putting themselves in the hand of the companies that produce the seeds.
The two largest GM seed companies, Monsanto and DuPont, are based in the US.
“What will our people do if the West cuts off our food supply? Suck on the north-east wind,” Mr Peng asked somewhat dramatically.
However, China’s agricultural ministry hit back, accusing the major general of “cold war thinking”.
The answer, it said, was to adopt the technology and make it China’s own, not to shun it.
“The devolvement of transgenic technology is no less important than the development of space or aviation technology,” Lin Min, the director of the Biotechnology at Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, wrote on the ministry’s website.
“Throughout history.. there are always people who feared new things and who have block[ed] the application of new technology but such people ultimately cannot slow the pace of human progress,” he added.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
SOUTH%20KOREA%20SQUAD
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The%20Mother%20
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
Tickets
Tickets start at Dh100 for adults, while children can enter free on the opening day. For more information, visit www.mubadalawtc.com.
If you go
The Flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Johannesburg from Dubai and Abu Dhabi respectively. Economy return tickets cost from Dh2,650, including taxes.
The trip
Worldwide Motorhoming Holidays (worldwidemotorhomingholidays.co.uk) operates fly-drive motorhome holidays in eight destinations, including South Africa. Its 14-day Kruger and the Battlefields itinerary starts from Dh17,500, including campgrounds, excursions, unit hire and flights. Bobo Campers has a range of RVs for hire, including the 4-berth Discoverer 4 from Dh600 per day.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last-16 second leg
Paris Saint-Germain (1) v Borussia Dortmund (2)
Kick-off: Midnight, Thursday, March 12
Stadium: Parc des Princes
Live: On beIN Sports HD
Trolls World Tour
Directed by: Walt Dohrn, David Smith
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake
Rating: 4 stars
SRI LANKA SQUAD
Upul Tharanga (captain), Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella
Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis, Milinda Siriwardana
Chamara Kapugedara, Thisara Perera, Seekuge Prasanna
Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera
Vishwa Fernando, Akila Dananjaya, Jeffrey Vandersay
New Zealand 57-0 South Africa
Tries: Rieko Ioane, Nehe Milner-Skudder (2), Scott Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Ofa Tu'ungfasi, Lima Sopoaga, Codie Taylor. Conversions: Beauden Barrett (7). Penalty: Beauden Barrett
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
more from Janine di Giovanni
RESULTS
6.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (Dirt) 1.600m
Winner: Miller’s House, Richard Mullen (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Kanood, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
7.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Gervais, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
8.15pm: The Garhoud Sprint Listed (TB) Dh 132,500 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Important Mission, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.50pm: The Entisar Listed (TB) Dh 132,500 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Firnas, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
9.25pm: Conditions (TB) Dh 120,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Zhou Storm, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Company%20Profile
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The Sky Is Pink
Director: Shonali Bose
Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim, Rohit Saraf
Three stars
Story%20behind%20the%20UAE%20flag
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